Projecting the Texas Rangers Opening Day 30-Man Roster

ARLINGTON, Texas — Opening Day is less than a week away. As the Texas Rangers' roster begins to take shape, Saturday will provide a new level of clarity.

Saturday is the deadline for clubs to inform the players that have outs in their contract whether or not they will make the team. Those players can then either elect free agency or stay with the club on a minor league deal and be relegated to the taxi squad.

The Rangers have a number of non-roster players in the running for multiple positions. With only two spots available on the 40-man roster, the Rangers will have to decide if adding more than two non-roster players is worth losing another player.

Before we learn who will and won't make the Opening Day roster, here's a prediction of the 30 men that will open the season on July 24 against the Colorado Rockies.

Injured List

10-Day IL

Willie Calhoun (hip flexor strain)
Joely Rodríguez (lat muscle strain)

COVID-19 IL

Brett Martin (placed on July 16)

Analysis: Neither Calhoun or Rodríguez have been officially added to the 10-day IL. This is projecting they will start the season there. Rafael Montero will not start the season on the roster, even though he is not injured. He showed up late to camp due to the birth of his child and is behind in his throwing program. He's progressing nicely, but won't be ready for Opening Day.

Catcher (3)

Robinson Chirinos
Jeff Mathis
Jose Trevino

Analysis: Robinson Chirinos is the only question here, only because of his ankle injury. The Rangers are cautiously optimistic that he will be ready or at least shortly after. Even if Chirinos misses the first series against Colorado, Trevino and Mathis will be able to hold down the fort until Chirinos is 100 percent. I don't think Chirinos starts the season on the 10-day IL.

Infield (6)

Elvis Andrus
Todd Frazier
Ronald Guzmán
Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Rougned Odor
Yadiel Rivera*

* — non-roster invitee

Analysis: I have Guzmán over Bird for the first base position. Manager Chris Woodward has played his cards pretty close to the chest. Guzmán is the better defensive option and the Rangers may want to hold on to his last minor league option. Either way, Guzmán (or Bird) will likely serve as a late-inning defensive replacement with Kiner-Falefa charging toward starting at third base while Todd Frazier shifts over to first base.

Adding Yadiel Rivera will require adding him to the 40-man roster, but the Rangers like his defense and he's had a solid camp with the bat as well. Honestly, Andy Ibáñez is another strong candidate for that role as well. It could be either one of them.

Outfield (6)

Shin-Soo Choo
Joey Gallo
Scott Heineman
Danny Santana
Nick Solak
Leody Taveras

Analysis: Willie Calhoun would normally be here, but he will likely start the season on the 10-day IL. This paves the way for highly-touted prospect Leody Taveras to be the surprise selection out of camp and make the Opening Day roster. While Taveras would be potentially brought on primarily as a defensive replacement or late-game pinch-runner, Chris Woodward believes there's value in bringing him aboard.

"Just the way he fits with speed and defense," Woodward said on Friday. "His at-bat quality has been great. He's had a ton of walks since camp started. Every day he's had an opportunity to work on the bases, he's done it. He works hard on defense. He's that guy. He understands what the role would be."

If the Rangers don't want to start Taveras' service time clock, which they are seriously weighing, Adolis Garcia would be the likely addition here.

Starting Pitching (5)

Kyle Gibson
Corey Kluber
Jordan Lyles
Lance Lynn
Mike Minor

Analysis: Not much to analyze here. This has been the one-through-five since December. And all of them have had at least one impressive outing in camp. They're ready to go.

Bullpen (10)

Kolby Allard
Jesse Chavez
Luke Farrell
Ian Gibaut*
Nick Goody
Taylor Hearn
Jonathan Hernández
José Leclerc
Joe Palumbo
Edinson Vólquez*

* — non-roster invitee

Analysis: This is undoubtedly the most difficult group to project. Locks are Chavez, Farrell, Goody, Hearn, Hernández, and Leclerc. If the Rangers go with 15 pitchers, that leaves four spots remaining with Martin, Montero, and Rodríguez out of action.

With Taylor Hearn as the only left-handed option out of those six pitchers, the Rangers could very well add both Allard and Palumbo, who have been very solid in camp. Chris Woodward doesn't seem too concerned about keeping them stretched out as starters while they fill a temporary void in the bullpen for two weeks.

"It may be worth the risk just to give us a chance to win in the beginning," Woodward said. "At the beginning of the season, it’s critical that we get off to a fast start. In a 60-game season, I feel like the schedule sets up for that. There are some good left-handed hitters on the teams that we face. Both of those guys, with what they showed the last two nights, are making a pretty heavy push for us to keep them on.”

Vólquez would provide a veteran presence for a very young bullpen. Gibaut has been one of the most impressive relievers in camp. If the Rangers added these two, along with Rivera/Ibáñez, they would have to designate one player for assignment to clear a roster spot. If the Rangers didn't want to do that, they could go with Demarcus Evans over Gibaut, who is already on the 40-man roster. However, Evans hasn't shown nearly as well as Gibaut.

Follow Inside The Rangers on SI on Twitter: @SITexasRangers
Like Inside The Rangers on SI on Facebook: facebook.com/SITexasRangers
Follow our Rangers insider Chris Halicke on Twitter: @ChrisHalicke

Add us as a preferred source on Google