Why Rangers Start Leody Taveras in Center

Calling up the outfielder allows Texas manager Chris Woodward to use his ideal alignment

For the second straight game on Tuesday night, Leody Taveras hit ninth and started in center field for the Texas Rangers in their 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros.

Expect that to be how the Rangers arrange their lineup for the foreseeable future.

Eli White’s wrist injury has afforded the Rangers the chance to not only call up Taveras from Triple-A Round Rock, which they did on Monday, but also arrange their outfield in a way that Rangers manager Chris Woodward believes will benefit everyone.

With Kole Calhoun in left, Taveras in center and Adolis García in right, the Rangers have an outfield configuration that intrigues them.

Taveras went to Round Rock after spring training for two reasons — they wanted him to get at-bats and prove he could be a consistent producer at the plate.

He proved both at Round Rock, as he hit .294/.335/.485/.820 including seven home runs, 12 doubles, three triples and 29 RBI in 49 games.

Taveras played 82 Major League games in 2020 and 2021, and hit below .200.

But Woodward doesn’t believe that’s indicative of the player Taveras could become.

“We obviously have expectations for what he will be able to achieve and those expectations are high,” Woodward said Monday. “The big challenge is to do it day in and day out.”

Taveras’ first game with the Rangers saw him go 1-for-3 with a run scored. Woodward liked what he saw, especially the fact that Taveras didn’t chase pitches out of the zone. He seemed to learn to stay a bit more within himself while at Round Rock.

Taveras’ average at Round Rock was nearly 100 points higher than White’s with the Rangers, who had a .200 average before his injury but was without question the team’s fastest player. Taveras has wheels, and he displayed those in center on Monday as he ran down a long fly ball by Houston’s Aledmys Díaz for the final out.

Center field at Globe Life Field is spacious and speed is needed to cover that ground. The Rangers have two outfielders that can do that — Taveras and García, who has played 50 games in center this season. García can also play right field, and when he plays that position Woodward calls him the “best right fielder in baseball.”

García showed that on Monday when he robbed Yordan Alvarez of a home run early in the game. That save might have made a difference for the Astros in winning the game. 

That left Calhoun in left field, where on Monday he made just his third career start at the position. Calhoun took one for the team. Woodward wanted Taveras’ speed in center. García is comfortable with right field. While Calhoun is a left-field novice, putting him there, in Woodward’s words, protects the 34-year-old as the season advances.

It’s also not a surprise to anyone.

“I think that tells you what we think,” Woodward said. “And, honestly, I think it was more his (Calhoun’s) character and willingness to do what’s best for the team. We had this talk a while ago, if he (Taveras) was on our team, this would be our best outfield defense.”

So Taveras is here, and this is the lineup. If Taveras has it his way, he won’t be returning to Round Rock, while García and Calhoun will have steady homes alongside him.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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