Coming into Friday, the Rangers were dealt with some disappointing news when the team learned that Matt Harrison will be undergoing back surgery on Tuesday to repair a herniated disc, thusly relegating his return to after the All-Star break. It was an unfortunate blow to the rotation, however it appears that Colby Lewis is continuing to have a successful rehab and is on schedule to return to the team on June 1st. An effective Colby Lewis in the rotation would be huge, so that’s that. Now here are some observations on the Rangers’ sweep of the Mariners.

• In total for the series, the Rangers outscored the Mariners 23 to 3. Regardless of the competition and other factors, it was good to finally see the Rangers’ offense put together some good innings. We’ll see if this ends up carrying over to Anaheim.
• As of Friday, the A’s led the Rangers for 1st place in the AL West by 2.5 games. As of Sunday, the A’s have been swept by the Rays and the Rangers have swept the Mariners, meaning Texas now holds the division lead by 0.5 games.
• In the first game of the series, Yu Darvish got the win against the Mariners, pitching 7 shutout innings and allowing just 3 hits to go along with 10 strikeouts. It was evident early in the game that Darvish had little, if any command of his fastball, which seems to be a trend in all of Darvish’s starts sans the near-perfecto against Houston. It’s pretty remarkable that Darvish possesses such dominating secondary pitches that he is able to pitch deep into ballgames regardless of his fastball command. Interestingly enough, all three of Darvish’s wins this season have come after Ranger losses.
• On Saturday, the Rangers received a scare when Nick Tepesch was hit on the wrist by a line drive off of the bat of Jesús Montero with two outs in the second inning. Luckily enough, Tepesch appears to be ready to make his next start. In relief of Tepesch, whom had to leave the game, Derek Lowe delivered in surprising fashion with four hitless innings. Also, A.J. Pierzynski and David Murphy, whom have both been scuffling as of late, hit homers to support the cause.
• In the finale of the series, Justin Grimm made his second start of the season and delivered mightily, pitching 6 innings, surrendering just 6 hits and allowing just one earned run to go along with 9 strikeouts. Grimm’s curveball was the difference maker in the game, as Grimm exhibited plus command and break with the pitch. In support of Grimm, Leonys Martín hit his first career home run off of Seattle starter, Aaron Harang. As for Harang, he gave up a big home run in the bottom of the fourth to Mitch Moreland, which sailed to Greene’s Hill in center field. Harang later went on to load the bases in the fifth inning only to surrender a grand slam off of the bat of Nelson Cruz. In other words, it was not a good day for Harang.
• Not to pick on the guy or anything, but Justin Smoak had a dreadful series, going just 1-for-11 with 6 strikeouts. I know it’s still early in the season, but I think that any hope of Smoak’s bat finally developing is all but gone.

Feb 25, 2013; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar (top) readies during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into 2013, it was speculated that the Rangers may consider using Jurickson Profar as the utility infielder. This was a strange idea, as it would obviously stunt Profar’s development as compared to him playing every day in Triple-A, and earlier today, Jon Heyman reported via twitter (link), that the Rangers are looking to acquire a UIF, thusly negating any notion of Profar being used as the team’s UIF.

Currently, it appears that Jeff Baker will make the team, given his strong Spring, but Baker is not able to play SS, and that is a problem. As it stands now, the bench would be as follows:

• OF-Craig Gentry/Leonys Martín
• 3B/2B/COF-Jeff Baker
• C-Geovany Soto

Externally, the Rangers do appear to have some options, as utility infielders aren’t exactly a rare commodity, and earlier today, it was reported that the Astros were looking to trade Tyler Greene, but his bat and glove aren’t very inspiring. Other than Greene, the only other visible option is Ryan Theriot. Theriot remains unsigned but is reportedly still looking to play, given the right offer. Offensively, Theriot has a career wRC+ of 85, and as a UIF who primarily plays in the middle infield, the Rangers could definitely do worse. Defensively, Theriot has a career UZR of -5.1 in 4,454 innings. As a comparison, former Rangers’ UIF, Andrés Blanco holds a UZR of 3.7 at SS in 751.1 innings.

In conclusion, the Rangers are making the obvious choice to start Profar in Triple-A by looking at external options to fill the UIF void. In a perfect universe, the Rangers would acquire a UIF whose strongest tool is his glove at both SS and 2B. How well this player hits is not the primary concern, hell it may not even be the secondary concern. Ryan Theriot is an average middle infielder, which sounds good as a potential UIF, but defensively at SS, I’d at least like to hope that the Rangers could do better. I am sure that here are many external options to fill the void of UIF on the Rangers’ bench, but only time will tell as to whom the Rangers are looking to acquire.

Leonys Martin is the most talented player in the Texas Ranger outfield when age, speed, hitting, and fielding are considered with balanced weight. Martin is the youngest, fastest, and he is right there with Craig Gentry when you talk about fielding. I honestly think the Rangers believe he is the best option in center. I believe this because there is a situation where Leonys plays the majority of games or platoons with Gentry, but no one has considered a situation where he is a back-up CF.

Feb 25, 2013; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin (2) singles during the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

This spring he has proven that he can handle major-league pitching and he has proven he can handle major-league coaching. Last year he struggled at the plate to the tune of a .174 BA in 46 at-bats. He also struggled in the outfield with his routes to the ball. Those two things became real questions in 2012. After batting .378 in 45 at-bats this spring training and fielding like an above-average MLB starting CF… those questions have disappeared.

Craig Gentry has also impressed during the spring. He has picked up right where his 2012 season left off. He is hitting .286 in 42 at-bats with 5 stolen bases and 2 out-of-nowhere HR’s. Last year Craig batted just over .300 and stole 13 bases while fielding very well for the Rangers. But those numbers will probably not hold up for a second straight year. If Gentry would’ve stolen 30 bases last year, this conversation may not even be legitimate but he failed to surprise in that area last year and here we are.

I think the Rangers will make the right decision on how to handle the platoon, or they will start one of the CF more than the other. One thing that needs to be remembered is how important Leonys will be in the future. He is still young and he is being payed to be a starter. I think he will prove to be a very good CF for Texas. If that is this year, the Rangers should be set. If Gentry proves to be the best option in CF. Next year’s OF will have many unanswered questions.