3 players that make the Texas Rangers’ DH dilemma a good one to have

With the emergence of Adolis García and the returns of Khris Davis and Willie Calhoun coming, the Texas Rangers will have a complicated rotation of DH options.

Adolis García has become one of the most exciting Texas Rangers to watch over his first few games of the 2021 season, leading to speculation over who will get a majority of the DH at-bats.

With Willie Calhoun ramping up at Round Rock and Khris Davis right around the corner, the Texas Rangers are going to have to make some tough decisions in the upcoming weeks.

First and foremost, I don’t see a plausible solution to keeping all three on the roster. Assuming they did, and with the players on the 25-man roster currently, the Rangers would be looking at seven active outfielders.

If any or all of these guys make the roster, one of Eli White or Leody Taveras will be sent back to minors. If they opt to stick with the youngsters, Davis could see a designation or straight release.

Right now though, we’re going to make a case for three candidates.

Texas Rangers’ DH: Willie Calhoun

There isn’t a more deserving player in the Rangers’ organization than Willie Calhoun to get regular major league at-bats.

This kid has been to hell and back with all of the unfortunate injuries he has suffered since his debut in 2017, and has earned the right to be an everyday big leaguer.

Calhoun has yet to find any consistency at the game’s highest level, though, finding the most success in 2019.

During that season, he only played in 83 games due to injury and unnecessary demotions, but hit .269, swatted 21 homers and walked 23 times. His 53 strikeouts were a bit of a concern, though.

However, he was a .289 minor league hitter with 86 homers, 304 driven in and 11 stolen bases to boot.

The 26-year old outfielder has had his ups-and-downs within the Texas organization, but has matured exponentially and gotten himself into incredible shape, losing 24 pounds after the 2018 season.

However the roster shakes up, Willie Calhoun will definitely be in the Texas Rangers’ future plans and will get his opportunity to become a mainstay in Arlington.

Texas Rangers’ DH: Adolis García

It’s hard to believe that instant replay has screwed anyone else over more than Adolis García since it has been implemented.

However, I imagine that García will take the result he got the night after, hitting a go-ahead two-run homer in extra innings against the defending AL champions.

Nonetheless, García has been putting up ridiculous numbers since spring training, and has been opening the eyes of the Rangers’ coaching staff since they acquired him from St. Louis.

He’s been as aggressive as anyone on the active roster, and assuming García’s adjustments are for real and here to stay, we may be looking at the next Nelson Cruz-type here.

We’ve talked about it time-and-time again, but there are always late bloomers in this game, and If Adolis García can tap into that potential, he’ll be around for a while.

He hit .375 this spring with three long balls, 13 driven in and two walks over 22 games. However, he was consistently making hard outs and shooting the ball to the opposite field.

If he can continue that string of success like we’ve seen in his first couple games back, there Is no doubt he’ll be with the team the remainder of the year.

He has a cannon for an arm, above-average speed and good power, plus he’s worked on putting the ball in play. He could be a major force behind Joey Gallo in this Rangers’ lineup.

We’ll have to see what happens when the minor league season begins, because it doesn’t look like Adolis García is going anywhere and could force Leody Taveras or Eli White back to the minor leagues.