Texas Rangers Skipper Believes New First Baseman Can Be 'One of the Best' in MLB

The ceiling seems to be high for the Texas Rangers' new first baseman according to their manager.

Sep 22, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins designated hitter Jake Burger (36) celebrates a home run in the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at loanDepot Park | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Perhaps no team around Major League Baseball will have a greater bounce back than the Texas Rangers.

That's the expectation at least.

This is still a roster made up of the World Series-winning core from the 2023 season, and the only reason why they weren't able to defend their championship was because of all the injuries they accrued to multiple key players.

The hope is that changes this year, and if it does, they are poised to jump back into contention.

Adding some other stars in free agency to bolster the roster also helps, and the additions of Jake Burger and Joc Pederson to the lineup makes this one of the most formidable batting orders in the MLB.

Figuring out where to align the new pieces is something manager Bruce Bochy is dealing with during spring camp, especially when it comes to Burger since the Rangers already have Josh Jung in place at third base.

Burger was acquired with the intent of moving him to first.

And with him replacing the traded Nathaniel Lowe who took home a Gold Glove Award in 2023, he will have some big shoes to fill when it comes to providing defense.

The good news is it sounds like the slugger is handling his position change well.

"He's attacking it. He's aggressive on ground balls. He's had a really good arm, that's a pretty nice asset for a first baseman ... He has, to me, the potential to be one of the best first basemen in the game," Bochy said per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.

That's a great sign.

Burger has played 74 games at that position during his career, with 69 of them coming last season.

He knows it's going to be an adjustment, but the fact he can solely focus on that position to improve there instead of also splitting reps at third base should help the learning curve get smaller.

"Now all my attention is on [first]. I feel like it can really refine all my movements over there. I'm feeling good over there and getting with [infield coach Corey Ragsdale], I just keep on learning and keep getting better every single day," he said.

Nobody is expecting Burger to be a Gold Glove winner or finalist this year.

He was largely acquired because of the hitting potential he possesses, having hit 34 home runs in 2023 and 29 last season.

Even producing average defense while giving this lineup another power threat is exactly what Texas is signing up for, but if Burger can reach the potential that Bochy thinks he has, then that makes this team that much better.