Evan Carter should be sent down to AAA in the coming days. Aggressive out of the game, I know, but stay with me here.
Tuesday brought a rehab assignment for Wyatt Langford in Frisco. The safe assumption is that Langford will rejoin the Rangers for this weekend’s home series vs. the Cleveland Guardians. He slots right into the top five of the lineup and either occupies left or center field.
Exactly which position depends on what Chris Young and the front office decide to do with Carter.
The biggest question surrounding Carter entering the season was his status as an everyday player. His struggles against lefties are well known by now. In fact, that’s still a big part of the problem with Carter right now. Just one hit has come against a southpaw in 30 plate appearances. And that one hit wasn’t even really a hit, as he legged out a bunt.
What’s made this AAA idea even possible is what Carter isn’t doing vs. righties, an area he’s supposed to be succeeding. His batting average there is six ticks below the Mendoza line, and he already has a career-high in strikeouts.
Sure, the six home runs, six doubles, and two triples are nice. There’s just no consistency coming from Carter – something the Rangers need out of him.
Someone who has been consistent is Alejandro Osuna. No, he does not provide any kind of slug. But Osuna is not in a role where the Rangers are asking him to slug. Not to sound like Brad Pitt here, but Osuna just gets on base. His OBP currently sits at .379, which would be top-25 in baseball if he were a qualified hitter.
Admittedly, the form has dipped a little from Osuna. He went into the last home stand with an OBP of .434. Still, there seems to be a little more dependability from Osuna at the moment, at least on the outside looking in.
Maybe Skip Schumaker opts to put Ezequiel Duran in left, while keeping Nicky Lopez at second base. Options are there for the skipper when it comes to the lineup with Langford and Corey Seager returning from injury.
Either way, this would put Carter on the back burner when it comes to playing time. Which is not what you want him doing at the moment. Development needs to continue with Carter, who is just 23 years old. It’s easy to forget how young he is, considering his rise during the 2023 postseason run.
Carter can go down to Round Rock and maybe regain some confidence. Put him in the lineup on a nightly basis, no matter who is pitching. Since the Rangers are three games under .500 and needing a successful June, the time of letting Carter attempt to figure it out at this level should be over.
This is a move we saw the Rangers make with Jake Burger last year. He played in 12 Minor League games between AA and AAA in early May, getting 52 at-bats. To no surprise, the numbers were quite good as the OPS was over 1.000. Burger came back up after around two weeks and raised his MLB OPS by nearly 100 points before going down with another injury.
Now, here is where Schumaker and Young might have some pause. Carter is a really good defensive centerfielder. I’m not well-versed enough in defensive analytics to tell you what the difference between Carter and Langford is at the position. What you can tell, just from watching, is that this is not the same Team Gold Glove roster. Mistakes are happening for the Rangers defensively.
You might have to be willing to let Carter’s defense go for a while to get his offensive game back. On paper, this would, in fact, be a demotion for him. The opportunity to brand/think about it as a reset is there, though.
Carter still figures to be in the middle of long-term plans – this season and beyond. A compact Major League roster with guys in better form just presents a chance to get back on the right track without the pressure of performing in a Rangers uniform.