The chopping block has been active for the Texas Rangers at the conclusion of month one. Kolby Allard, Willie Calhoun, Sam Huff.
Chris Woodward and the front office have made it clear that they are not afraid to move on from anyone. Greg Holland was proof of that earlier in April.
So could players like Adolis Garcia (.220, 24 strikeouts), Kole Calhoun (.155 with a .158 OBP), Mitch Garver (.179 BA), Brad Miller (.192 BA) and others be on the chopping block next?
I purposely left Marcus Semien of the list (.149 BA) because the Rangers brought him in for the next seven years. They believe he is going to figure it out.
Leadership vs Performance
Players like Kole Calhoun, Brad Miller and Garrett Richards were brought in to be leaders for the younger players. The Texas Rangers have to decide if their leadership outweighs their slow start.
Leadership will only put up with so much failure before we start seeing prospects who the organization thinks is ready. Adolis could be swapped for Leody Taveras (.375/.402/.625 with 4 homers and 13 RBI).
Brad Miller could be replaced with Zak Reks (.283/.387/.415) who is already in Arlington. On the pitching side, Jake Latz, A.J. Alexy or Cole Winn could get a cup of coffee in the bullpen.
How Long Before More Moves are Made?
The question becomes how long will Woody, Chris Young and Jon Daniels wait before pulling the trigger on the next player to hit the chopping block? Their hand was forced on the latest ones due to the May 1 deadline to cut the roster to 26.
Now we all have to remember that this is not expected to be a contending season. No one in the organization is feeding fans with that notion at all.
While it is not easy to watch a team lose day in and day out, this team is better than the 2021 version of itself. This team is not going to finish with only 60 wins.
With that being said, I believe that sometime in the month of May, probably late in the month, we will see some more moves. If Miller can’t figure it out at the plate or if Richards has a 5.50 or higher ERA, the Texas Rangers are going to move on from them.
2022 is meant to be a developmental year, and it will be. Depending on play, it could happen sooner rather than later.
*Ben Dieter is one of the hosts of The Ranger Report Podcast here on Dallas Sports Nation. You can the Ranger Report on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or at The Ranger Report Website.
