2024 Texas Rangers Opening Day Roster Projection 1.0

Happy President's Day to everyone. Pitchers and catchers reported on Valentines Day and now the full squad reports on Presidents Day. It has been a eventful first week of camp. Josh Jung reported, took part in a workout, and then injured his calf. He had an MRI done and it was reported he will miss at least two to three weeks and will be reexamined at that time. The entire left side of the Texas Rangers infield will be out of action as Corey Seager is still recovering from his hernia surgery. They should both be ready for Opening Day. Jack Leiter announced he has graduated from Vanderbilt. Wyatt Langford reported to camp and will be given an opportunity to make the team. Justin Foscue is taking ground balls at first base. Marcus Semien is ready to play in all 162 games and hopefully more games again. The full squad should be in attendance today in Surprise, Arizona and spring training games begin later this week. Lets project of all the players in camp who will be on the Opening Day roster when the Texas Rangers take on the Chicago Cubs in Arlington.

Opening Day infield

Catcher: Jonah Heim

Heim comes to camp healthy and ready to take that next step in his career. He is ready to prove the doubters wrong. In a MLB Network catchers ranking in January Heim was not listed as a top 10 catcher, despite starting the All-Star game in 2023, winning a Gold Glove at catcher, and finishing as the 2nd-team All-MLB at catcher. Heim has already accomplished so much, and yet he still has something to prove. He will be starting at catcher on Opening Day.

First Base: Nathaniel Lowe

Lowe won the Silver Slugger in 2022 and a Gold Glove award in 2023. In 2024 he will be trying to combine solid offensive production with continued stellar defense at first base. If he can do that he will become the best first baseman in the AL if not all of Major League Baseball. This will be season number four starting at first base for the Texas Rangers. He has seen Texas go from 100 losses to World Series champion in just a short time. He will manning the corner position on Opening Day.

Second Base: Marcus Semien

The Texas Rangers ironman reported to camp over the weekend. He enters this season as a World Series champion for the first time. His ninth-inning two-run home run in game five of the World Series put the exclamation point on the championship. Semien finished third in MVP voting in 2023, started the All-Star game, and won the Silver Slugger award. It was a great second season in Arlington for Semien. He will be starting at second base on Opening Day and hopefully every day after that in 2024.

Shortstop: Corey Seager

Seager is continuing to recover from his sports hernia surgery that he underwent back in January. He should hopefully be on the field in games by the back half of the spring training schedule. If that does happen then Seager will be able to suit up on Opening Day. The MVP runner-up in 2023 has now become one of the favorites for the award now that Shohei Ohtani has moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League. If Seager can stay relatively healthy and put together a strong season the MVP award will be within reach for the superstar shortstop and reigning World Series MVP. He will be the starting shortstop on Opening Day.

Third Base: Josh Jung

This was looking like a slam dunk until his calf injury in his first workout. They said he should just miss two to three weeks and if that is the case then he will be on the field in games around the same time Seager is returning to game action. Calf injuries can be pretty tricky and Texas has to hope there is not setbacks in his recovery. If so then it is a tossup between Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith, or Justin Foscue over who will play third on Opening Day. At this point I would expect Jung to recover and to run out there on Opening Day.

Opening Day Outfield

LF: Evan Carter

The little savior as he was called last season reported to camp on Saturday. He apparently put in some workout time over the offseason and is now at a solid 192 pounds after playing in the postseason last year at 175. He is now entering his first full season and is the no doubt starter in left field. He was amazing last October and is now hoping to follow that up with a potential Rookie of the Year award campaign. The one thing to watch for this spring training is how he performs against left-handed pitching. That was the one negative about his time in the majors was the lack of production against lefties. If Carter emerges from camp healthy he will be the starter in left field on Opening Day.

CF: Leody Taveras

It may seem like Taveras has roamed center field for several seasons, but in actuality this will be just Taveras' second Opening Day start. He started in 2021 and he will make the start in 2024. Taveras is coming off the best season of his career. He was one of the top defensive center fielders. He set a career-high with 14 home runs in 2023. He came through in several clutch situations in the playoffs. He had the RBI-double in game two of the ALDS against Baltimore, a solo home run off Justin Verlanders in game one of the ALCS, and the walk that set up Corey Seager's game-tying home run in game one of the World Series. He will be out there roaming center field on Opening Day.

RF: Adolis Garcia

The newly-signed right fielder now has financial security for the next two seasons. Now Garcia can just focus on the game he excels at. Garcia is the heartbeat of this team. He plays with a passion that energizes this team. When he is playing well the team plays well. When Texas faced its low point in the ALCS losing game five dramatically he stepped up in game six and hit the grand slam that carried Texas to a game seven. He then followed that up with a game seven for the ages as he was 4-5, two home runs, five RBIs, and three runs scored. He now enters 2024 as one of the more recognizable names in the game and with a solid season he can put his name into the MVP conversation. He will be the starting right fielder for Opening Day.

Opening Day Starting Rotation

1. Nathan Eovaldi

2. Dane Dunning

3. Jon Gray

4. Andrew Heaney

5. Adrian Sampson

The top four rotation is the same top four that pitched in the rotation after Jacob deGrom went down in late April in 2023. Texas rode this top four to a 40-20 start. There may be some concerns about the depth of this rotation but this top four if healthy will win Texas a lot of games. Health has been a concern for these guys and we are still a long way from Opening Day. I think the expectation is that Cody Bradford will claim the five spot, but I think Texas signed Sampson to compete for that spot. Sampson has been a starter for the Cubs back in 2021 and 2022. He put solid numbers for the Cubbies. In 2022 he had a 3.11 ERA in 19 starts made. He missed all of 2023 with a knee injury. He is fully healthy now and has more major-league starting experience than Bradford, Owen White, or Jack Leiter. Texas could opt for the more experienced starter and allow White and Leiter to start at Round Rock and be ready in case of an injury or a spot start is needed.

Opening Day Bullpen

Closer- Jose Leclerc

Setup- David Robertson, Josh Sborz

Middle Relief- Kirby Yates, Brock Burke, Jonathan Hernandez, Diego Castillo

Long Relief- Cody Bradford

It is a mixture of new and old. Jose Leclerc will continue in the closers role that he earned at the end of the 2023 season. David Robertson will be used in that role if Leclerc is unavailable and Josh Sborz will pitch in the 7th and 8th innings. Those three are a definite upgrade on what Texas had for a majority of the 2023 season in those roles. Yates will be in a role that Will Smith filled in 2023. He will be sometimes used in the late innings, but also used in the middle innings and swing back and forth based on the situation in the game. I do have Diego Castillo making the roster on Opening Day. He is a solid veteran who struggled in 2023, but does have a history of closing and being able to get ground balls. I think Bochy will call upon him in situations that he used Grant Anderson in 2023. Bradford does not win the 5th starter job, but does win a job in the bullpen. Early in the season he could see plenty of work as Texas will take it easy with their starters. Burke and Hernandez are carryovers from 2023, but will need to have much better seasons to hold on to their jobs.