Rangers Shuffle Lineup vs Diamondbacks; Seeking Spark After Offensive Woes, Kluber Injury

The Texas Rangers are seeking a spark in offensive production with some lineup changes and roster moves ahead of their two-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

ARLINGTON, Texas — After a 1-2 start, the Texas Rangers are acting with urgency heading into a two-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks beginning Tuesday night.

The Rangers made several roster moves on Tuesday, beginning with putting Corey Kluber on the 45-day IL after suffering a torn muscle in his right shoulder. The 45-day IL is 2020's version of the 60-day IL, which means the Kluber move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster. 

For some good news, the Rangers activated LHP Brett Martin from the COVID-IL, adding him to the 30- and 40-man rosters. Martin will not be available for Tuesday night's game, but is expected to be an option out of the bullpen as early as Wednesday.

The Rangers also recalled Adolis Garcia and optioned Leody Taveras to the alternate training site. This move might raise a few eyebrows since Taveras was one of the best players in camp over the past few weeks—so much so, management decided to give the highly-touted prospect a roster spot much sooner than expected.

However, the current needs of the roster dictated the move for the Rangers.

"It was just an offensive move," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "Leody, in my opinion, is a future All-Star based on what he can do. (Garcia adds) maybe a little more thump on our bench, especially against left-handed pitching. We’ve got a few lefties coming up, it may help us either off the bench of in a starting role."

Let's face it. The Rangers need a spark offensively. The bats struggled against the Colorado Rockies in the opening series of the season, scoring only five runs in three games. For Tuesday night's game, Woodward shuffled the Rangers' lineup:

1. LF Shin-Soo Choo
2. CF Danny Santana
3. 2B Rougned Odor
4. RF Joey Gallo
5. 1B Todd Frazier
6. DH Willie Calhoun
7. SS Elvis Andrus
8. C Robinson Chirinos
9. 3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa

While Andrus didn't get off to the fastest start over weekend, Woodward still has confidence with hitting Andrus lower in the order. However, the most significant changes revolve around Santana hitting second and Odor hitting third. The move is less about Odor and more about getting Santana on a roll.

“This guy (Merrill Kelly) is not a big swing-and-miss pitcher," Woodward said. "It’s a good matchup for (Santana) to get rolling. Rougie has been one of our most consistent at-bats all camp. I want him up there. If I put Danny at 2, then putting Rougie in the 3-hole makes sense. I want our best guys at the top. 

"I like where Elvis is at. It’s just a matter of putting him in a spot where they can’t manipulate our lineup later on in the game. I think that was the reasoning for putting him down a little bit lower. I think Elvis’ at-bats have been good. I just wanted to get Danny going. He’s a big part of our team. We need him to be successful for us to have a chance.”

The day off on Monday gave the Rangers an opportunity to take a step back and evaluate a number of issues. One thing that didn't have to change is a sense of urgency, which means the lineup may get altered more often than usual.

“There’s been a sense of urgency before this whole thing started," Woodward said. "As soon as I found out we weren’t playing 162 games, there’s been a sense of urgency. I expressed that to our players. I don’t mind moving the line around a little bit. If it gets our most productive guys at the top, we have to do whatever we can."

A 60-game season demands urgency. A bad offensive series in a 162-game season can be taken lightly. That's not the case this year. It will force clubs to think quick on their feet. It's become cliché at this point to say it, but a 60-game season is truly a sprint.

"Every game is worth three, basically. That was basically a nine-game series we just played. So, that’s nine games of struggle," Woodward said. "We need to find a little spark or do something a little different. I don’t mind doing that this year. Our players know that. There’s no panic or anything like that. I just want to make sure we put our best chance forward to create some consistent offensive production. If in a week from now and our guys are rolling."

Ultimately, the Rangers will likely have to rely on what they have if they are to make a push toward a spot in the postseason. With the expanded playoff and the COVID-19 turmoil with the Miami Marlins, there may be a lower number of trades before the August 31 deadline.

Heading into 2020, the Rangers knew their rotation was going to give them a chance to win nearly every night. The big question rested on how well the lineup could compliment the rotation. With Corey Kluber now out for an extended period of time, the burden falls even more on the offense to produce runs.

"We need Danny Santana to be good. We need Elvis Andrus to be good," Woodward said. "We need all of these guys to produce for us.”

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