Is Leody Taveras the odd man out in the Texas Rangers outfield?

The Texas Rangers come into the season with what they envision a clear cut layout of their everyday outfield: Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Adolis Garcia.

As we all know in baseball, it is never that written in stone. Slumps happen, injuries happen, trades happen. That's why teams have to be prepared for every scenario.

One fixture of the Rangers outfield over the last five seasons has been switch-hitting Leody Taveras. Over that time he has been the recipient of mixed messages ranging in support to harsh criticism.

Taking all that into account it makes sense the Rangers are exploring all their options, which includes receiving calls from teams expressing interest in the 28-year-old outfielder, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Although Grant does mention that there is no indication the team is shopping Taveras, it begs the question.

Is Leody Taveras the odd man out in the outfield? My immediate gut says absolutely not but let's dive into this further.

Like I mentioned earlier, 162 games is a long season and every team deals with setbacks throughout the year. Just because the Rangers are going into the season with a set three in the outfield doesn't mean those guys will never need a day off or suffer an injury.

Taveras' value goes beyond his statline. He's a fixture for the team and despite some frustrations about his play, he has shown in the past that he is capable to be among the better outfielders in this league.

Look at the impact he made at the height of the 2023 season. In the first half of the season, Taveras slashed .295/.339/.473 with a .812 OPS, 10 home runs, 40 runs batted in and 9 stolen bases in 275 at-bats. Most impressive of all, his seven home runs in June.

With that, also comes the bad. In 151 games last season, Taveras struggled mightily at the plate recording a batting run value of -15, which was among the bottom 6% in the league, according to Baseball Savant.

Despite the critics and the occasional misplay in the outfield that frustrated fans, Taveras' fielding value was among the best in the league finishing the year with 5 outs above average and in the 91st percentile for arm strength.

Given that tidbit of information now it's a bit easier to see how my immediate gut reaction could turn into a no when presented with the statistics.

It's fair we look at the full picture before giving a definitive answer. At this point he's a veteran presence and likely the longest tenured Ranger on the roster after Jose Leclerc departed in free agency. Then of course there's the uncertainty of Carter, who only played 45 games due to a lingering back issue.

Taveras isn't a player that is easy to part ways with given his history with the team and the potential he provides either in an everyday starting role or stepping up as a part-time outfielder when needed. I say, based off what we've seen his high can be, the low is easier to navigate which makes keeping him in a Texas uniform a positive.