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What Does the Texas Rangers Position Player Depth Look Like in 2026?
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- What Does the Texas Rangers Position Player Depth Look Like in 2026?
Outside of the battle for the starting second base position, pretty much all of the Texas Rangers ' lineup spots are virtually filled.
Even though the Rangers' Spring Training slate starts on Friday, it's not hard to envision the nine guys the club will trot into the field on Opening Day.
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First-year manager Skip Schumaker and his staff won't have to make many tricky decisions when it comes to starting roles, but perhaps their biggest challenge lies in filling out the bench.
The Rangers have a plethora of guys who can play multiple positions and are looking to crack the Opening Day roster.
For example, players like Sam Haggerty , Ezequiel Duran , Cody Freeman , Tyler Wade , Michael Helman , and others each bring unique, versatile skillsets to the Rangers.
As camp continues and begins to wind down, it will be upon Schumaker to place those pieces into the puzzle in a way that can help the Rangers win games.
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Much to the delight of the aforementioned players, utility is certainly something that Schumaker is looking for.
"Having versatility does matter," Schumaker said when addressing the possibilities of what his bench could look like when camp breaks.
"I also think handedness matters, depending on the at-bat quality versus who is on the mound, whether it's a righty or lefty," the Rangers' first-year manager said.
"I also think trying to find out what a right-handed lineup and a left-handed lineup looks like if we end up going that route; there are a lot of different scenarios we could go over, and that's what makes it fun," Schumaker said.
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There is no doubt that, just as Schumaker alluded to, there are plenty of ways that the Rangers' bench situation could play out. That, of course, won't be known until camp breaks in late March. For now, we can start to envision what it could look like.
"I do feel like there has to be at least one utility guy, and then everything else kinda shakes out as far as what is our best offensive guy, and then a speed complement potentially late in the game," Schumaker said.
Finding a world where Haggerty is the "utility guy" certainly isn't a difficult challenge. Last season, Haggerty played well for Texas in a role similar to that.
With Josh Smith presumptively moving to second base full-time, Haggerty seems the most likely to take over his role as "super utility man."
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Guys like Duran, Alejandro Osuna , Helman, Wade, and Freeman will have to prove they can swing the bat at a high level this Spring Training to prove they can be of value to what Schumaker is looking for.
"We're also trying to find offense," Schumaker said, referring to his bench. "It's hard to find offense in the league in general because the pitching is so good, so I think there's no perfect player in the big leagues, I mean, there are a couple, but generally you're trying to find what complements the roster".
Overall, it seems that spots on the Rangers' bench are pretty open for grabs, and Schumaker feels that he has a lot of guys who can meet a lot of the team's needs.
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