Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps: Mark Mathias
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InsidetheRangers.com will review each of the players on the Texas Rangers 40-man roster at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
IF/OF Mark Mathias
Statistics for 2022: Mathias batted .247/.319/.506/.825 in 30 games (20-for-81) with 13 runs, 41 total bases, three doubles, six home runs and 20 RBI. He walked nine times, struck out 30 times and stole three bases. Mathias played five different positions in the field (first base, second base, third base, right field and left field) and was not charged with an error.
Season Transactions: Mathias started the season with Triple-A Nashville in the Milwaukee organization. He was called up to the Brewers on May 24 and was sent back to Nashville on May 31. He returned to Milwaukee on June 11, and on June 24 he was sent back down to Nashville. On Aug. 2, the Rangers traded RHP Matt Bush to the Brewers for Mathias and minor-league LHP Antoine Kelly. The Rangers assigned Mathias to Triple-A Round Rock on Aug. 3 and called him up to the Majors on Aug. 16.
Season Summary: Mathias needed opportunity and he wasn’t getting it with the Brewers, who called him up and down several times in 2020 and 2022. When he came to Texas, it looked like he might end up with the same fate. But, the Rangers committed to keeping him with the club in mid-August and he showed that he could, at the least, be a super-utility player. He hit five of his six home runs with the Rangers, and at one point Mathias hit three home runs in three straight at-bats over two different games (including his first career walk-off home run). With consistent playing time in Texas, Mathias hit .277 and praised the Rangers for how they helped him adjust his hitting approach.
Contract Status: Mathias is under team control in 2023. He won’t be eligible for salary arbitration until 2024 and free agency until 2027.
What’s next: Mathias showed the Rangers enough to earn a spot in spring training next February. The complexion of this team will change with a new manager and a new general manager. But Mathias is talented enough, and versatile enough, to fit into that. The question is whether he can fend off the Rangers’ posse of young talent to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster.
2022 Texas Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps:
Ezequiel Duran | A.J. Alexy | Josh Smith | Tyson Miller | Corey Seager | Joe Barlow | Leody Taveras | Brad Miller | Drew Strotman | Josh Jung | Jon Gray | Taylor Hearn | Mitch Garver | Kevin Plawecki |
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