Josh Smith To Replace Corey Seager at Shortstop for Texas Rangers

Josh Smith is expected to get the "lion's share" of playing time at shortstop for the Texas Rangers with Corey Seager out.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Smith isn’t Corey Seager. That’s stating the obvious. But few players in Major League Baseball are that kind of player.

Smith is just being asked to step into Seager’s considerable shoes at shortstop for the Texas Rangers until Seager returns from a Grade 2 left hamstring strain.

How Smith does that will not look anything like how Seager does it.

“I’m probably not going to go out and hit 35 home runs like he did last year,” Smith said with a smile.

For the record, Seager hit 33 home runs last season, a career high. But that only reinforces Seager’s importance to the lineup. Seager could be out for at least a month.

Smith, by the way, only has two career home runs. He hardly cares how he contributes.

“Whatever I can help us do to win, whether it’s a sacrifice bunt or a hit and run, whatever,” Smith said.

Smith will get the “lion’s share” of the playing time in Seager’s place, according to manager Bruce Bochy. That doesn’t mean Ezequiel Duran won’t play any short. To be fair, Bochy’s declaration came a couple of hours after the Rangers moved Seager to the injured list to make room for outfielder Leody Taveras.

With Taveras back, Bochy opted for simplicity. He moved Smith to shortstop and batted him in Seager’s No. 2 spot. Robbie Grossman moved back to left field and Adolis García returned to right field with Taveras starting in center. That’s the outfield alignment the Rangers were hoping for in Spring Training before Taveras was injured.

Bochy said Thursday’s off-day will give him more time to reflect on the batting order and a potential rotation at shortstop. Smith went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and was hit by a pitch.

“It’s a very workable situation, and we think Smitty does a good job,” Bochy said. “Duran showed us a lot of things in the spring, he’s very capable of playing shortstop in the Major Leagues.”

Smith moved to shortstop Tuesday night after Seager left the game. But Smith and Duran both spent the spring trying to win jobs as super-utility players, being able to play both infield and outfield.

Smith and Duran both moved around last year, too. Smith made a quicker transition to outfield, playing some left field at the Major League level. He took most of the starts in left field in the season’s first week with Taveras out.

It’s to the point where Smith, whom Rangers general manager Chris Young called a “baseball rat” on Wednesday, hasn’t played shortstop on an everyday basis since 2021, just after the trade that brought him to Texas.

“Every day, I’ll take ground balls, I’ll take fly balls, just in case something like this happens,” Smith said. “Like I said, it’s not fun when stuff like this happens, but you have to be prepared.”

Smith has traits that Bochy likes at both the position and at that spot in the order, though. Smith has a solid glove and the middle infield is his natural position. Smith’s quickness gives him good range in the field and great speed on the basepaths. He put that on display in the fourth inning Wednesday when he ran in on a weak grounder by Edward Olivares and made a difficult catch-and-throw look easy.

At the plate, Bochy likes his pitch selection, ability to get on base and base-stealing ability. Smith took a pitch to the left forearm on Wednesday, just a week after taking one to the lip and needing six stitches.

If Smith proves he can get on base more often, he could stay in that second spot until Seager returns.

As for the position, Smith worked often at shortstop with second baseman Marcus Semien this offseason. The foundational chemistry is already there, if one saw the double play the pair turned Tuesday night.

Semien, like Bochy, would rather have Seager in the lineup. But is eager to see what Smith does with the opportunity.

“He’s very athletic,” Semien said. “He’s a polished defender. When I was at his age I needed a ton of work, just fixing things, and he doesn’t have that (to fix). So I’m excited for him to get reps every day, however we go about it. He’s going to be playing a lot more that he was, and he’s going to get better.”

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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