SURPRISE, Ariz. — 8 a.m. is not early in spring training hours, but for those of us who have spent our entire lives working night hours, it’s still early. So when Danny Duffy walked into the clubhouse Sunday wearing a T-shirt with block letters that didn’t immediately translate to English at first glance, it wasn’t that confusing. I’d only had one cup of coffee — well below my requisite for a functioning brain. But it was enough to pique my interest. A second glance didn’t provide any clarity, so instead of creepily staring until I could make sense of it, I just approached him and asked to see it.
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When he turned around, it immediately made more sense why it hadn’t immediately been legible: It wasn’t English. Or, depending on your interpretation of Blink-182’s singing accent, it was very English:
JONE WASTE YORE
TOY MONME
YOREALL REDIII
THE VOICE INSOIDE
MOYE YEDD
So if you’re wondering what song has been relentlessly attacking my brain for the past 24 hours, now you know. I’m sorry to those of you for whom this will cause a similar condition.
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The first cuts have been made
The team announced Saturday that a few players had been sent over to minor-league camp.
The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has reassigned the following players to minor league camp:
LHP Cody Bradford
INF Blaine Crim
INF Justin Foscue
C Cody Freeman
C David García
LHP Antoine Kelly
RHP Jack Leiter
RHP Daniel Robert
RHP Kumar Rocker
C Matt Whatley— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) March 4, 2023
There aren’t any major surprises — at least none approaching the level of surprise that it had been Mark Mathias who got the short end of the DFA stick when the team signed left-handed reliever Will Smith earlier that morning. There was a temptation — one I succumbed to, in fact — to ponder the significance of the prospects who were not on that list. They fall into four categories:
40-man roster guys: Luisangel Acuña, Dustin Harris, Zak Kent, Jonathan Ornelas, Ricky Vanasco, Owen White, Cole Winn
Big leaguers on minor-league deals: Danny Duffy, Clint Frazier, Elier Hernández, Travis Jankowski, Ian Kennedy, Sandy León, Reyes Moronta, Yoshi Tsutsugo
Guys I’m not sure how to classify, because they have actually played in the big leagues before: Kyle Cody, Elier Hernández, Jake Latz, Joe McCarthy
Prospects who aren’t on the 40-man roster: Evan Carter, Marc Church, Lucas Jacobsen, Chase Lee, Fernery Ozuna
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Don’t read too much into it. Most of these guys will end up in minor-league camp — or in the case of the big leaguers on minor-league deals, perhaps on the free-agent market — at some point in the coming weeks. But for as long as they’re here, they’re here, which leads us to our second topic:
OK we need to talk about Evan Carter
I’ve seen this floated in this very comments section: the idea that maybe the Rangers are considering putting Carter in left field to start the season. After all, he’s been in every non-split-squad game this spring, and is hitting .333 with a .904 OPS (albeit in just nine at-bats).
But it’s one thing for me to say it’s a silly idea to see good spring results from a 20-year-old with six at-bats above the High-A level and decide that’s enough to put him on the Opening Day roster. Maybe we should as manager Bruce Bochy his thoughts on the matter.
The Athletic: “Evan Carter’s not making the Opening Day roster, right?”
Bochy: “I don’t want to be quite that strong. He’s here, and I can tell you, and I can tell you, I bet his thoughts are, ‘Hey, I’m gonna do everything I can to make this club.’ So I’ll just say, sure, he’s a long shot, but he’s here, and we’re staying open-minded on what we end up doing. We talked about it the other day, it’s going to be important that we find him playing time here — to continue his development, but also just keeping him around. Because he’s knocking on the door, to be honest. Just look at what he’s doing. You are talking about a 20-year-old kid (though, so) what’s more important right now? Continue his development, or not playing every day here?”
That’s a very diplomatic answer. Yes, for as long as Carter is in camp, there’s no reason for Bochy to preemptively say that he’s not making the team. But the last sentence should be informative. He’s 20, and he’s having a very impressive camp. But they’re not going to put their top prospect in a position where he isn’t playing every day.
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While we’re at it, let’s talk about Bubba Thompson
Unlike Carter, Thompson does have a chance to make the roster, though the team’s usage of Robbie Grossman this spring should give a good indication that the job is his to lose — whether that’s full-time or in a platoon. So the question becomes one of priorities: Does the team think it makes more sense long-term to allow Thompson to continue developing in Triple A? Or does his exceptional speed — his 30.4 ft/second sprint speed ties him for second-fastest in the sport — mean the Rangers should take any little edge they can as they attempt to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, even if that’s at the cost of a player’s personal development?
“It’s different from player to player, but first of all you have to look at the needs of the major-league club; that’s where it starts,” Bochy said Sunday. “If you have somebody that’s close, or comparable to the player you’re talking about, you may want (them) to get those reps down in Triple A, it’s a little easier decision. But if you have a need for a spot, that can force your hand a little bit … especially if you look at a team that wants to contend.”
So is a fourth outfielder and a speed demon one of the needs of the 2023 Texas Rangers?
“I think you have to look at that weapon, as far as a need on this club, sure,” Bochy said. “We have Jankowski, a similar-type guy, but they’re different. You have left/right (-handed hitting). That’s always nice to have, especially when you have a tendency to play a lot of one-run games. But these are things that are being talked about and discussed. A bat, or speed, or defense. All these things are variables that come into play when you’re picking your team.”
So does Bubba make the team? I have no idea, but it’s going to be one of the biggest questions for the rest of camp.
Yoshi Tsutsugo is finally in Surprise
The first baseman and outfielder confirmed Sunday, his first day in camp, that his arrival had been delayed due to visa issues. It was a tough break for Tsutsugo, who was a long shot to make the team even before the delayed arrival. Speaking through an interpreter, he said he had been training every day in Japan, hitting in the batting cages off a machine, but he hadn’t faced live pitching just yet.
Tsutsugo also provided the quote of the spring so far. Asked about his 2022 season, when he hit .171/.249/.229 (.478 OPS) in 50 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Yoshi turned to his interpreter with a slight grimace and gave a short answer.
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The translation: “It was … not good. It was not good.”
Weird spring training moment of the week
The story of Zack Greinke shaking his own pitches off while using Pitcher Pitchcom as told by @SophiaMinnaert pic.twitter.com/CyGCsKJIeB
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 4, 2023
Song of the week: “I Miss You” by Blink-182
What else was it going to be? Did you even read the intro?
Here’s the link to all the Weaver Wire songs we’ve ever suggested here.
Since last we spoke:
- The Rangers signed Will Smith and designated Mark Mathias for assignment — why?
- There’s been a lot of “tightness” in Rangers’ camp (and since this story was published, Leody Taveras was scratched from Sunday’s game with — you guessed it — “left side tightness”).
- This story on Taylor Hearn and his family’s rodeo legacy took about a month to get right. There’s a lot of history in there, and I think it’s a story worth your time.
- Cole Ragan’s fastball averaged 92.1 mph last year. It is, uh, significantly faster than that now.
- Zach Buchanan did a deep dive on the Rangers’ No. 1 prospect, Evan Carter.
- We took a look at Fantasy Baseball sleepers around the league.
(Top photo of Evan Carter: Ben Ludeman / Texas Rangers / Getty Images)