Texas Rangers: 3 players headed for make or break seasons in 2021

Texas Rangers 2021 make or break candidate: Ronald Guzman

Ronald Guzman may have secured Dominican Winter League MVP honors, but back stateside, he’s engulfed in a competition for his starting job.

That would be because the Texas Rangers acquired Nate Lowe from the Tampa Bay Rays during the winter meetings, a transaction that still seems puzzling even after having more than a month to mull it over.

Regardless, the two lefty swinging first baseman will have to battle it out in Surprise, AZ in what should be the biggest positional competition on the team by a fair margin.

Guzman has yet to be spectacular in the big leagues to this point, with a career .725 OPS in 721 at-bats, likely the reason Texas was motivated to bring in Lowe this off-season.

If the Condor has any shot at remaining with the Rangers in or past 2021, he’ll need to win the first base job (an admittedly uphill battle) or seize the DH role from the aforementioned Calhoun, who will also have to earn his role again this spring.

Failure to win either starting job would likely mean Guzman would be traded, since he’s out of minor league options and the team has no other place to play him.

Talk about a true make or break type of season to come…