Skip Schumaker Facing Tough Call at Second Base for Rangers

The Texas Rangers finally wrapped up a 10-game road trip with a series loss to the Seattle Mariners. They went 4-6 on the road and sit at 11-11 ahead of a three-game series at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Most notably, the Rangers got solid offensive production from the infield, especially third baseman Josh Jung, who appears to have found a rhythm.

However, the hole at second base has been a consistent issue for Skip Schumaker this season. When Texas traded Marcus Semien to the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo, the Rangers anticipated a decline in defensive production. However, the offense hasn't been there either.

Nimmo has been an excellent addition to this lineup, but second baseman Josh Smith hasn't held up his end of the bargain so far in 2026. He's slashing .185/.284/.200 and has one extra base hit in 74 plate appearances.

Evaluating Options at Second Base

Texas Rangers third baseman Ezequiel Duran throws to first base. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Completely giving up on Smith, 22 games in the season, would be an irrational decision from Schumaker. Guys like Jung and Joc Pederson went through a slump before figuring something out at the plate. The same could happen to Smith, but Schumaker may have to give him fewer opportunities moving forward.

Smith was given the day off on Saturday, which could subtly hint at a change. Ezequiel Duran has been a utility player for Texas, having played at second, third, shortstop, left, and right field this year. He's been swinging a hot bat for the Rangers, posting a .289 batting average and a .347 on-base percentage.

He's also reached base in five of the last six games. Schumaker has assembled his lineups based on matchups, but Duran should be receiving more playing time regardless of the matchup. Smith has been a liability offensively, and Duran gives the bottom of the order some much-needed life.

As mentioned earlier, the rest of the infield has yielded positive results. Jung has had a resurgence, improving his batting average to .290 and is third on the team in hits with 20. First baseman Jake Burger has been the team's best run producer, and shortstop Corey Seager is as consistent as it gets. The Rangers need better production at second base, both offensively and defensively.

Duran made a throwing error at second base in Saturday's game, which allowed two extra runs to score. On Sunday, Smith got in the way of a pop fly that should've been caught by Nimmo and instead dropped.

The Rangers have gotten the better end of the Semien/Nimmo exchange, but Semien's absence has been felt a little harder than fans are led to believe.

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