Rangers Manager Skip Schumaker Open to Wyatt Langford Positional Change

The Texas Rangers phenom could be holding down a new position in 2026.

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The Texas Rangers will have a new look outfield in 2026. In the early stages of the offseason, president of baseball operations Chris Young swung a trade to acquire right fielder Brandon Nimmo from the New York Mets. This trade came days after former All-Star Adolis Garcia was non tendered.

Currently, the Rangers will deploy Nimmo, Evan Carter, and Wyatt Langford in the outfield. Some depth pieces include Sam Haggerty and Michael Helman. Manager Skip Schumaker met with the media ahead of the Winter Meetings. He alluded to a potential positional change for Langford.

Wyatt Langford May Move to Center Field?

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Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News on X (formerly Twitter) reported that Schumaker is open to the possibility of moving Langford to center field. Last year, the 24-year-old made 97 starts in left field and 36 in center field. Langford was a finalist for the American League left field Gold Glove in 2025.

Carter made the most starts in center field, but his long injury history could present issues next year. Former Rangers manager Bruce Bochy resisted moving Langford to center field full time, saying the pair were better suited for their current positions. When Carter debuted in 2023, he mostly left field during Texas' World Series run.

The assumption is that moving Langford to center would slide Carter to left. Langford has the speed and range to do it. He finished with 16 defensive runs saved and 10 outs above average in 2025.

At the plate, his power improved compared to his rookie season. Langford hit a team high 22 home runs with 62 RBIs. He's clearly the piece to build around for the future. After the Nimmo trade, the outfield is set. However, there are still questions surrounding the infield, after catcher Jonah Heim was non tendered and Marcus Semien was dealt to New York.

Young has said that the search for a backup catcher will take top priority as well as assembling the bullpen. It's clear Texas is searching for a new identity with all these changes. However, the pairing of Carter and Langford can be dynamic when they're both healthy. The Rangers found success when both were on the field.

Maybe a move to left field could take lessen Carter's exposure to injury. Texas was sound on the defensive end in 2025, and Langford was a large part of that success.

Langford is a special talent. His meteoric rise to the big leagues was incredible to watch. He has all the tools to take a massive leap in 2026, and could become the center piece of a Rangers franchise attempting to return to the postseason.

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