MESA, Ariz. — Even before the Rangers got to spring training, it was pretty clear the biggest issues were not about roster decisions, but rather health maintenance.
As they arrive at end of their time in the desert, they have mostly cleared the bigger hurdle without issue (big sigh of relief). Now comes, finalizing the end of the roster: A bench player, a bullpen arm. Not what you would call impact players. But how they handle those final decisions will say a lot about their intent.
Either they inform infielder Ezequiel Duran and pitcher Cole Ragans they have made the club and reinforce the creation of a “championship culture” or they conduct business as usual.
How’s the usual business worked out the last six years? No need to answer.
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“You want to take your best club,” manager Bruce Bochy said Thursday night after Duran hit two homers and Ragans pitched in long relief, a dress rehearsal for his role. “You want to do what is right for the club. You have to weigh all the other options, but you want to do what is best for the team. We are here to win.”
Bochy has said the same thing over and over this spring. This season is about winning, not developing. To send Duran or Ragans out would simply send a message to the team that the roster consists of something other than the best 26 players in camp.
Sure, there is an argument that regular at-bats at the minor league level rather than sporadic play in the big leagues would be best for Duran’s long-term development. Same with Ragans; he might be best served by starting every fifth day at Triple-A and waiting for an opening in the rotation.
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Counterpoint: The script has flipped. Development is still important; it’s essential. It was once the Rangers’ priority. Now, it is secondary to winning. For their roles, Duran and Ragans give the Rangers better options than anybody also in consideration.
Consider Bochy’s description of Duran’s spring after Thursday’s game, in which he vaporized two baseballs to left and center, giving him the team lead in extra-base hits this spring (10). After a hit in two at-bats in Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Duran is hitting .360 with a 1.065 OPS for the spring. Among guys with at least 25 at-bats this spring, only Corey Seager, with the Rangers’ longest spring training hitting streak (15) games since 2006, and Robbie Grossman have higher OPS.
“He’s been relentless,” Bochy said of Duran. “It’s hard contact every time.”
Would that continue if he’s used sparingly as a utility man, along with Josh Smith? Duran would answer that with his in-season performance. But he’s earned the right to provide an answer.
“I think I would be good because I approach every game the same exact way,” Duran said through interpreter Raul Cardenas. “I’m going to prepare as if I’m playing regardless of role. If they need me to hit or go play defense, I will be ready. I will always be ready. That’s what I can control. Other things that I can’t control, I can’t worry about.”
Both Duran and Ragans have been models of the planks in GM Chris Young’s winning culture platform: Compete with a passion, be a good teammate and dominate the fundamentals.
Ragans pitched in relief on Thursday, a dress rehearsal for his in-season role. He struggled with command in the first inning and the Rangers had to use the re-entry rule for him to start the next inning. But he gave the Rangers three more innings.
He needed the re-set because he let the game “speed up on him,” but that’s what dress rehearsals are for — to iron out the kinks.
“He has a really great demeanor, and I love the way he works and competes,” said starter Andrew Heaney. “In the clubhouse and the weight room, you know he’s doing all the things he needs to prepare himself and, honestly, that’s half the battle. I think you want to get to a point where you can go out there and let your natural abilities take over. I think he’s been doing that really well. And it’s been really fun to watch.”
The translation: He’s one of us. He belongs. He’s earned a spot.
Now the Rangers just have to make that official and reinforce the message: Every decision is about winning now.
On Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant
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