Texas Rangers Boss Reveals Playing Time Plan for Two Key Outfielders

The Texas Rangers have a reason for doing what they’re doing with these two young outfielders during spring training.

May 1, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers outfielder Evan Carter (32) makes a catch during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Globe Life Field. | Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

Last season was a frustrating one for Texas Rangers outfielder Evan Carter. Same for Leody Taveras. But for different reasons.

Carter missed the majority of the 2024 season due to a back injury that was proved difficult to diagnose. Only late in the season did Carter and team doctors finally get clarity on the extent of the injury and a timeline for recovery.

As for Taveras, he played the whole season, but his slash numbers took a step back. After hitting .266/.312/.421/.733 in 2023 he slashed .229/.289/.352/.641 last season. He dropped from 14 to 12 home runs and from 67 to 44 RBI.

Carter is healthy now. Texas is eyeing him to play center field most of the time in spring training, the position he played in the minor leagues. Manager Bruce Bochy recently said the Rangers are doing that for one specific reason.

“With all the time that Evan has missed, we just want to let him stay in one position and not move him around,” Bochy said to reporters in Surprise, Ariz. “There aren’t a lot of different movements between positions, but we want him to get used to center field right now and he hasn’t been out there a lot (in the Majors).”

Carter missed most of last season with a stress reaction in his back. That required an ablation procedure in October. He declared himself fully healthy in January.

When he was called up in September of 2023, Carter played left field during the Rangers’ memorable World Series run. Taveras was in center field. That was the plan last year before Carter’s injury. Instead, Wyatt Langford — the rookie who was expected to be a swing outfielder — took over the job and is now fully entrenched in left.

Carter is only a .223 hitter in the Majors with 10 home runs and 27 RBI. But he was once one of the Rangers’ top prospects and his left-handed bat has untapped power and potential.

Taveras is a lighter-slugging version of Carter. He has above-average speed, can steal bases and has a quality glove. The Rangers have reportedly received trade inquiries on Taveras, who has two arbitration years left, which makes him a desirable trade piece.

For now, Taveras is the one floating around to different positions in the outfield. He recently played right field and Bochy liked what he saw. He believes left field could be more challenging for Taveras. Bochy believes the Rangers will have a good read on things by the time they break camp.

“He (Taveras) has those qualities that I think might make it a bit easier to move around, like we did with Evan when he first came up here,” Bochy said.