CHICAGO – The sport is beautiful. The business can be cruel.
Tasked with simply giving the Rangers clean defense after a sloppy effort, Bubba Thompson and Travis Jankowski did a whole lot more than that Sunday. They energized the offense and lifted the Rangers to an 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, avoiding an Easter weekend sweep and pushing them back above .500 on the young season.
And one of them’s gotta go.
Eventually.
The Rangers are about to be faced with a roster dilemma, perhaps as early as Monday: an overabundance of speedy, defense-first center field options. As dilemmas go, it beats the alternatives. Nevertheless, Leody Taveras, the expected regular center fielder, may be ready to return from an oblique injury that forced him to start the season on the injured list.
Then again, after watching Thompson and Jankowski tumble off a week on the bench and contribute, maybe the Rangers can afford to let Taveras have more of a spring training. Maybe they don’t just have game-changing speed, but mind-changing speed as well.
“The number of at-bats is a concern,” manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged. “[GM Chris Young] and I have discussed it and we will talk about it more. We really want [Taveras] to be ready when he comes off. A lot of times, you bring them up too early and some of the rehab is with you. We want to be fair with [Taveras]. He missed a lot of spring training at-bats. He’s got three games – and not three complete games – either. So that will come into play.”
Taveras, who had just 10 spring at-bats, all more than a month ago, went to Frisco on Thursday and played three games. He went 1 for 10 with a pair of walks and didn’t play nine innings in the field until Saturday. Frisco was off Sunday, and the initial plan was to reevaluate then. If nothing else, Thompson and Jankowski gave them something to think about.
It was the first start of the year for Jankowski, who played right for struggling Robbie Grossman, and Thompson, who played center so Adolis García could DH. Batting eighth and ninth respectively, they combined for three extra-base hits, three RBIs, four runs scored, and a stolen base. Both reached on errors, perhaps partially influenced by their speed. They were on base a total of six times.
“It’s not just today’s game,” Bochy said. “But the fact you have two guys that can give you some coverage and give him the time he needs – if he needs more time. We have to come up with a decision. It’s fair to say when you have two guys like that who are also really good defenders, it does allow you to have more time.”
First time up, they had an immediate impact. After Josh Smith and Jonah Heim each singled off Jameson Taillon, Jankowski lined a 94 mph fastball down the left field line for a run-scoring double. Jankowski had hit just .209 during spring and hadn’t had an extra-base hit in a major league regular-season or exhibition game since Oct. 1, 2021. It was a span of 143 plate appearances.
Thomspon, whose swing-and-miss rates were a concern in the spring, hit a hard bouncer to third. Heim, off third, dove back into the base ahead of Nick Madrigal’s attempt to tag him. Then Madrigal threw wild to first as Thompson sped down the line. When the play was over, it was 2-0 Rangers with Jankowski at third and Thompson standing on second. Both scored on Marcus Semien’s bloop double to right.
In the fourth, Jankowski reached on a one-out error by Eric Hosmer and Thompson followed with a liner to left that he turned into a double without a throw. In the sixth, he tripled home a run with a ball into the gap that’s probably a double for mortals.
“When he goes, we go,” Semien said. “When he puts the ball in play, he can get himself to third base. He’s got great ability, and he’s not just a runner. He’s a first-round talent. And he’s always ready. It was good to see him not miss a beat.”
Said Thompson: “Mentally and physically, I stay ready. I get my swings in. And I believe I can play up here. When I get my shot, I want to do the little things to help my team win. That’s it. It’s a blessing to be up here and playing behind some of the best in the world. I could be sitting somewhere else.”
Namely: Triple-A Round Rock. The issue the Rangers must answer is whether Thompson can be more of a help as a bench player or a regular. If it’s the latter, it’s difficult to finish off a full-time player’s development if he gets only five at-bats every 10 days. The Rangers must either play him more regularly in the majors or give him full-time playing time in the minors to stay ready in case a full-time role opens up because of injury in the major leagues.
The Rangers had held out Thompson, their first-round pick in 2017, even as a defensive replacement for most of the last 10 days to use for specific late-inning running situations. They could afford to do so with Jankowski, the last position player to make the roster, as their first line of late-game defensive insurance. If the purpose is to simply have a backup center fielder, that’s exactly what Jankowski, 31, has been for the parts of nine seasons he’s spent in the majors.
The potential twist on Jankowski is he’d have to be taken off the 40-man roster to be sent to the minor leagues. That would allow him to take free agency, if he chooses.
When Taveras is ready, they can have a defender or a runner, but they can’t have both. They will have to decide soon. On Sunday, though, Jankowski and Thompson may have made it possible to push the decision back a few more days.
Briefly: RHP Josh Sborz (sore ankle) has been sent to Triple-A Round Rock on a rehab assignment. Sborz is out of minor league options, so the Rangers will have to eventually either activate him or designate him for assignment and take him off the roster. … With the victory, Bruce Bochy now has 2,008 wins as a manager, tying him with Leo Durocher for 11th all-time.
