Texas Rangers Opening-Day Roster Features Tight Race for Final Spots

Saturday brought the return of Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom and outfielder Wyatt Langford, both of which made their spring training debuts.

They are not in danger of missing opening day, barring an injury. Though deGrom won’t be the opening day starter, as he was two years ago.

The benefit of an experienced roster is that there are fewer races for job. That makes for less drama. But, there are still a few spots that are fluid, most notably in the bullpen and in the field, where there may only be one roster spot available off the bench.

Inside the Rangers projected the opening-day 26-man roster at the start of spring training. Now, with opening day only a few weeks away, it’s time to take another look at how things are shaking out.

Starting Pitchers

Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Cody Bradford, Tyler Mahle, Jon Gray

No changes here. Jack Leiter is having a wonderful spring, which is great news for his development. But he can flex into the bullpen and make an impact. Kumar Rocker, a player projected to make the opening-day roster in February, is on the outside looking in right now. He did some back field work this weekend and is working on some control issues.

It’s more likely he starts the season at Triple-A Round Rock now, which isn’t a bad thing since he only made a few starts there before he was called up to the Rangers in mid-September.

Relievers

Jacob Webb, Chris Martin, Robert Garcia, Marc Church, Dane Dunning, Shawn Armstrong, Luke Jackson, Jack Leiter

President of baseball operations Chris Young told MLB.com on Friday that there are six bullpen jobs that are “spoken for,” but didn’t indicate which players had won them. There are two openings, and both could be for long relievers.

The one switch here is Jackson for Chavez, the latter of which is having an awful camp. Jackson has two appearances, with five strikeouts in two innings. He’s never been a closer, but he’s been a reliable set-up man, including with the Atlanta Braves during their 2021 World Series run. It’s the strikeout rate that is intriguing, even in a small sample.

The Rangers have a wealth of candidates in the bullpen, almost too many, which isn’t a bad thing.

Note: Josh Sborz is not expected to be ready for the regular season due to offseason surgery.

Catcher

Jonah Heim, Kyle Higashioka

Higashioka had had a great camp at the plate but expect Heim to be the opening-day starter. But, because both are healthy and playing well, it means the Rangers won’t carry three catchers, which is something they have done at times under manager Bruce Bochy.

Infielders

Jake Burger, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Josh Smith

No changes. The opening day alignment will probably be Burger at first, Semien at second, Seager at shortstop and Jung at third base, with Smith probably in either the DH spot or riding the bench. But Smith has played several positions in spring training and the intention is to get him on the field as much as possible.

Outfielders

Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, Adolis García, Joc Pederson, Kevin Pillar, Leody Taveras

Pillar makes the team in this projection. His versatility and experience makes him a solid rotational outfielder. The oblique injury to García is worth watching, even as the Rangers say it won’t keep him out of opening day. Keeping Pillar means Pederson plays more at DH and spells Burger at first base.

It also means that Ezequiel Duran doesn’t make the team. The super-utility player has not had a good spring training and is batting well under .200. There is still time for him turn that around. His versatility is an asset and if the Rangers lose an infielder or an outfielder for an extended period, either now or in the regular season, he is easily the first call-up.