A week from Wednesday, pitchers and catchers for the Texas Rangers will report to the Surprise Recreation Complex to begin spring training.
A few days later position players will also report, with the Rangers currently having 58 players competing for the 25 spots.
We are going to go ahead and flash forward six weeks and pick the 25 players who will make up the roster. We also reserve the right to change our minds down the line.
Starting pitchers (5)
RHP Colby Lewis, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Neftali Feliz, LHP Matt Harrison, LHP Derek Holland
Comment: This is easy to do on Feb. 14, but as we found out last year, things can change in a hurry. Texas opened spring training last season with both Neftali Feliz and Alexi Ogando competing for starting spots. By the time camp ended, Feliz was the closer and Ogando was sent back to the bullpen only to come back into the rotation because of the groin injury to Tommy Hunter. But if health holds, there are your five starters. That doesn't figure to change regardless of what happens with Roy Oswalt. Harrison earned his starting spot winning 14 games last year and posting a 3.39 ERA.
Bullpen (7)
RHP Joe Nathan, RHP Mike Adams, RHP Alexi Ogando, RHP Koji Uehara, RHP Scott Feldman, LHP Michael Kirkman, RHP Mark Lowe
Comment: Ogando and Feldman will be stretched out as starters but both make more sense in the bullpen. Ogando can be the same kind of swing weapon in the regular season he was in the postseason. Feldman is the only proven long man the Rangers have right now. The Rangers owe Uehara too much money ($4 million) to do anything with him other than stick him in the bullpen unless they can trade him. If he goes, that could open the door for Yoshi Tateyama to grab a spot. Lowe needs to put together a nice spring or he could be in trouble. The Rangers have to find a lefty and Kirkman is the guess right now. Non-roster invites Joe Beimel or Mitch Stetter could steal that spot from Kirkman if one of them has a strong spring.
Catchers (2)
Mike Napoli, Yorvit Torrealba
Comment: Texas general manager Jon Daniels said the club is in a unique situation because it has two catchers capable of being starters for a lot of teams. That's nice to say, but it's Mike Napoli's job. You don't pay $9.4 million for a part-time catcher, which is what Texas is giving Napoli this year. Torrealba's role could be expanded early if Napoli is slow to recover from his left ankle sprain. Carrying just two catchers will limit the ability of Texas to use Napoli at designated hitter. That's OK though because a third catcher is a luxury item for Texas and there's not a real viable candidate for that job from a pool that includes Dusty Brown and Chris Robinson
Infielders (6)
1B, Mitch Moreland, UTIL Michael Young, 2B Ian Kinsler, SS Elvis Andrus, 3B Adrian Beltre, INF Alberto Gonzalez
Comment: There's really not a lot of suspense here. Moreland will have the chance to be the everyday first baseman and Young is a great security blanket when he's not the DH. The best battle figures to come from the utility spot. Gonzalez figures to be the frontrunner over Luis Hernandez. Both of them can handle the job at shortstop or second base, but Gonzalez has a better track record at the big-league level. He's played in more than 300 games in the majors over the last three years and can also play at third base. He hit only .215 last season for San Diego, but the Rangers aren't counting on hitting from their utility infielder. Brad Hawpe and Conor Jackson likely only figure in the mix if Mitch Moreland has a problem with his wrist or there is a need in the outfield.
Mitch Moreland, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Alberto Gonzalez
Outfielders (5)
Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, David Murphy, Julio Borbon, Craig Gentry
Comment: Three of the spots are locks with Cruz, Hamilton and Murphy secure. Gentry has earned a frontrunner's spot because of his strong second half. Borbon remains a mystery. He'll come to spring baseball ready after a long Dominican season. The guess here is Borbon has a big spring and the Rangers use both Borbon and Gentry in center. That could change if Leonys Martin has a big spring or Texas feels like it has to create a roster spot for either Hawpe or Jackson.
