Olympics enjoyable and younger bullpen choices

SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Texas Rangers clubhouse erupted into cheer Sunday morning, shortly after it was closed to media (the celebration may very well be heard by the partitions of the locker room), when middle Jack Hughes scored a golden aim to carry the United States males’s hockey over Canada and to a gold medal on the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Rangers supervisor Skip Schumaker met with reporters minutes afterward for his morning availability.

“Tiegs is not happy,” Schumaker stated. “Quantrill is not happy. There’s a lot of American music playing right now.”

Rangers pitching coach Jordan Tiegs, of Woodstock, Canada, and right-handed pitcher Cal Quantrill, of Port Hope, Canada, have been on the mistaken finish of the additional time thriller. Schumaker stated that Tiegs has worn a Canada hockey jersey across the advanced this spring.

It makes for a straightforward goal.

“He kind of put it on himself,” Schumaker stated.

That’s reminder that tradition and chemistry stay priorities for the first-year supervisor.

Here’s what else we realized final week at camp.

Young bullpen arms will get a glance: The Rangers misplaced 4 bullpen contributors to free company this winter. They didn’t make investments appreciable sources into replacements — partly due to their unwillingness or incapability to pursue high-dollar relievers and partly due to their perception that it may be rebuilt in a cheap method — and now have a month to parse by all obtainable candidates for a bullpen they deem greatest match to begin the common season with.

That implies that the massive league camp’s younger relievers (right-handers Gavin Collyer, Carter Baumler, Ryan Lobus, Eric Loomis and left-hander Robby Ahlstrom) can be critically evaluated despite the fact that Ahlstrom is the one one with expertise above the Double-A stage.

Collyer’s near-triple-digit fastball is the type of high-octane fuel that the bullpen presently lacks. Baumler’s curveball could also be main league prepared. Lobus was deemed as somebody that can assist the Rangers “this season” by Schumaker. Loomis has a novel fastball profile that helped him win the system’s reliever of the yr award final season. Ahlstrom was a standout in camp final season and seemed sharp in his Cactus League debut Sunday vs. the Colorado Rockies.

It’s a matter of whether or not the Rangers will decide a younger and unproven arm over these with extra expertise. Their capacity to throw strikes this spring can be a big issue within the final dedication.

The second base competitors is … perhaps not a contest?: Last Monday, in his first availability of the spring, shortstop Corey Seager was requested a couple of “new second base partner,” with no particular person names talked about, after Marcus Semien was traded to the New York Mets.

He didn’t lean into thriller.

“It’ll be exciting,” Seager stated. “I’ve played some games with him already so you kind of know how he operates. I’m really more excited for him just to get this opportunity.”

The him in query is utility infielder Josh Smith, the clubhouse chief to interchange Semien full time at second base, and the most-experienced possibility of the candidates. This isn’t to say that the Rangers have formally given Smith the job, or that Seager’s phrase is inherently bond, however fairly that the 28-year-old seems to have a large lead within the race.

He’s performed completely second base within the two Cactus League video games that he’s appeared in and has exited every contest with the opposite anticipated starters. He’s labored out at second base throughout infield drills on the backfields. He’s been flat out one of many membership’s most efficient gamers in every of the final two seasons regardless of a pair of second-half slumps.

Infielder Cody Freeman, who suffered a lumbar stress response and can be sidelined for four-to-six weeks, was the probably candidate to problem for the place out of the gates. His damage timeline now complicates that. Utility participant Ezequiel Duran, the opposite second base possibility, began at shortstop Saturday towards the Chicago Cubs in a sport that Smith didn’t journey for.

It’s the time to check: The Rangers are 2-6 on ABS challenges by three video games. Hitters are 0-2 after they’ve challenged a strike name and pitchers or catchers are 2-4 after they’ve challenged referred to as balls.

The problem system, which takes all of 10-15 seconds to run, can be implimented within the common season. Each groups will get two challenges and retains their challenges if a name is overturned. Right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi aknowledged after his Friday begin vs. the Kansas City Royals that it “still felt weird” however will stay one thing that the membership might want to get acclimated to.

“During the season, if we were to lose both our challenges in the first two innings, we’d be in some trouble I feel like,” Eovaldi stated. “I think the tough thing is before, we had one structured strike zone, and now it kind of fluctuates between each hitter. The bottom of the zone will be at their knees and things like that … I just think, moving forward, it’s one of those things we definitely have to pay attention to.”

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