The Rangers’ Wide Open Infield Mix

The Rangers entered the offseason in need of a lineup reboot. They’ve had below-average offenses in consecutive years and haven’t strung together competitive at-bats consistently. They’ve been 20th and 26th, respectively, in on-base percentage over the last two seasons. Their walk rate dropped from 14th to 23rd. Their hitters were among the most aggressive in MLB, both on pitches within and outside the strike zone.

While that needed to be addressed, the front office is seemingly operating within a tight budget. They have five contracts on the books that pay at least $18.5MM annually. They’re now two years removed from their World Series run, and ownership began scaling back spending during the 2023-24 offseason in the wake of the collapse of their local broadcast agreement. Offseason reporting has cast doubt on their chances of meeting the asking price for even mid-tier free agent hitters J.T. Realmuto and Luis Arraez.

Texas has made a pair of significant changes on the offensive side, though they’ve each come with a notable corresponding subtraction. They swapped Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo, taking on more money overall but clearing a little payroll room in the short term. Nimmo provides the patient approach they’re seeking and allowed them to move on from Adolis García in right field. The other change has come behind the plate, where they non-tendered Jonah Heim after a second straight poor season. He has been replaced by Danny Jansen on a two-year free agent deal.

Catcher and the outfield mix are probably set. Jansen joins Kyle Higashioka as a veteran pairing behind the dish. Nimmo slots alongside Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter on the grass. However, they haven’t acquired anyone to replace Semien at second base. It seems they’re planning to do that internally. That’d be a tall ask for an infield group that was a weakness even with Semien.

The Rangers were in the bottom half of MLB in offense from each non-shortstop infield position. Semien’s strong defensive grades kept them above average at second base overall despite his declining production at the dish. The corners were the biggest issue. They had a combined .248/.298/.393 batting line from their first and third basemen.

Most of the positives came from utilityman Josh Smith, who had a .283/.369/.439 showing in his 227 plate appearances at those positions. If the Rangers don’t replace Semien externally, Smith is ticketed for regular playing time at second base. The other nine players who logged any corner infield reps last year combined to hit .241/.283/.384 in nearly 1100 trips.

Three players from that group — Rowdy Tellez, Dylan Moore and Blaine Crim — are no longer on the roster. Former first-round pick Justin Foscue is coming off back-to-back league average seasons in Triple-A and turns 27 before Opening Day. He’s probably on the roster bubble. Ezequiel Duran should be as well, as he’s a .237/.278/.309 hitter over the last two seasons. Joc Pederson made two starts at first base but was otherwise a full-time designated hitter, and he was a major disappointment in the first season of a two-year free agent deal.

As it stands, that leaves three players battling for the remaining two infield spots: Jake Burger, Josh Jung and Cody Freeman. Freeman, who turns 25 today, is coming off a fantastic Triple-A season but hit .228/.258/.342 in 36 MLB games. He’s a gifted contact hitter but doesn’t walk often and has questionable power upside. Freeman did slug a personal-best 19 homers at Triple-A Round Rock last year, but the Pacific Coast League inflates most hitters’ power numbers. He ranked near the bottom of the league in hard contact rate in his brief MLB look.

If Freeman settled in as an everyday third or second baseman, that’d allow Skip Schumaker to move Smith around the infield in a utility role. Freeman feels more like a utility type himself, though. Burger and Jung project as the primary corner infield tandem despite speculation that Texas could move on from one or both players.

The Rangers acquired Burger from the Marlins last offseason. He went on the injured list three times and had a brief stint in Triple-A when he slumped early in the year. Burger concluded his first season in Arlington with a replacement level performance. He hit .236/.269/.419 over 376 plate appearances and offered limited baserunning and defensive value. Burger underwent postseason surgery to address a tendon sheath tear in his left wrist. The hope is that his power was limited by playing through the issue and he can get back to being a 30-homer threat. Burger has never posted an OBP above .310 in a season (excluding a rookie year in which he played in 15 games), so he’s not going to get on base much even if the power returns.

Jung is a similarly aggressive hitter. The Rangers clearly grew frustrated with his approach. They optioned him after he’d hit .158 with a .208 on-base mark in June. He came back on a hot streak a few weeks later, but that was driven by a huge average on balls in play that masked a continuing rough strikeout/walk profile. Jung’s numbers crashed again in September. He finished the season with a .251/.294/.390 slash and seemed like a change-of-scenery candidate coming into the winter. There haven’t been any reports about the Rangers shopping Jung. It seems they’re leaning towards giving him a rebound opportunity, which could be driven by their lack of alternatives.

Maybe that’ll change once Spring Training approaches and free agent prices fall. Alex Bregman or Eugenio Suárez are probably out of their range no matter the timing. If Arraez lingers unsigned into February, could he come into play on a one-year deal? Rhys Hoskins or Yoán Moncada will sign affordable one-year contracts and would at least provide insurance at first or third base, respectively. Ryan Mountcastle should be traded now that the Orioles signed Pete Alonso. Would the Rangers be willing to meet a near-$8MM arbitration projection, or is Mountcastle too similar to Burger? Maybe Bregman signs with a team that has a semi-established third baseman who comes available as a trade chip.

Otherwise, the Rangers would be reliant on a handful of rebound hopefuls and a thin farm system. Top infield prospect Sebastian Walcott could be the answer by the end of the season. He has no Triple-A experience and doesn’t turn 20 until March, so he’s unlikely to break camp. First baseman Abimelec Ortiz hit his way onto the 40-man roster with a .257/.356/.479 showing between the top two minor league levels. Most prospect evaluators feel he projects as a bench bat/Quad-A type, but the opportunity is there if he can outperform that. Texas will need someone unexpected to step up to get enough production on the dirt.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images