Texas Rangers: First 26-man roster projection of spring training

The Texas Rangers haven’t even played their first spring training game of 2021, but questions about the roster and who will make it are already abounding.

For a rebuilding team, the Rangers will feature quite a decent amount of new faces heading into the new season, thanks in no small part to an active off-season.

Many positions will see drawn out competitions over the course of spring training, which makes it especially difficult to predict certain spots on the diamond.

Some semblance of a battle is expected to occur at catcher, first base, third base, in the rotation, and in the bullpen, especially as manager Chris Woodward declined to name a closer for the time being.

Just as a forewarning, this roster projection is mere conjecture at the moment. In all likelihood, this roster will look at least somewhat different by April 1st depending on how the various spring competitions pan out.

You can also check out a pre-spring Texas Rangers roster projection done here.

With all that being said, let’s get to work!

Texas Rangers roster projection: Infielders (6)

The infield is one of the tougher position groups to predict this early on, especially with unsettled competitions and vacancies, but here’s our best guess as of now:

1B: Nate Lowe

2B: Nick Solak

SS: Isiah Kiner-Falefa

3B: Brock Holt

Bench: Rougned Odor, Charlie Culberson

Ultimately, we believe Nate Lowe will win out over Ronald Guzman at first base, and Odor will have to be absorbed as a costly bench piece, barring something dramatic happening during spring training.

At second base, we knew Solak would be the starter, as we did with IKF at shortstop.

Brock Holt and Charlie Culberson are both incredibly useful and versatile veterans who will serve as leaders and fill-ins along the way. Teams can never have too many utility options these days.