Rangers Opening Day Roster Projection 1.0: Still Need Pitching
Cactus League action is underway in Arizona, and the Texas Rangers have a lot to figure out in a short amount of time. Not only did the 99-day lockout force a quick ramp up prior to the start of the spring schedule, the team now has 18 Cactus League games instead of the originally scheduled 32 (30 in Arizona, two at Globe Life Field).
That means hitters won't get the number of at-bats they want and pitchers won't get the innings they need. It's also put management in a difficult position of how to properly construct the 26-man roster that will travel north of the border to face the Toronto Blue Jays when the season opens on April 8.
"It's difficult to make the decision we probably would want to with the most information possible," said manager Chris Woodward. "We can't. We know that. We told the players that [when camp opened]. It's impossible for us, based on innings and at-bats."
Woodward painted this scenario: If a pitcher goes out and gives up a three-run home run in one inning of work, but then pitches three perfect innings in his next three outings, he'll still have a 6.75 ERA.Taking into account some of the things Woodward talked about last week, here is our first stab at the Opening Day roster. ... The Pitchers ...
Starting Rotation (5): Jon Gray, Martín Pérez, Dane Dunning, Taylor Hearn, Spencer Howard
Though it hasn't been officially announced yet, Jon Gray will likely be the Opening Day starter. Martín Pérez was brought in to eat innings and be a veteran presence to the younger pitchers. Woodward said Dane Dunning and Taylor Hearn still have to earn it, but something catastrophic would have to happen for either one to lose their spots in the rotation.
The fifth spot is the tricky one. Woodward isn't planning on employing a tandem role like he did for two spots in the rotation last season. A six-man rotation is also out of the question. So of all the names in the running—Spencer Howard, Glenn Otto, A.J. Alexy, Kolby Allard, Kohei Arihara, Jake Latz, Brock Burke—Howard is the one we're going with for now.
Woodward loves the way Howard looks so far and is delighted to see a different version of him than what everyone witnessed after he was acquired at the trade deadline last year.
"He looks relieved. He looks free," Woodward said. "When we [acquired] him, he was caught between a lot of things he was trying to do. I applaud him for going out there everyday when we had him last year. He just wasn't comfortable. You could feel it and see it. ... We all saw him throw and that reminded us of the guy that we have been wanting to acquire since he signed. Now we can work off of that."
Ben Ludeman / Courtesy of the Texas Rangers
Ben Ludeman / Courtesy of the Texas Rangers
Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
Bullpen (8): Joe Barlow (closer), Brett Martin, Spencer Patton, Garrett Richards, John King, Dennis Santana, Josh Sborz, Greg Holland*
*- minor league contract
There are plenty of arms competing for spots in the bullpen. However, five spots are pretty well secured. After a strong debut in 2021, Joe Barlow currently slots in as the closer. Brett Martin, Spencer Patton and John King all figure in to the bullpen mix. Garrett Richards was brought in to fill a valuable multi-inning role—one where he had success with the Boston Red Sox last year.
Dennis Santana and Josh Sborz both showed their potential in flashes last season and the intrigue could remain with solid performances in spring training. Greg Holland, who is in camp on a minor league deal, could be this year's Ian Kennedy. The Rangers have had success in this arena and Holland's pedigree could prove to be very valuable for the young pitchers in the bullpen.
Jonathan Hernández and José Leclerc won't be ready to return until mid-to-late June. Hernández was already put on the 60-day Injured List to make room for the Richards signing, and Leclerc won't be too far behind him to clear another roster spot.
