Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras is dealing with a “low-grade” oblique strain, general manager Chris Young tells Rangers beat writers (Twitter link via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). He’ll be out for at least seven to ten days. It’s still possible Taveras will be ready for Opening Day, but that’ll obviously depend on how he mends.
Taveras, 24, rated as one of baseball’s top 50 or so prospects prior to making his 2020 debut, due largely to his speed and potential for standout glovework in center field. He managed only a .188/.249/.321 slash in 319 plate appearances from 2020-21 but broke out with a career-best .261/.309/.366 showing in 341 plate appearances during the 2022 season. That still checked in about seven percent worse than an average MLB hitter, by measure of wRC+, but given his overall defensive aptitude, that was solid enough to land him the likely everyday center field job in 2023.
Dating back to that 2020 MLB debut, Taveras in just over a full season’s worth of games (180) and turned in a sparkling 10 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average. He’s also gone 29-for-35 on the basepaths, swiping bags with a hefty 82.9% success rate. That impressive total comes despite Taveras sporting just a .280 career OBP at the moment. Between his speed, the slightly larger bases and new rules limiting pitchers throwing over to bases, Taveras has the potential to be a force in the stolen-base department if he can even replicate last year’s modest improvements in on-base percentage. To his credit, he slashed his strikeout rate from 32.2% down to 25.8%, so some of the improvement at the dish appears sustainable.
All that will depend on his health, of course. Even Grade 1 oblique strains can shelve players for around a month of action, but every injury instance is different. If Taveras’ current oblique issue is indeed minor enough that a 10-day down period will get him back into game shape, being ready on March 30 doesn’t seem out of the question.
If, however, it’s determined in seven to ten days’ time that Taveras still needs some down time, a season-opening IL stint becomes likelier. In that scenario, the Rangers could either move Adolis Garcia from right field back to center field, or they could keep Garcia in right and go with light-hitting speedster Bubba Thompson in center. Robbie Grossman has the inside track on left field work for Texas in 2023, but he’s not going to factor into any contingency plans in center, where he’s played all of 11 innings over the past seven seasons.
The Rangers have a deep but generally unproven collection of outfielders vying for a spot on the bench. Former top infield prospect Josh Smith has seen increasing time in the outfield and could conceivably work in some sort of platoon arrangement with Grossman in left field. Veterans Travis Jankowski and Clint Frazier are in camp as non-roster invitees, as is 28-year-old Elier Hernandez, who made his MLB debut with Texas last season. Utilityman Brad Miller has plenty of experience in the outfield corners, too, and slugger Dustin Harris is already on the 40-man roster as well.
Profar/Texas reunion?
Profar would be a relatively inexpensive addition, but Texas might only want a one year deal, something I’m not sure Profar is looking for.
Why? We’ve got enough depth that can probably equal anything profar can contribute. And we’re talking 7-30 days, with 3 weeks of spring training left, not 3-6months of season. I’d give any of Grossman, Frazier, smith, thompson, Duran, or even carter a shot before I’d give profar a major league contract
Paul Simon says, “A Profar and Ranger reunion…is only ten million away.”
$10M is a lot of money for a depth piece on a middle market team that has spent $800m past 2 seasons and I’d iuncharted territory, payroll wise. I believe they can but I wanna see them prove they can sustain such a payroll longterm, and not run team into ground and bankruptcy, like Tom hicks when he decided to spend like a big market team
Boo! Boo! I’d rather see a single A guy get called up than see a former failed consensus number 1 prospect.
Did not realize how badly Rangers fans feel about Profar. He has gotten better over the past few seasons with San Diego, but I can completely understand not having anything to do with a player.
I don’t dislike profar. I’d still love to see him be a late bloomer and make good. I just don’t think he’s a good fit for the contract he probably wants, and with the pieces we already have in place. I’d just rather see one of the 24yo kids that needs a cup of coffee in majors, and makes 600k, get a shot over giving a 30yo with shaky past a $10m contract
NO!
id like to keep frazier, but i don’t think they’re booting someone from the 40 to have a replacement for a couple weeks when we have an abundance of options (not good ones, but options nonetheless)
I feel like jankowski is as good as taveras. defensively and offensively. he’s not as young but he is as good
probably a wash on defense true. But if Leody’s breakout is believable on offense, then that is more than Jankowski can do, or has ever done.
Will the Oblique injury now become the trendy injury in baseball? Seems like each club has a guy or two with it.
Yes! Maybe they will get a real outfielder via trade. Good riddance! I hated that fool anyways.
Mark mathias will fill in…oh wait, the rangers took him off the 40 less than a week ago
I still dont understand that move. Even the rangers mlb writer had him penciled in as the starting dh/of to start the year. But he was one of the first cuts to make room for Will smith?
Yea, dunno why it wasn’t sborz
Or King
No comma needed after “too.”
With only a 7-10 day window, Rangers won’t pay Profar 10M and they shouldn’t. Thompson or Janikowski could play CF in the interim, or Garcia slides over for a couple of weeks and Frazier makes the opening-day roster. Frazier is having a pretty decent spring thus far. If the injury is more serious and Taveras is out of action for months instead of a week or two, Rangers will likely be calling Baltimore for Santander, Detroit for Meadows, or Minn for Kepler, with Garcia sliding to CF..
On a different Ranger note, what do you other fans think of Jacobsen? He seems to be a real find. Sborz and King can both be moved off 40 man for Frazier, Janikowski or any other addition not on 40 currently.
Jacobsen has looked good, but he’s 27 going on 28 with only 73 professional innings pitched. I would like him to get more AAA seasoning first.
Profar might have burned his bridges after his tantrum in the minor leagues about not getting traded at the trading deadline.
Wasn’t that Willy Calhoun last year? I could be mistaken since I didn’t really know much about Profar until he got to San Diego.
It was Profar. While in the minors right before the trading deadline he predicted he would be traded to be the starting shortstop for a different team. When he wasn’t traded I guess he had a meltdown. His similarity to Calhoun is that they were both prima donnas.
Ah didn’t know that story about Profar. Well, I bet he wishes he was signed by the Rangers right about now.
Not sure Frazier ever fully recovered from a couple separate concussions. I thought maybe he’d break out last year if given a chance by the Cubs, but they banished him to AAA and he didn’t do much there.
True or False: Oblique strains are largely due to the inadequate physical condition of the player wherein his overall condition is not adequate enough to meet the physical demands required of a high-end athlete.