Chris Young says that Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker will start the season in the rotation, and Evan Carter will be in AAA to start the year
The Texas Rangers will have pitchers Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker in the starting rotation to begin the season, according to Rangers president Chris Young, via the beats. In addition, Ezequiel Duran and Kevin Pillar have the final two bench spots on the Opening Day roster, and Evan Carter will start the season in AAA. The team has yet to decide on the final two bullpen spots.
Leiter and Rocker being in the rotation to start the year was pretty much a given at this point, given what we already knew. Adrian Houser, the main NRI candidate for a rotation spot, had previously been informed he was not making the team, and Patrick Corbin won’t be ready to join the rotation for a few weeks. The only other possible rotation candidate seemed to be Gerson Garabito, though he always seemed more as a long man.
I said earlier today that I thought Evan Carter and Ezequiel Duran would start the season in the minors, with Kevin Pillar and Sam Haggerty making the roster. I felt like Carter and Pillar were vying for one spot, and Duran and Haggerty were vying for one spot. Neither Carter nor Duran had good spring trainings, and the decision to keep Carter but not Duran comes down to a couple of things, I think. First, with Dane Dunning being put on waivers (he reportedly cleared waivers and was outrighted), there was one open 40 man roster spot available, and creating a second one was going to more difficult, particularly with possible NRI pitchers making the team.
More importantly, though, is how I think the team views Carter and Duran. Carter is a guy viewed as a key part of the franchise going forward, someone they expect to be an everyday player. The Rangers had a choice of having Carter up to start the season, despite his rust from missing most of last season and godawful spring, and potentially getting irregular playing time, or going to AAA, playing every day, and having an opportunity to get back on track.
I suspect the Rangers don’t view themselves in the short-term as being better with Carter on the roster than, say, Pillar, until Carter gets the kinks worked out. Medium-term and long-term, they need Carter clicking, and I imagine they think that Evan Carter will perform better from, say, Memorial Day to season’s end if he gets regular work and reps in AAA without pressure on him now, rather than irregular playing time, the pressure of playing for a playoff contender, and the potential of being sent back down.
Duran, on the other hand, is a possible second division starter whose role with the Rangers is as a bench player. I imagine they see the downside to him staying up and playing irregularly and not getting into a groove as much less than the downside of Carter staying up under those circumstances.
And for what it is worth, if Evan Carter is healthy, then I think he will perform well enough in Round Rock to be back up by Memorial Day, and be a quality regular going forward from there.
The lack of a decision on the bullpen is interesting, as it suggests that the team may be scouring the waiver wire or looking at possible trade options. I mentioned Tyler Phillips being designated for assignment the other day as someone who might hold some appeal as a long man/swing man out of the bullpen, particularly early on for the Rangers, given the length they likely need. It wouldn’t surprise me if the final roster includes a reliever who isn’t currently in the organization.