Projecting the Rangers Pitching Rotation and Bullpen Before Opening Day

The Texas Rangers can't take their opening day 26-man roster down to the wire as they usually do. That's because the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees play their first game of the season on Wednesday.

That means all 30 MLB teams must have their opening day rosters finalized several hours before first pitch. Because of that, the Rangers have made most of the key decisions surrounding the rotation and their bullpen.

Texas has announced its opening series rotation for the Philadelphia Phillies. Fans know who the fourth and fifth starters will be. The bullpen is nearly set. All that's left is for president of baseball operations Chris Young and his staff to turn the roster in to Major League Baseball.

So, before that roster is finalized, here is one final prediction, with analysis, of what the pitching staff will look like.

Rangers Pitching Staff

Texas Rangers pitcher Robert Garcia throws a baseball. — Texas Rangers pitcher Robert Garcia. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Rotation

As noted, Texas has already set its starters for the Phillies series:

Thursday: RHP Nathan Eovaldi

Saturday: RHP Jacob deGrom

Sunday: LHP MacKenzie Gore

The Rangers get to give their new starting pitching acquisition a spin in the first series and break up their four right-handed starting pitchers. Jack Leiter should get the start in Monday’s series opener at the Baltimore Orioles. Kumar Rocker will be the fifth starter. Because of the off day on Friday the Rangers could start Eovaldi on normal rest on Tuesday and Rocker on Wednesday. Or the Rangers could flip it. Rocker pitched in a minor league game in Arizona on Tuesday. He’ll be on extra rest either way.

The Rangers are shooting for deGrom to be the starter for the home opener on April 3.

Bullpen

Texas told Carter Baumler that he made the team on Monday. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker did it during a mound visit, creating one of those memorable TV moments that one only gets in baseball. Baumler was a Rule 5 player, so the Rangers had to get him on the 26-man roster if they wanted to keep him. But he’s been terrific in the spring and earned a job.

The Rangers have already announced transactions that impact the bullpen. Texas optioned Luis Curvelo on Monday, removing an option that was with them in the Majors last season. Texas also let Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber that they would not make the team. Both are former starting pitchers that could have been used in long relief.

With Curvelo optioned, it looks like the Rangers will have a bullpen that is already on its 40-man roster. Schumaker has been clear that both Robert Garcia and Chris Martin would get the early save opportunities. Texas signed Jalen Beeks two weeks ago to give them a veteran left-handed relief option. With Jacob Latz missing out on the fifth starter job, he slides back into the bullpen. The remainder of the bullpen should include Tyler Alexander, Jakob Junis and Cole Winn, all right-handers that can fill various roles.

If the Rangers pull a surprise, it would be to move Josh Sborz off the non-roster invite list and onto the opening day roster. He's been effective in camp but likely needs a bit more time to ramp up. But the Rangers don't have to be in a hurry to make that sort of move.