Rangers utility man Ezequiel Duran is making unique AL MVP case (but he won't win)

The Texas Rangers' playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread as the team split the four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. Sitting two games out from both the AL West and AL Wild Card races, the Rangers are running out of time to close the gap.

One guy who pretty much played with his hair on fire the entire series was Ezequiel Duran. Duran went 5-for-16 against the Rays, with a homer, a stolen base, and various web gems while playing three different positions: center field, second base, and third base. Even Rays fans were taking note of his defensive abilities.

The Solution has been a lifesaver for Texas all year long. If he doesn't become the first player to take home both the utility Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, it will be a travesty. But Duran should be considered for something even greater.

The AL MVP race seems to be a two-man contest between Yordan Alvarez and Bobby Witt Jr., with players like Junior Caminero, Willson Contreras, and Ben Rice on the periphery. With the exception of Witt Jr., those players are all sluggers.

But when it comes to fWAR, Duran is firmly in the conversation. With 5.1 fWAR, the Rangers' utility man trails only Witt Jr. and Alvarez in the American League. In fact, there are some similarities between his offensive performance and that of the league leader, Witt Jr.

Both players have hit 17 homers on the season, and their overall offensive production is nearly identical. Witt Jr. owns a 125 wRC+, while Duran checks in at 124. Witt Jr. holds the edge in stolen bases, 38 to 11, but a large part of his value comes down to the fact the plays shortstop every day.

Meanwhile, Alvarez is far superior offensively. He's slashing .314/.432/.599 with 38 homers. His power output has slowed a bit recently, but he still has an outside shot at winning the Triple Crown. The 27-year-old Rangers star can't match that firepower, but he has a different kind of edge on Alvarez.

While Duran plays every position on the field, Alvarez basically plays none. The Astros star has logged just 23 games in left field this season, recording -3 outs above average and -5 defensive runs saved in just 177 innings. Meanwhile, The Solution has played every position except pitcher and catcher, logging at least 10 games at every one except for first base. He's also Texas's emergency catcher and has pitched in blowouts before. It isn't likely, but it is conceivable that he could check off all nine positions on the field before the year is out.

If the MVP Award is truly about 'value' Rangers star Ezequiel Duran has a compelling candidacy

One of the frustrating things about the MVP award is that value isn't truly defined. Technically, pitchers can win the award, but since they have their own, position-specific award in the Cy Young, the MVP has become almost exclusively a position player award. It's also one that primarily rewards offensive performance.

But if we're talking about actual value, Duran has a unique case to make. He's hit well above average this season, even if his overall line pales in comparison to Alvarez's dominance. He's also able to break out Gold Glove caliber defense everywhere on the field.

Duran has posted positive OAA marks at four different positions this season, despite not racking up more than 384 innings at any single one of them. That high-water mark has come at shortstop, where he spent ample time filling in for Corey Seager during his many IL stints, and he's posted a whopping 11 OAA at the position. For comparison, Witt Jr. leads all qualified shortstops with 23 OAA over 1053 innings. If you extrapolate Duran's performance over the same innings total, he'd check in at 30 OAA, essentially erasing the gap in fWAR between the pair.

It's that multi-positional ability that isn't easy to quantify but makes Duran such a valuable piece. Most teams would be up a creek without a player of Seager's caliber at such an important position, but with Duran manning the position, the Rangers were still playing up to their maximum capabilities.

Now, you have some folks who would like him to take over in center field full-time, displacing a pretty darn good defensive center fielder (we won't talk about the bat), Evan Carter. Or, there's a case to be made that he should be the everyday third baseman, too.

Of course, sticking to one position would take away some of his value. His fWAR might increase, depending on the value of the position that he hypothetically sticks at, but he's actually more valuable thanks to his versatility.

Unfortunately, there are two problems with his candidacy for the AL MVP. First is that he's gotten so little national recognition, making it hard for the voters to acknowledge his case. Second, what he brings to the table isn't as easily quantifiable as metrics like home runs, OPS, and WAR. With that said, he's put together a campaign that should be worthy of serious consideration, even though he'll likely be an afterthought.

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