00:00What's going on everybody wanted to just quickly talk a little bit about the addition of Kevin
00:22Pillar and what Sam Haggerty's path might be and why those guys have a shot to make this team even
00:30though you can make a strong argument that from a position player standpoint all the spots are
00:35spoken for. I don't necessarily think that's the case. So you know the Rangers have to build a
00:39roster from a position player standpoint that can hit righties and lefties. You know have a lineup
00:45that they feel good about against righties and a lineup that they feel good about against lefties
00:49and you know it seems that they're they're pretty well stacked against righties but what about
00:54lefties? That's where there might be some need. Jack Peterson for instance he's one of baseball's
01:00best hitters when it comes to facing right-handed pitching but he's had fewer than 60 plate
01:05appearances in each of the last three seasons against lefty. So unless the Rangers plan to
01:10utilize him differently it doesn't seem like he's you know a primary option to be in the lineup
01:15against lefties. And then you also got to consider you know mid-game or in-game decisions as well off
01:21the bench you know platoon advantages stuff like that. You know I think Evan Carter is still too
01:27young and and too inexperienced in terms of you know track record against lefties to really know
01:32whether he can hit lefties or not but the Rangers could use some lefty matchups to maybe get him off
01:38his legs and you know maybe you know it's wise if they're prepared that it's a you know a slow
01:46developing progression for Evan. It's not like he's going to come out against lefties you know
01:52with his little experience as he has against high level left-handed pitching you know just
01:56guns a blazing right? So I think you got to be prepared that maybe there is a need if not in a
02:01starting lineup situation but a late game situation. And what about Laody Tavares right? So Laody might
02:07not be a guy that you project as a starter but if he's going to be on the roster off the bench
02:11or a guy who could start against lefties you got to consider his numbers against lefties even though
02:16he's a switch hitter. I don't know that he's the best fit in a lefty matchup situation. He's
02:23struggled mightily against lefties. He's got a sub 600 OPS over the last two years. So that leads us
02:29to Ezekiel Duran. He's a right-handed hitter right? Platoon advantage. In 2023 he crushed lefties but
02:37he last year really struggled. He struggled all around and he struggled all around as a
02:42non-everyday player you know as an off-the-bench role player type and you know that would likely
02:47be his path here right? It's not like Zeke would be getting everyday bats and I think
02:52you know you can make an argument that Zeke much like a lot of young players who have
02:56a world of experience of this don't tend to perform nearly as well when they are not
03:03everyday players. And so you know I think you could make a case that you know what is best
03:08for him is you know to go to AAA and to get everyday plate appearances. So that would open up
03:15again you know potential needs. So maybe it's Zeke you know maybe Zeke's that guy. Maybe he's on the
03:20open today roster but if not you got Kevin Pillar all right? The Rangers recently signed him. He is
03:26still very capable of playing you know quality outfield defensively and you know he's struggled
03:32against righties but against lefties he's been really good. Over his career he's got an OPS a
03:36little bit under 800 and then last year he hit with an 850 OPS against lefties. And then the
03:42other guy who maybe isn't getting nearly as much pub who I think's got a real shot is Sam Haggerty.
03:47Sam Haggerty's coming off an Achilles injury but prior to the injury he ran well. He can play all
03:52three outfield spots and he can play on both sides of the infield. So super utility in that
03:56regard. And well you know he's really not much of a hitter against righties. In his career against
04:00lefties he's got an 807 OPS. So Sam Haggerty and Kevin Pillar are two guys who I think could very
04:06well make this team and perhaps bump Ezekiel Duran to an everyday role in AAA. And maybe that helps
04:13Zeke get going so that when there is a need and Zeke can get more regular bats at the big league
04:17level he'll be you know rejoining the team with a little wind behind him. You know he's building up
04:24value and allowing the Rangers to have some more flexibility when it comes to conversations with
04:29other teams.
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