Texas Rangers’ Chris Young addresses thoughts on team’s position group

Contributor
Seth Dowdle
Texas Rangers’ Chris Young addresses thoughts on team’s position group image

The Texas Rangers won the World Series two seasons ago, yet have put up two fairly miserable campaigns since. With that, this winter was earmarked as crucial for the club’s success moving forward, as it would be important for this two-year slide not to parlay into season after season of mediocrity. How have the Rangers done so far? According to Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young, things are going according to plan – at least for the position players.

“I think from a position player standpoint, we feel pretty good,” Young said late last week.

One glance at the roster reveals the truth in Young’s statement. After the departures of Marcus Semien, Adolis García, and Jonah Heim, the Rangers’ core now squarely sits around shortstop Corey Seager. Pair him alongside a rising star in Wyatt Langford, and Texas believes it has a one-two punch that will compete with the best in the American League.

Questions still remain surrounding the Rangers’ offense

But where there are answers, there are also questions. How will Brandon Nimmo, who was acquired from the New York Mets in the Semien trade, translate to Arlington? Will Jake Burger, who had a lackluster first season in a Rangers uniform, bounce back? How about the catching situation: can Kyle Higashioka and Danny Jansen provide the offensive spark the team has desperately missed from that position over the past two seasons? Will Josh Jung and Evan Carter remain healthy enough to contribute at a high level? Can Josh Smith consistently put up quality at-bats for 162 games at second base?

So, while Young might be confident – as he has every right to be, given that he brought the Rangers their first-ever World Series – there are still a myriad of questions that won’t be answered until Opening Day on March 26. If Young is correct and this group is good enough to compete, the Rangers may very well have a quality season once more. If he’s wrong, though, Texas will fail to make the playoffs for the third straight season.

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