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

Texas Rangers roster projection: Starting Pitchers (7)

No team can ever have too much pitching.

That’s why I’m awarding seven roster spots on the 26-man squad to starting pitchers.

The Texas Rangers don’t have many sure commodities within their starter group, and have even pondered the concept of a six-man rotation for the season.

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RHP Dane Dunning

RHP Kohei Arihara

RHP Kyle Gibson

RHP Jordan Lyles

RHP Mike Foltynewicz

RHP Kyle Cody

LHP Hyeon-Jong Yang

The first five names mentioned are virtual locks for the roster given how they were acquired and the contracts they possess, as well as their veteran status (in some cases).

The last two names are more intriguing.

Cody proved he could handle the rigors of starting duty at the big league level in a small sample size in 2020, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t continue his success in 2021.

As for Yang, he is perhaps the most unproven name on this list, but the Rangers lack a starting left-hander, and with other uninspiring options in-house such as Wes Benjamin, Kolby Allard and Joe Palumbo, why not take the risk with Yang as a lefty assuming he pitches well and proves he can make the transition.