With Evan Carter's imminent return the Rangers face an intriguing roster crunch

The Texas Rangers have the worst offense in baseball. Knowing that, it seems odd to think about the team having a “roster crunch” when someone like Evan Carter is due to come off the IL. Usually, finding out who and how to get off the roster is easy. That it’s not is part of the problem for Chris Young and Bruce Bochy.

Carter is feeling much better and is due to start a rehab assignment for his quad issue this weekend. That will almost certainly mean he’ll be ready to come back to the Rangers on Monday. One of the options would be to keep him in Round Rock (it’s not like he was lighting the world on fire before he got hurt.) But that seems unlikely, considering the team is doing everything it can to find a solution to its offensive struggles.

Evan Carter’s return could force the Texas Rangers into a tough call they don't want to make

So who goes when Carter comes back to the Texas Rangers? Alejandro Osuna has been a sparkplug since coming up this week, posting a slashline of .300/.462/.300/.762 in his cup of coffee so far. It seems unlikely they’ll ship him back to Triple-A, unless he goes ice cold for a longer period than it would take this weekend.

That likely means Tucker Barnhart is heading out the door. He’s the third catcher on the team and is getting very little playing time these days. The problem there is he will need to be DFA’d as he’s long out of options. The Rangers might not love that option, though they’ll almost certainly go in that direction. 

Once the Rangers decide how to make room on the 26-man roster for Carter, the roster crunch still isn’t solved because then it becomes about playing time. With Corey Seager returning from his own injury on Wednesday, the Rangers have five infielders for four spots. For the next few days, at least, they can rotate infielders through the DH spot. But, if Carter returns next week, they’ll also have four outfielders for three spots, with Osuna seeming like someone who needs as much playing time as possible.

There’s also no shortage of players who seem like they could be taken out of the lineup. Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia are just two. Of course, if Carter take’s Garcia’s spot in the lineup, it means the defense is downgraded, and that’s not something anyone can get excited about when one run can be the difference between winning and losing.

The Texas Rangers will be happy to have Evan Carter back, assuming he does come back next week. It’s a safe bet Young and Bochy aren’t relishing the decisions they’ll have to make.