Texas Rangers announce Opening Day Roster

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Spring Training started about six weeks ago with a few roster battles. Left field, bullpen, and the bench were question marks as camp began. Robbie Grossman signed right before the full squad workouts started and took hold of one of the outfield spots with his performance. The bullpen and the bench were unanswered until the Opening Day roster was announced earlier today. We will go over the entire 26-man roster.

The Infield

C: Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver

1B: Nathaniel Lowe

2B: Marcus Semien

SS: Corey Seager

3B: Josh Jung

No surprises here. Seager and Semien are the highly paid duo that will occupy the middle of the infield for the foreseeable future. Josh Jung stayed healthy throughout spring training and will start at 3b in his first full major league season. The reigning Silver Slugger at first Nathaniel Lowe will be back at first base. Rounding out the infield will be Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver. Heim will be the primary catcher and Mitch Garver will be the backup catcher and see some time as a designated hitter as well. This is the group that the Rangers started camp with as starters and it is the same group that will be starting on Opening Day.

Outfield

LF: Josh Smith/Ezequiel Duran

CF: Adolis Garcia

RF: Robbie Grossman

This is not the same group they started camp with. Leody Taveras will start the season on the 10-day injured list. For now Garcia will likely see the majority of at-bats in center. Robbie Grossman shifts from left to right. Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran will likely platoon in left field. Taveras will hopefully be back in the first couple of weeks. When he does he will take over in center, with Grossman shifting back to left, and Garcia taking back over in right field.

Smith and Duran both earned spots with their play in Cactus League action. Duran's play was just dynamite. He had 20 hits in 26 spring training games and 12 of the 20 hits went for extra bases. The ability of Smith and Duran to stay in Arlington will come down to how they play in the opportunities they are given.

Starting Rotation

1. Jacob deGrom

2. Nathan Eovaldi

3. Martin Perez

4. Jon Gray

5. Andrew Heaney

This could end up being the best Texas Rangers rotation in the team's history. That doesn't really say much considering the Rangers history with pitching. It has the chance to not only be the Rangers best rotation, but also one of the best overall rotations in all of baseball. The health of the pitching staff will determine how far this team can go in 2023.

If their performances in spring training are an indicator of how good they could be then we are in for a special season. deGrom, Eovaldi, and Gray combined for 39.2 innings pitched this Spring and allowed only six runs. In a competitive AL West the Rangers might have the edge in rotation depth and an ability to strike guys out.

Bullpen

Jose Leclerc

Jonathan Hernandez

Will Smith

Brock Burke

Taylor Hearn

Cole Ragans

Dane Dunning

Ian Kennedy

This is the position group that had the most competition for spots. Injuries to Jake Odorizzi, Glenn Otto, and Josh Sborz opened up additional spots not thought to be open. Joe Barlow also being sent down to Round Rock because of decreased velocity made it anyone's guess who would end up in the bullpen. Odorizzi and Otto were both placed on the 60-day IL opening up two spots on the 40-man roster. Ian Kennedy claimed one of those spots. He is looking to recapture the form he had back in 2021 when he was traded to the Phillies prior to the trade deadline.

Cole Ragans and Dane Dunning were both expected to land in Round Rock as depth options for the starting rotation. Ragans came to spring training with much higher velocity than was expected and pitched very well throughout camp. Dunning earned his spot by pitching under control, being efficient, and being able to pitch deep into games. Both players will serve in the long-man role until deGrom and Eovaldi are fully stretched out. Roles have not been defined as of now. We will likely find out more about that as the season gets started and we see how Bochy goes about managing his bullpen.

Bench

Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran- Left Field/utility infielder

Brad Miller- 1b/DH

Bubba Thompson, Travis Jankowski- Outfielders

Placing both Odorizzi and Otto on the 60-day IL opened up two spots on the 40-man roster. The second spot went to Travis Jankowski. Until Taveras returns Jankowski and Bubba Thompson will likely share that fourth outfielder role, play some center field, and be called upon in late game situations as either a pinch runner or defensive replacement.

Bochy emphasized throughout spring training that he wanted to break camp with the best 26 players. Placing both Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran on the roster accomplishes that. Previous Rangers seasons would have likely seen one or both of them start the season at Round Rock to continue developing. The team is focused on winning in 2023 and that starts with the makeup of the Opening Day roster.

If the starting rotation can stay healthy, the bullpen can be solid when called upon, and the lineup can produce from the top of the lineup to the bottom the Rangers will be a contender this season. The bar to make the playoffs has been lowered. The Phillies and Padres both proved last season that if the Rangers can get into the tournament they will have as good of a shot at making the World Series as the best teams in the league.

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The Infield

Outfield

Bench

Schedule