Rangers Pitching Tandems: How The 'Fluid Situation' Has Evolved
When the Texas Rangers began the 2021 season, manager Chris Woodward and the coaching staff decided to begin the season with not one, but two spots in the starting rotation employed by pitching tandems.
Barely a quarter of a way through the season, that idea has been shelved, or at least drastically altered. But the initial blueprint of one guy starting for three or four innings, followed by a "piggyback starter" to carry the team to the seventh or eighth inning is not being followed any longer.
"Yeah, it's changed a little bit," Woodward said on Friday. "We knew that it was going to be a fluid situation."
The initial tandem roles had Jordan Lyles as a starter with Wes Benjamin as his piggyback, then having Dane Dunning as the other starter with Taylor Hearn to follow.
After three times around, Benjamin was surprisingly missing the strike zone at an alarming rate. The Rangers then decided to option Benjamin to Triple-A Round Rock, which was the first sign that these pitching tandems would have an expiration date.
Regarding the other tandem, Dunning has become the most effective starter in the rotation not named Kyle Gibson. However, Taylor Hearn went through a rough patch where Woodward was disappointed in how he was coming into his outings.
Both instances led to Lyles and Dunning pitching more as traditional starters. But even that doesn't seem to be a long-term solution either. Woodward helped explain how each spot in the rotation will be handled in the near future.
"Jordan's is more performance-based," Woodward said. "If he pitches well, then we can kind of eliminate it. But if he struggles, then we'll probably put that one back in or just shorten him up a little bit and try to get the most out of him."
Either way,that decision may be coming sooner rather than later. While Lyles carried a 4.64 ERA through his first four starts, his last four have been far worse. Over those outings, he has a 9.18 ERA with 12 walks in 16 2/3 innings and a .997 OPS against.
"With Dane, it's more of a youth [issue]," Woodward explained. "We're gonna have to shorten him up at some point. I mean, this guy's throwing a ton of innings, and rightfully so. He's pitching well."
Woodward believes the balancing act of trying to limit Dunning without having to shut him down will work itself out. And the direction Woodward has gone regarding the tandem spots is having a "floating group of guys" that can be called upon at a moment's notice to come in and salvage a game before it gets out of hand.
Hyeon-jong Yang, Kolby Allard, and Taylor Hearn have been the primary arms that Woodward has called upon. Yang has even had a spot start, and helped salvage the bullpen after Wes Benjamin and Brett de Geus were kicked around by the Astros on Friday night.
Allard has proven to be a reliable option to eat innings, and has even been considered for the next next guy to get a spot start if needed. Since a really bad outing in Anaheim on April 20, Hearn has logged 8 2/3 scoreless innings with a .194 batting average against over five appearances.
Chris Woodward has a fine line to ride between necessity and development. The Rangers need innings to help preserve the health of their younger pitchers. Kyle Cody, one of those younger hurlers that the Rangers value, is already on the shelf for the next couple of months with a shoulder injury. A pitcher like Lyles can provide those innings.
On the flip side, Woodward wants to win. If Lyles can't figure things out, Woodward will eventually get to the end of his rope.
Not to beat a dead horse, but growth and development of the younger players remains paramount. They can't develop if they are injured. Expect the pitching situation to remain fluid throughout the season. Once the Rangers are prepared to lock and load for a run at putting together a contender, that's when things should finally fall into place.
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