Texas Rangers 2017 Positional Breakdown: Center Field

Carlos Gomez was a spark-plug for the Rangers late in 2016. Could he return to his all-star form in 2017?

Center field was one of the main concerns for the Texas Rangers heading into the off-season. Both Ian Desmond and Carlos Gomez were set to hit the open market. Delino DeShields, who started 2016 in center, was coming off a sophomore slump.

The Rangers already had an almost $150-million payroll heading into the off-season. With first base and the back end of the rotation also needing to be addressed, the Rangers couldn’t afford to spend big on an outfielder.

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The Rangers had to pass on big name free agents such as Dexter Fowler and Yoenis Cespedes. With the farm being gutted in recent years, they also had to pass on trade targets Andrew McCutchen and Adam Eaton.

With Ian Desmond heading to Colorado, the Rangers managed to bring Carlos Gomez back to patrol center field in 2017. The former all-star signed a relatively cheap one-year $11 million deal. Gomez will hope to build on his short, but impressive stint with the Rangers in 2016.