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Departure of Shin-Soo Choo leaves Rangers avenues to potentially fix major issues in left field

It’s time to find out what the organization really has in Willie Calhoun and Nick Solak.

As the Rangers head into the heart of the winter, general manager Jon Daniels is focused on a full-scale rebuilding program that is going to put more emphasis on development of internal solutions.

The Rangers are a team with more issues than answers at present, and with payroll expected to be in the $100 million range after a season with no fans, they are not likely to be major players for high-profile free agents or for serious trade pieces.

Today, we’ll look at the roster position by position and take a look at what happened, what needs to happen and what might be realistic for 2021:

Left field

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Who’s there: Nick Solak (Pre-arbitration); Willie Calhoun (Pre-arbitration); Eli White (Pre-arbitration); Scott Heineman (Pre-arbitration)

What happened: Willie Calhoun’s jaw was shattered a week before spring training grinded to a halt and he never seemed to fully recover. It was an omen for the rest of the season in left. Calhoun battled with anxiety and muscle strains after his return in what turned out to be a lost season. Nick Solak struggled to handle the position defensively, and his .671 OPS was well-below what is needed for a below-average defender. It also wasn’t a good sign that 38-year-old Shin-Soo Choo ended up with the second-most starts (15) at the position on the team. It all added up to -1.9 WAR for the Rangers in left field. That was worst in the majors. If you are keeping track, we’ve now reviewed six positions on the diamond; the Rangers ranked worst in the majors at four of them.

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What worked: Though his defensive numbers were not good, Solak approached his role with the mindset of somebody who had spent time in the Tampa Bay organization, which he had. He was all in on versatility. He started 23 games in left, 16 at second and 13 in center. His reads and instincts were a bit slow in the outfield, not unexpected for somebody in the first year of a position switch, but he did show off some athleticism. And by the final weekend of the year, he made a couple of above-average plays in left. The athleticism also showed up on the bases; he was 7 for 8 in stolen base attempts and he moved up to grab other bases seven times. Along with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jose Trevino, he’s viewed as most likely to have real leadership potential.

What didn’t: In 2019, Solak hit .293/.393/.491/.884 in 33 games. That will play, regardless of defensive shortcomings. But in 2020, his numbers were much more pedestrian: .268/.326/.344/.671. That simply must improve. A league average OPS for a regular is about .750. To remain an everyday player long-term, he will have to bring the numbers up to league average or better. With the big swing from, 2019 and 2020 and only 368 total plate appearances between them, it’s hard to know exactly what the Rangers have there.

Options: When the Rangers lost out on free agents Anthony Rendon and Zak Wheeler, they opted against a short-term deal for free agent Marcell Ozuna. He got $18 million for one year from Atlanta and turned into perhaps the best free agent signing of the winter. He’s out on the free agent market again, only he will get more security and more total dollars. The Rangers, alas, won’t be involved. But left field might be a place to take a low-cost chance on a right-handed hitter that would allow the team to move Solak to second and Calhoun to DH.

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Prospects: Teamed with Leody Taveras in center and Joey Gallo in right, converted infielder Eli White could give the Rangers an exceptional defensive outfield. White, 26, impressed the Rangers with his athleticism and his feel for the outfield. The question is whether White can hit enough to be more than a versatile bench guy. In 48 at-bats last year, he did nothing to squash those questions. Though he did hit some balls hard, a .188/.231/.229/.460 slash line simply isn’t good enough.

2021 goals: To form real evaluations on Calhoun and Solak. It still isn’t clear if either of them can handle left field defensively on a daily basis. And both of them went from an OPS above .800 in 2019 to below .700 in 2020. There is no predictability in that. If they do give the Rangers consistency, the next issue is to find them both full-time at-bats. At least the opportunity will be open to get them in the lineup together in 2021 since the expiration of Choo’s contract leaves a void at DH.

Around the league: A look at how the Rangers stacked up against the AL West and the rest of Major League Baseball in Wins Above Average this season...

MLB Wins Above Average for the 2020 season.
MLB Wins Above Average for the 2020 season.(SportsDay Staff)

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Other position breakdowns

Catcher | First base | Second base | Third base | Shortstop

Left field | Center field | Right field | Designated hitter

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Starting pitching | Relief pitching

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