3 up, 3 down, and 3 things to watch for in Week 3 for Rangers Spring Training

3 Down

4. Josh Sborz

Josh Sborz has been in the Rangers organization since February 2021 when he was traded over from the Los Angeles Dodgers. I went in-depth on the dilemma the Rangers face with Sborz in my roster projection article. He is competing for the last spot in the bullpen and so far hasn't been great. He has struggled with his control and has been prone to giving up big hits. In his last two appearances, he has given up a combined seven earned runs. His last appearance was last Friday against the Oakland A's. He came in with the score 8-1 in the 8th inning. It is a situation that if he makes the team he will likely be called upon in the regular season. He could not get through the inning. He gave up four runs and Chase Lee was brought in to finish the inning. It was 8-5 when the Rangers went to the 9th.

5. Reyes Moronta

Veteran Reyes Moronta was brought in to start the 9th. He also is competing for that last spot with Sborz, Ian Kennedy, and a handful of other relievers. He started the 9th inning on Friday against the A's. The score was 11-5 as the Rangers had scored three runs in the top of the 9th. Moronta proceeded to give up three hits, one walk, one hit-by-pitch, and had a wild pitch as well. He threw to five hitters retiring none and was taken out with runners on 2nd and 3rd and the score 11-8.

6. Jake Latz

Latz was then brought in to try and clean up the mess left by Moronta. He then walked his first batter to load up the bases and then gave up a walk-off grand slam to Kevin Smith. It was a stunning show of ineptitude by all three pitchers that led to this loss. Latz then followed up his performance on Friday with a start on Monday against Arizona. He went 0.2 of an inning and gave up four runs on five hits before being taken out. Latz is one of the only players to pitch in a major league regular season game, yet never be on the 40-man roster. He made his debut in 2021 under the pandemic rules that allowed for teams to bring up players without rostering them if they had players out due to covid illnesses. He will likely be demoted at some point in the coming days. He is not making a case to be brought up at any point in 2023.