Texas Rangers Have a Few Decisions To Make for Opening Day Roster

Domestic opening day is set for March 27 and there are plenty of decisions still to be made for the Texas Rangers.

A lot of their lineup is already set heading into the year. Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jake Burger, Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia and Josh Jung have their spots locked in. The designated hitter will likely be Joc Pederson most of the time while Jonah Heim will be the main backstop.

The one question mark right now is who the starting center fielder will be. It is between Evan Carter and Leodys Taveras.

Manager Bruce Bochy has already stated some plans about how he will use the two outfielders.

Carter is expected to stay in center field, and not move around as much. However, he is having a rough spring training as he is slashing .222/.300/.296 with only one RBI and eight strikeouts in 27 at-bats.

Per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (subscription required), there was some thought that the 22-year-old might not make the team out of spring training. However, he has been playing better and his speed makes him a real asset.

Taveras, on the other hand, is playing well in spring.

The 26-year-old is hitting .237/.310/.500, which gives him an OPS of .810. He has slugged three home runs, stolen three bases and he has just six strikeouts in 15 games played.

When Carter went down with an injury, Taveras stepped up in his absence. Now the two are competing for that starting spot, but Bochy could choose to play the matchups. Carter is much worse against left-handed pitching, so it would be wiser to have Taveras play in those games.

The next decision that still needs to be made is what to do with Dane Dunning.

With Jon Gray and Cody Bradford starting the season on the IL, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker could start the year in the rotation.

In fact, Grant lists Leiter, Rocker and Tyler Mahle to join Jacob deGrom and opening starter Nathan Eovaldi in the rotation.

Dunning is also an option to start the season in the rotation, but he is having a tough spring.

The 30-year-old has 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings pitched this spring, but he has a 5.87 ERA. Additionally, opponents are hitting well over .300 off him and he has walked four batters. That has given him a WHIP over 2.00.

Texas needs someone to use in a long relief role, and that could be Dunning. However, his rough spring and lackluster 2024 could be reason for concern in the Rangers clubhouse. He does have options left, so he could start in Triple-A without repercussion.

Texas is poised to have a good season in a wide open AL West division. These final decisions are going to play a part in their success this season.