Texas Rangers: Who Should Start in Center Field in 2018?

The Texas Rangers front office has plenty to do this off-season including finding three starting pitchers. After that the next biggest hole is center field. Who will play center in Arlington next season?

The off-season begins soon, and the Texas Rangers need to decide what they want to do in center field. Outfielder Carlos Gomez is eligible for free agency and likely isn’t coming back to Arlington next season.

If Gomez leaves the Rangers will have to fill the position this off-season, but could Delino DeShields be the answer? The 25-year-old hit .269 with six home runs and 22 RBI with 29 stolen bases in 120 games.

It was a breakout campaign for DeShields, but can he be trusted as the everyday guy? He had a solid season in 2015 and then followed that up with a horrendous 2016 campaign, could it happen again?

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It’s difficult to really know until we see DeShields on the field. The Rangers shouldn’t just hand the job to him though. Could outfielder Lorenzo Cain be the answer that the Rangers have been missing?

In 2017 Cain hit .300 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI with 26 stolen bases in 155 games. The 31-year-old will be one of the best hitters on the open market this off-season. He won’t come cheap, but he could be the right answer.

The Rangers desperately need a leadoff hitter and Cain would be a perfect fit on their team. DeShields is a solid player, but if Texas wants to legitimately contend in 2018 then they need to sign Cain.

It’s doubtful the Rangers go after Cain until they solve their rotation issues and fill those spots. Once that is taken care of if Cain is still available then he needs to become the top priority for Texas.

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