Five Takeaways From Rangers Pitchers, Catchers in Surprise

With the pitchers and catchers getting company in Surprise on Monday, here are the early returns from the first five days of Rangers camp.

Sunday was the last day of just pitchers and catchers at Texas Rangers Spring Training in Surprise, Ariz. Position players begin workouts on Monday. Here are five thoughts on the five days of workouts with pitchers and catchers.

Jacob deGrom Watch

When the Rangers announced they were holding Jacob deGrom out of workouts for the early days of camp, "deGrom Watch" was on. Every day his status was the first question posed to both manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Chris Young when made available to the media. deGrom finally made his first appearance in a uniform on Sunday, throwing in the outfield of a practice field.

Hopefully this calms down after deGrom starts throwing bullpens and gets on a set schedule. But the Rangers haven’t signed a pitcher that has created this much buzz in camp since Nolan Ryan back in 1989. Naturally, everyone wants to see him pitch. Naturally, everyone gets worked up when he doesn’t.

I don’t blame the Rangers for being super-cautious with deGrom, either. With the financial investment and the expectations, injury in February must be involved at all costs.

The Rise of the Multi-Inning Reliever

The Rangers have clearly set a goal of making their bullpen more versatile in 2023, specifically with relievers that can go multiple innings.

Both Bochy and Young have talked about it. Some of it is driven by the rules changes. Some of it is driven by personnel and this era of starters that only pitch up to 100 pitches. Some of it is driven by Bochy’s preferences.

The Rangers will have a closer, of course, and likely one or two single-inning set-up men. But the rest of the bullpen will likely be populated by pitchers like Taylor Hearn, who have the ability to pitch two or three innings. Watch Spring Training games for how Bochy and pitching coach Mike Maddux deploy them and stretch them out.

Team-Building Required

Rangers catchers Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver have talked glowingly about the staff the front office has assembled this offseason. Heim said he’s been watching film of all of the new starters and taking advantage of opportunities to meet them at Globe Life Field.

Now that they’re in Surprise, and pitchers and catchers have no other choice to be around each other every day, the real work on building the relationships begin. And the Rangers see that as vital to success this season.

“I think everybody is just taking the time to get to know each other right now,” Heim said. “And I think after a couple of days everybody is going to click and mesh together.”

The Depth on The Staff

Everyone has raved about during the first five days of camp. Now, no one is confusing this staff with, say, the early 1990s Atlanta Braves.

But between the six veteran starters expected to vie for starting roles, along with last year’s young starters like Glenn Otto, Dane Dunning, Cole Ragans and Spencer Howard, the Rangers feel incredibly comfortable with where they are right now.

Jake Odorizzi, perhaps the early candidate to be the odd-man out in a five-man rotation, believes in it.

“The best teams in baseball have deep pitching staffs,” Odorizzi said. “And that’s why you see those teams get deep in the playoffs. So they’ve done a good job of building a core here.”

The Closer Competition

It sure feels like it’s José Leclerc’s job to lose. But a couple of things to note after five days. First, Bochy is happy to allow Leclerc to get the experience of playing in the World Baseball Classic. He thinks it will be good for the right-hander. He also thinks it will open up opportunities for pitchers like Joe Barlow, Jonathan Hernández and Ian Kennedy.

Second, don’t rule out the Rangers taking a shot at another pitcher that can do the job. The Rangers observed Zack Britton’s workout last week. He’s still out there but, at 35 years old, is he worth the risk?

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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