Seven starters for a five-man rotation? Texas Rangers’ pitching staff will be unique

The best outing by a Texas Rangers pitcher so far this spring belongs left-hander Wes Benjamin, who pitched well in his first taste of MLB action last season but entered spring training bidding for a job.

It came Thursday, when he delivered two scoreless innings while allowing only one hit and became the first Rangers pitcher to successfully complete two innings this spring without an inning being rolled.

Add that to his scoreless inning as the starter of the Cactus League lid-lifter, and Benjamin finds himself ahead of the pack of competitors who have an opportunity to be part of an unorthodox and ever-changing 2021 pitching staff.

Granted, some haven’t even made a spring appearance yet, but the most difficult decision before Opening Day is how things will line up between the first three starters and three locks at the back of the bullpen.

The Rangers could have seven starters, depending on how things shake out.

“A lot of these things are going to be determined on how guys perform,” manager Chris Woodward said last week. “And if so-and-so makes the team, that means we go this direction. If so-and-so makes the team, we go this direction.

“Guys are in different boats. Some guys may be one time through the order. If this guy makes the team, he’s four or five innings and 60 or 70 pitches. So it all depends on who performs and who actually we put on the roster.”

Five-man rotation for Rangers

Left-hander Taylor Hearn, from Royse City, took his turn Saturday as the Rangers resumed playing following their first spring off day. The Rangers are still trying to determine if Hearn will be a starter or a multi-innings reliever, and he could very well wind up doing both jobs.

Woodward said Saturday morning that the Rangers will have a five-man rotation so that they can better manage young pitchers’ innings via the piggyback system. In a piggyback, one starter will go three or four innings and another will pitch three or four out of the bullpen.

Kyle Gibson, Mike Foltynewicz and Kohei Arihara are locks for the rotation, and fellow right-hander Jordan Lyles should figure into the mix with the group of contenders.

Dane Dunning and Kyle Cody have long been thought to be front-runners for a hefty chunk of starts. Lefties Kolby Allard, Joe Palumbo and John King are in a group of 12 pitchers being stretched out this spring.

Hyeon-Jong Yang didn’t come to camp from Korea just to get a tan.

With multiple early off days on the schedule, the Rangers have a chance to pace the pitchers over the first month. All of the candidates also have minor-league options remaining, which could lead to a rotation carousel throughout the season.

“It’s a good scenario for us to maximize our guys and put them in as good as situation as possible to succeed,” Woodward said.

Rangers bullpen options

Jose Leclerc and Jonathan Hernandez might not be named the full-time closer, but they are going to be on the Opening Day roster. Add lefty Brett Martin to the list of bullpen sure things, though he is dealing with back spasms.

Joely Rodriguez will be in there if he’s healthy, which at this point isn’t a given. Matt Bush, in camp on a minor-league contract, is a strong candidate for what would be a fifth spot in the bullpen.

The job facing Rangers brass is sliding extra starters onto the roster without leaving the bullpen short on arms. And they would like to keep Rule 5 pick Brett de Geus.

“[He’s] an interesting guy,” Woodward said. “If he can be consistent with the stuff that he has, he’s got a lot of swing-and-miss potential and he could be a really good major-league pitcher.”

Three starters and six relievers would leave four for the final two spots in the bullpen.

Lyles won’t be working on a pitch count, but the Rangers are weighing if they want to limit how many times he goes through an batting order. They could use an opener, like Benjamin, ahead of Lyles for a one time through the lineup.

Dunning and Cody could share the fifth spot.

If they have to part ways with de Geus, that would give, say, Hearn a role.

Just as the Rangers want versatile position players, many pitchers will be asked to throw in multiple roles.

“We’re just going to let guys compete and see where we’re at at the end of spring,” pitching coach Doug Mathis said last week before spring games started.

“I think our bullpen can be constructed in a bunch of different ways. We’re going to have guys that wear a couple hats down there in the bullpen, but every inning is going to be valuable for us.”