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

It’s no secret that the Texas Rangers will enter the 2021 season in the midst of a full-scale rebuild.

By trading the majority of their most valuable big league assets this off-season (Joey Gallo and Jose Leclerc being the two exceptions for now), GM Chris Young and President of Baseball Ops Jon Daniels have placed a priority on the future.

And while more wheeling and dealing is in the cards for Texas this season, so too is the beginning of the process that will determine which current Rangers have a case to serve as bridges to the next great baseball core in Arlington.

With that in mind, here are three players who we believe have the most to prove heading into 2021 and beyond.

Texas Rangers 2021 make or break candidate: Willie Calhoun

Willie Calhoun was the prized part of the return that the Texas Rangers received in exchange for trading Yu Darvish to the LA Dodgers in 2017.

An outfielder by trade, Calhoun spent most of 2020 at DH, where his production was rather paltry (.491 OPS and just one home run in 100 at-bats).

There won’t be any available outfield spots for the 26 year-old to claim this spring, assuming David Dahl is healthy, while Joey Gallo and Leody Taveras win their starting jobs as expected.

Should that outfield configuration occur without issue, Calhoun will likely be subjected to DH duties again in 2021.

The good news is that in the last full season played (2019), Calhoun had his best offensive year, posting career highs in home runs (21), at-bats (309), RBIs (48), OPS (.848) and OPS+ (110).

If the Vallejo, California native has any intention of retaining his role on the Texas Rangers in 2021 and going forward, it will be imperative for him to put up similar numbers this season.

Fortunately, he appears to be putting in the effort to reach that goal.

Texas Rangers 2021 make or break candidate: Nick Solak

Nick Solak might have been named the starter at second base heading into 2021, but make no mistake, he’s not locked in there long term.

Sure, the Texas Rangers felt inclined to remove veteran incumbent Rougned Odor and his large contract unceremoniously from that starting role, but that’s all that really means right now.

Simply put, the 26 year-old Solak will have to show the organization he’s worthy of consideration at second base for both now and going forward.

The former Tampa Bay Rays prospect was acquired in a 2019 deal that sent reliever Pete Fairbanks to Tropicana Field.

That swap has certainly paid dividends for Tampa, as Fairbanks proved to be an effective bullpen weapon during their 2020 AL pennant run.

Can the Texas Rangers extract similar value from Solak?

The 26 year-old can play both outfield and infield, demonstrating his versatility. He spent most of 2020 in the outfield.

However, his batting statistics weren’t particularly special in 2020, clocking in with a .268 batting average and a .671 OPS in 209 at-bats.

Solak fared much better in his 2019 debut, notching an .884 OPS and five home runs in 116 at-bats during that brief call-up period.

If the Illinois native wants to make his case to be the long-term solution at second base for the Texas Rangers, he’ll need to put up numbers akin to his 2019 totals (if not exceeding them) in 2021.