Texas Rangers 2019 Positional Review: Left Field

In 2019, the Texas Rangers were lacking in production from some traditionally offensive positions like first and third base. When it came to left field, almost nobody could touch them.

While there was not a consistent starting left fielder every day, whoever played that position produced. The Rangers led the American League with a .905 OPS from the left field spot. Only the World Series champion Washington Nationals had a better mark in baseball.

The Rangers started 2019 with Joey Gallo as their starting left fielder. Gallo also played a decent amount of center field as well due to Delino DeShields' struggles in May.

Despite his injury-shortened season, Gallo was elected as an American League all star for the first time in his career. Gallo was having a break out year, slashing .253/.389/.598 with 22 home runs and 49 RBI's in only 70 games played. Add the fact that he was also a plus defender, especially in left field, and you've got a recipe for a potential superstar.

Chris Woodward and his coaching staff went into 2019 with an attempt to help the younger players improve their approaches at the plate; to help them focus on the process and let the results come when they come.

For Gallo, it took very little time for him to pick up this new information. He stopped chasing the pitches he'd normally chase before. In turn, pitchers were forced to either pitch around him or attack him. For a hitter as talented as Gallo, he terrorized pitchers.

You guys wanna see Joey Gallo's longest homer of the season? pic.twitter.com/VapwvzfySS
— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 1, 2019

His average peaked at .293 on May 21st and was solid .276 when he suffered a strained oblique on June 1st that kept him out 3 weeks. A broken hamate bone ended Gallo's season on July 23rd.

In Gallo's stead, Willie Calhoun took hold of an opportunity for at-bats and ran with it. Calhoun batted .269/.323/.524 with 21 home runs and 48 RBI's in 83 games. Those numbers are awfully close to Gallo's output.

Calhoun was acquired in 2017 when the Rangers sent Yu Darvish to the eventual National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Many hoped that Calhoun could end up becoming a productive player for Texas and in 2019, he showed that he is capable of doing so.

2020 Outlook

Projected starter: Joey Gallo
Internal options: Willie Calhoun, Shin-Soo Choo

Offseason priority: VERY LOW

While Joey Gallo proved that he can play center field, the Rangers prefer him to play left field. He is better suited for a corner outfield spot, given his build, speed, and arm strength. Calhoun deserves at-bats in 2020 and it will be very challenging finding him enough at-bats for him to have a chance to make an impact on the team.

The Rangers currently have four legitimate players that play corner outfield spots on the roster: Gallo, Calhoun, Shin-Soo Choo serves as the primary DH but can play left or right field, and Nomar Mazara over in right field. Even including the DH spot, the Rangers currently have a bit of a log-jam.

The front office isn't opposed to trading one of these players. Gallo has the most value, but it would take a huge return to get Jon Daniels to pull the trigger shipping out a potential superstar. Mazara is still under the mark of where he should be in his development, but the Rangers still like him and believe he can hit his ceiling.

Shin-Soo Choo is in the last year of his contract, and is owed $21 million in 2020, so it would take eating some of that salary to get a team to take him. Despite his age at 37, he has been the Rangers' most consistent bat in their lineup for multiple seasons.

Calhoun is the wild card here. He showed very positive signs in 2019 that he can be a very good player. He's young and needs more major league at-bats to prove 2019 wasn't a fluke. It's not easy to just walk away from an intriguing young player like that.

Do the Rangers trade Gallo or Mazara and give Calhoun a spot? Ultimately, this is a good problem to have, but it's a very difficult and potentially franchise-altering decision. As it stands right now, Gallo will be the left fielder on opening day in 2020.

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