12 hours Ago
ARLINGTON — Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy l oved everything he heard about Wyatt Langford’s first rehab game at Double-A Frisco on Thursday. “Hit a home run, ran the bases well and came through it all well,” Bochy said. Langford is expected to play seven innings in the field on Friday in Frisco and then re-join the Rangers on Saturday for the second game of their series with the Los Angeles Dodgers .
When asked if the intent was for Texas to activate Langford on Saturday, he said “yeah, if everything goes well.” The question then becomes, what move will the Rangers make to create a space for Langford? It isn’t as clear as one might think. Infielder Josh Smith is out of the lineup on Friday for the second straight game as he’s nursing a jammed thumb he suffered earlier in the week.
Smith told reporters on Friday that the thumb isn’t broken and that he can do baseball activities. Bochy said that Smith “wants to push it,” but said the team made the decision to sit Smith one more game. Bochy said Texas is not looking to put Smith on the injured list right now.
That could change on Saturday, depending on how Smith feels and if they need the space for Langford. A 10-day injured list move would likely be retroactive. How Smith feels might determine what happens with the other two likely options to make room for Langford, outfielder Dustin Harris and utilityman Ezequiel Duran.
The Rangers called Harris up after they moved Langford to the IL and he’s produced. Entering Friday’s game he’s slashed .333/.
333/.667 with one home run, one RBI and three runs scored. The 25-year-old is one of the best prospects in the organization but finding playing time for him is difficult.
Duran was sent back to Triple-A on April 8 and then recalled a day later due to Langford’s injury. He doesn’t have a hit in 14 at-bats in the Majors this season. Who is sent down may depend on Smith’s availability.
If Smith can play on Saturday, Duran probably heads back to the minors. If Smith can’t and is moved to the IL, the Rangers will probably keep Duran to give them coverage at back-up infield spots. That would mean Harris would go back to Triple-A.
Bochy wasn’t committing to any moves. Either way, the Rangers are going to put Langford’s bat back in the lineup at a time when it is starting to show some life after compiling 30 hits against the Los Angeles Angels earlier this week. It’s just a matter of who is sent down.
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