Rangers focus should be adding true starters, not overusing Josh Smith in 2026

There's a fine line in this conversation and it was evident on how reliant the Texas Rangers got on Josh Smith last year to fill the void of several missing pieces that it eventually devalued what he brought to the table.

Smith is a valuable player with adaptability all across the diamond. In 2025 alone, he played seven defensive positions (outside of pitcher and catcher) and played in over 140 games for the second straight season.

All that might be tough to justify what I am about to tell you that Texas needs to stop relying on him too much but the truth of the matter is, Smith's value was massively lowered because Bruce Bochy decided to overextend the 28-year-old.

Smith's value comes from consistency, not by being stretched thin

When Smith came to Texas via the Joey Gallo trade in 2021, the Rangers weren't really sure what they were going to get from him. Mostly having played shortstop and third base during his LSU and minor league days, his breakout season in 2024 saw him playing a jack-of-all-trades role.

The Silver Slugger season in '24 saw him play six different positions, excluding first base. While that worked for a career best 149 games, .258 average, .733 OPS, 13 homers and 62 RBIs, Texas decided to test their fortune twice this past season and he struggled down the stretch.

After starting the year on a tear, he slowly started to unravel and lose control of what made him valuable. One day they would play him at shortstop, the next at third, the next at first and ending the week as DH or in the outfield.

All of that inconsistency meant being stretched too thin in different directions. His average went from .277 in the first half of the season to .209 post All-Star Break, only hitting two homers and driving in 11 runs. Understandably, Smith's value isn't a power guy so the homer drop isn't that big of a deal a drop of 74 hits to 50 hits.

Looking at overall team performance as well, in the 81 games Texas won, Smith batted nearly .300 with nine homers and 24 RBIs. In the team's 81 losses that average dipped to .207. It proves he is still a valuable team but new manager Skip Schumaker needs to find an effective way to use Smith that will give him consistency and equal playing time so he doesn't have to overthink and just play baseball.

Answer lies in free agency and filling the right missing pieces

Texas doesn't have a lot of position players hitting free agency this winter but they do have clear gaps in production from some of the positions. Most notably the revolving door at first base and the decline in Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim's offense.

Obviously, Smith can't fill the hole of Heim if the catcher was to be traded but he could fill Garcia's spot in right field or the whatever situation is happening at first. The best option though still remains filling those gaps with proven talent rather than relying on a carousel of players that continues to overuse and overwhelm Smith.

A utilty player is useful for positional strength and adaptability but it's not meant to be used as a long-term replacement for injuries and lower production players. That's how Smith was used last season when Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Marcus Semien, Jake Burger and Evan Carter got hurt and when Garcia and others were struggling offensively.

How President of Baseball Operations Chris Young and the rest of the organization can help offset that is by adding true value players. Examples of that could be trading for outfielders Jarren Duran or Nick Castellanos, signing free agent Kyle Schwarber or guaranteeing a young prospect to a certain position (easier said than done).

This will allow Schumaker to strategically and effectively place Smith in one guaranteed position every week or at least have him shuffle only 2-3 different spots on the diamond ranther than 6-7. Doing that will hopefully increase his production by allowing him to worry about less.