Rangers heart fielder Leody Taveras is coping with a “low-grade” indirect pressure, basic supervisor Chris Younger tells Rangers beat writers (Twitter hyperlink through Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). He’ll be out for at the very least seven to 10 days. It’s nonetheless potential Taveras will likely be prepared for Opening Day, however that’ll clearly depend upon how he mends.
Taveras, 24, rated as certainly one of baseball’s high 50 or so prospects prior to creating his 2020 debut, due largely to his velocity and potential for standout glovework in heart discipline. He managed solely a .188/.249/.321 slash in 319 plate appearances from 2020-21 however broke out with a career-best .261/.309/.366 displaying in 341 plate appearances in the course of the 2022 season. That also checked in about seven p.c worse than a mean MLB hitter, by measure of wRC+, however given his general defensive aptitude, that was strong sufficient to land him the seemingly on a regular basis heart discipline job in 2023.
Relationship again to that 2020 MLB debut, Taveras in simply over a full season’s price of video games (180) and turned in a glowing 10 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Common. He’s additionally gone 29-for-35 on the basepaths, swiping luggage with a hefty 82.9% success fee. That spectacular complete comes regardless of Taveras sporting only a .280 profession OBP in the intervening time. Between his velocity, the marginally bigger bases and new guidelines limiting pitchers throwing over to bases, Taveras has the potential to be a pressure within the stolen-base division if he may even replicate final 12 months’s modest enhancements in on-base proportion. To his credit score, he slashed his strikeout fee from 32.2% all the way down to 25.8%, so among the enchancment on the dish seems sustainable.
All that may depend upon his well being, after all. Even Grade 1 indirect strains can shelve gamers for round a month of motion, however each harm occasion is totally different. If Taveras’ present indirect challenge is certainly minor sufficient {that a} 10-day down interval will get him again into recreation form, being prepared on March 30 doesn’t appear out of the query.
If, nevertheless, it’s decided in seven to 10 days’ time that Taveras nonetheless wants some down time, a season-opening IL stint turns into likelier. In that state of affairs, the Rangers may both transfer Adolis Garcia from proper discipline again to heart discipline, or they might preserve Garcia in proper and go together with light-hitting speedster Bubba Thompson in heart. Robbie Grossman has the within monitor on left discipline work for Texas in 2023, however he’s not going to issue into any contingency plans in heart, the place he’s performed all of 11 innings over the previous seven seasons.
The Rangers have a deep however typically unproven assortment of outfielders vying for a spot on the bench. Former high infield prospect Josh Smith has seen growing time within the outfield and will conceivably work in some form of platoon association with Grossman in left discipline. 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 final season. Utilityman Brad Miller has loads of expertise within the outfield corners, too, and slugger Dustin Harris is already on the 40-man roster as effectively.
