Texas Rangers: Who will be team’s starting first baseman?

Right now, the Texas Rangers do not have a first baseman. Three players will compete for the job. Manager Jeff Banister is expected to announce his decision before Opening Day.

Last December, Mitch Moreland left the Texas Rangers to sign with the Boston Red Sox. And quite frankly, it was no surprise. Texas fans saw it coming. Truth be told, most Texas fans had moved on from him. It became quite clear that Texas would be searching for a new man to be the team’s primary first base man.

The three players who are competing for the starting job are Ryan Rua, Jurickson Profar, and Mike Napoli, who officially signed with Texas last week. Tomorrow, the team’s first workouts will take place and on Saturday they’ll play their first game which will be against the Kansas City Royals.

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Napoli is very likely to win the job. He’s very talented and most of all, he’s got the veteran experience. But you never know what can happen because Banister is going to give all three competitors a run for their money.

As we know, Banister does not hand out starting jobs. Instead, he has his players earn it. In other words, players have to earn their dues to play for this franchise. Napoli, Profar and Rua must work harder than they’ve ever worked before. That’s how it is every Spring Training no matter what ball club they play for. In baseball, you’re not guaranteed anything.

As I said earlier, I am positive the job will go to Napoli. However, Profar and Rua still need to be ready for anything. Napoli won’t start all 162 games this season. When he has a night off, Profar and Rua will get a chance to shine and they’ll need to make the best of it.