DALLAS — With the Texas Rangers getting the chance to move on in the postseason to play the Baltimore Orioles in the best-of-five American League Division Series, they also get the chance to reset and construct their roster again as they search for extra advantages to take down a team that won 101 games and the toughest division in baseball.
There are two potential wild cards (pun intended) that would change the 26-man roster that Bruce Bochy and company takes with them to Baltimore.
Here is how the Rangers constructed their roster for the Wild Card series sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays:
Hitters/Position Players
Infielders: Nathaniel Lowe, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Josh Smith
Outfielders: Evan Carter, Adolis Gacia, Robbie Grossman, Leody Taveras, Travis Jankowski
Catchers: Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver, Austin Hedges
Pitchers
Starters: Jordan Montgomery, Nathan Eovaldi, Dane Dunning
Relievers: Andrew Heaney, Martin Perez, Grant Anderson, Brock Burke, Matt Bush, Josh Sborz, Will Smith, Chris Stratton, Aroldis Chapman, Jose Leclerc
Texas very well could keep this roster as it is as they head to Baltimore. After all, it’s a look that produced a clean sweep of Tampa Bay in two games by a combined score of 11-1. Certainly the position player side appears to be set.
Carrying three catchers is still the smart move, as it allows Mitch Garver to DH or be used more aggressively as a pinch hitter. One possible move that would make some sense is elevating Ezequiel Duran back on the active roster as a potential late-game thumper, but as long as Josh Jung and Corey Seager are still feeling healthy and ready to go, backups Josh Smith and Travis Jankowski currently offer more as defensive and pinch running replacements
The shuffling may happen among the pitching staff, however.
Over the course of the two-game sweep of the Rays, Texas used just five of its 13 pitchers. Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi each efficiently and ruthlessly pitched into the 7th inning. From that point on, only Aroldis Chapman, Josh Sborz and Jose Leclerc were needed from the woebegone bullpen.
That’s how you’d draw it up for this club to have the most success possible this October. But it likely won’t always work out that cleanly. Certainly that isn’t going to be the case all the time, and now, in a best-of-five, Texas could really use another starting pitcher or two that can give them a decent number of innings.
Incidentally, on Wednesday, Max Scherzer threw a bullpen session before the team won the Wild Card series in Tampa Bay. In talking to the media, Scherzer noted it was more of a “real” bullpen session than the one he threw a week prior. This time, Scherzer was reported as throwing at 90% and, more importantly, throwing pain-free.
The Rangers acquired Scherzer at the trade deadline with the hopes that he’d be taking the ball for Game 1 of every postseason series, but he landed on the injured list following a start that he exited on September 12 with what was diagnosed, at the time, as triceps tightness. It was later revealed to be a teres major muscle strain which shut him down for the remainder of the regular season.
Now, the righty is scheduled to throw to live hitters on Friday with the team in Baltimore in advance of the ALDS. What that means is, with Dane Dunning penciled in as the Game 1 starter and with Jordan Montgomery likely set for Game 2, Scherzer could start the first ever postseason game to feature the Rangers back in Arlington at Globe Life Field.
That is, of course, if Scherzer can show that he’s healthy enough to be on the roster and can be built up enough to make a start. It’s a lot of ifs that still seem unlikely – and perhaps would become more of an option if the Rangers continue to advance. But Scherzer is working hard to get back and if he and the trainers feel he is healthy enough to pitch, they won’t be able to keep him away.
If Scherzer still needs more time, the Rangers will have to figure out who will be their fourth starter, if necessary. Down the stretch, Texas was able to duct tape the rotation together by slotting Andrew Heaney back in, which could become the Game 4 option. Heaney started the game in Seattle that clinched Texas’ postseason berth as he went 4 ⅓ innings, giving up five hits but no runs.
The Rangers could also bring Jon Gray back, who is on the injured list with forearm tightness, but he’s not eligible to come back until October 13th, which would be a decisive Game 5; even then, Gray could only be added to the roster if another pitcher goes down with an injury. Right now, Scherzer probably has a better shot at an ALDS roster spot than Gray.
As for who Texas decides to leave off of the ALDS roster if Scherzer is added, it could be Grant Anderson or Matt Bush. Both relievers were thrown onto the roster somewhat surprisingly after neither had appeared at the big league level in over a month. The Orioles hit right-handed and left-handed pitching equally well, so splits aren’t necessarily something to be worried about which might make Anderson’s spot the most tenuous as he’s a specialist to face right-handed hitters.
After Scherzer’s session on Friday, the Rangers will have a better idea of how the roster shakes out. If all goes well, one reliever could be shuttled out of Baltimore with the righty ace with a 27-game, 3.58 ERA, and World Series champion playoff resume added to what would feel like an even more imposing ALDS roster for the suddenly dangerous Texas Rangers.
Do you think Max Scherzer should hurry back for the ALDS? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
