Rangers vs Royals LIVE: Opening Day Roster, Starting Lineups, Injury Report

The Texas Rangers kick off their 2021 season at Kauffman Stadium against the Kansas City Royals.

Chris Halicke | Apr 1, 2021

Texas Rangers (0-0) at Kansas City Royals (0-0)

Thursday, April 1, 2021
3:10 PM CT
Kauffman Stadium | Kansas City, MO
Forecast: High 54°F, Sunny

Probables:
TEX: RHP Kyle Gibson (0-0, -.-- ERA)
vs
KC: RHP Brad Keller (0-0, -.-- ERA)

Broadcast

Texas Rangers
TV: Bally Sports Southwest
Radio: 105.3 The Fan, KFLC

Kansas City Royals
TV: Bally Sports Kansas City
Radio: KCSP

Texas Rangers Announce Opening Day Roster

The Rangers waited until the morning of Opening Day to announce the final spot for their 26-man Opening Day roster, which was filled by Kolby Allard.

The Rangers made the following moves to officially set the roster:

RHP Matt Bush and INF Charlie Culberson selected from Triple-A Round Rock
LHP Kolby Allard recalled from Round Rock
RHP Demarcus Evans (right lat strain), LHP Brock Burke (left shoulder surgery), LHP Brett Martin (lower back tightness), LHP Joely Rodriguez (left ankle sprain), C Sam Huff (left hamstring strain), OF Willie Calhoun (left groin strain), and OF Khris Davis (left quad strain) placed on 10-day injured list, retroactive to March 29
RHP Hunter Wood and LHP Hyeon-jong Yang, non-roster players, assigned to Alternate Training Site
INF Rougned Odor designated for assignment

The Texas Rangers 26-man roster:

Pitchers

#39 Kolby Allard
#35 Kohei Arihara
#63 Wes Benjamin
#51 Matt Bush
#54 Kyle Cody
#56 Brett de Geus
#33 Dane Dunning
#20 Mike Foltynewicz
#44 Kyle Gibson
#52 Taylor Hearn
#31 Ian Kennedy
#60 John King
#24 Jordan Lyles
#66 Josh Sborz

Catchers

#28 Jonah Heim
#23 Jose Trevino

Infielders

#2 Charlie Culberson
#11 Ronald Guzmán
#16 Brock Holt
#9 Isiah Kiner-Falefa
#30 Nate Lowe
#15 Nick Solak

Outfielders

#21 David Dahl
#13 Joey Gallo
#3 Leody Taveras
#41 Eli White

Texas Rangers Starting Lineup

SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa
LF David Dahl
RF Joey Gallo
2B Nick Solak
1B Nate Lowe
3B Brock Holt
DH Eli White
CF Leody Taveras
C Jose Trevino

Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup

2B Whit Merrifield
LF Andrew Benintendi
1B Carlos Santana
C Salvador Perez
DH Jorge Soler
3B Hunter Dozier
RF Kyle Isbel
CF Michael A. Taylor
SS Nicky Lopez

Kyle Gibson On The Mound For Texas

Gibson on starting Opening Day:

"Just being able to start Opening Day, I get pretty excited. I get a smile on my face. It's just a really cool honor. I know I've said it before, but never having played on Opening Day, it's something you think a lot about as a player. You want to be involved in that first game. There's just something cool about being on the line, about the anthem that day, everybody being out there, the whole team gets recognized as the start of a new year and you get a fresh start. I think, myself included, there's quite a few guys in this locker room that are excited for a fresh start."

Pitching at Kauffman Stadium:

"'The K' is probably one of my favorite places to pitch. I don't know if it's because it's close to Mizzou, or because it's close to family and family are normally there, I don't know. But it's definitely familiar. I've pitched there quite a bit."

Rangers Injury Report

10-Day Injured List

Brock Burke (left shoulder surgery in 2020): The Rangers like his progress, which is slow and steady.
Willie Calhoun (left groin strain): Logged nine at-bats in a simulated game on Sunday in Surprise, and will continue to DH in camp games in the coming days.
Khris Davis (Grade 2 left quad strain): Davis is over a week into a 3-4 week prognosis. He has begun a light rehab, but has yet to participate in any baseball activity.
Demarcus Evans (right lat strain): Evans is throwing bullpens and is scheduled to appear in upcoming minor league games in Arizona. His exact timetable is still undetermined.
Sam Huff (Grade 2 hamstring strain): Huff is progressing well and is in the latter stages of his rehab. He will undergo one more MRI and the club will make their determination from there.
Brett Martin (lower-back tightness): Martin has been able to get back into game action with three Cactus League appearances. He is about one week behind Opening Day.
Joely Rodríguez (sprained ankle): Rodríguez threw a live BP on Monday and is progressing well. He will not likely be ready until mid-April.

60-Day Injured List

Jonathan Hernández (low-grade UCL sprain): Hernández will have a four-week follow-up MRI next week, at which point next steps will be determined.
José Leclerc (Tommy John surgery): Leclerc underwent successful Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, which was performed by team physician Dr. Keith Meister. He will be sidelined for approximately 12-14 months.

Other Rangers Injuries

Josh Jung (left foot stress fracture): Jung had successful surgery last Monday, and is back in Arizona beginning his rehab. His estimated recovery time is 6-8 weeks.

Chris Halicke covers the Texas Rangers for InsideTheRangers.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHalicke.
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Published Apr 1, 2021

CHRIS HALICKE