Travis Jankowski, Others Pick Up Slack for Texas Rangers Without Corey Seager
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — No one player can replace Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. But how are the half-dozen players that have tried it doing so far?
Well, they’re not Seager numbers, but Rangers manager Bruce Bochy likes what he sees so far.
“I am happy,” Bochy said recently. “They’re not going to replace Corey’s offense, it’s just not going to happen. But I think (Travis Jankowski) has done a really nice job there. He’s scored some runs, gotten some big hits. I’ll take what he’s doing there.”
Jankowski came up because he returned to the starting lineup on Friday after taking Thursday off due to a minor injury suffered at the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. His one-year contract is has turned out to be a steal for Texas so far.
Jankowski slid back into the No. 2 spot, and since Seager went on the injured list April 12, he's has made more starts batting second than any other Ranger. With Seager likely missing three more weeks, it’s a good bet Jankowski will continue to see at-bats there.
But he won’t be the only one.
The Rangers have used six players in the No. 2 position. Four have started games — Jankowski, Robbie Grossman, Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran. Bubba Thompson and Leody Taveras slid into that spot as a backup.
As a group, they’re batting .226 with eight runs, six RBI and six walks through Saturday's 2-0 win over the New York Yankees.
Jankowski went 0-for-3 with a walk Saturday. In eight starts in the No. 2 spot, he’s batting .250 with four runs, one RBI and four walks.
The other source of consistent batting has come from Grossman, who has made four starts there since April 21 and it has helped fuel his rise from a .135 batting average. He went 3-for-4 game, with a home run, against the Yankees on Friday and 1-for-3 Saturday.
Grossman is now batting .250 and producing in the bottom part of the order.
Grossman is on a 10-game hitting and is batting better than .300 in that stretch. When it comes to hitting No. 2, Grossman is batting .357 with three runs and five RBI. He’s also drawn two walks and hit his second home run of the season April 23 against the Oakland Athletics.
“He’s gotten some big hits for us, some home runs, lately,” Bochy said. “He’s got good discipline up there. And I think that he’s really done a nice job up there from the left side of the plate, too.”
Grossman’s home run on Friday was from the left side. But his home run on Sunday against Oakland is the only one from the No. 2 spot since Seager left for the injured list. At the time, Seager was batting .359 with seven runs and four RBI. But Seager only had one home run.
It’s clear that Jankowski and Grossman are the best options at the spot. Smith — the only other player with more than one start at the No. 2 spot — had one hit. In fact, he and Taveras are the only other No. 2 hitters with at least one hit. Taveras also had one in Jankowski’s place on Wednesday.
No one in this lineup is Seager. But, for now, this is the hand the Rangers have been dealt and they’re doing the best they can.
American League West-leading Texas (16-11) goes for the series win Sunday at 1:35 p.m. CT with Martίn Pérez (3-1, 2.60) on the hill. Nestor Cortes (3-1, 3.49) goes for New York. The Rangers lead the series 2-1 after dropping the opener.
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