Leody

Taveras

Not bad for a guy who was close to retiring just months ago. The Red Sox are throwing left-hander Garrett Crochet, so Pillar was likely always going to be in the lineup, but with Corey Seager taking the DH spot, that means Pillar got bumped to center field and Leody Taveras was pushed to the bench.

The 22-year-old has struggled this spring, going just 6-for-39 (.154) with 15 strikeouts in 42 plate appearances. Carter struggled both on the field and with injuries last season and had just 162 plate appearances in the big leagues. The Rangers will likely start him in Triple-A Round Rock with Leody Taveras manning center field and Kevin Pillar making the team as the fourth outfielder. Taveras has enough power and speed to be viable in deeper fantasy leagues since he hits in a strong Rangers lineup.

The Rangers are facing left-hander Kris Bubic and are putting out what looks to be an Opening Day lineup, with Josh Smith filling in at shortstop for Corey Seager, who is nursing a calf injury. With Evan Carter not in the lineup, Leody Taveras will play center field and Kevin Pillar will be the designated hitter. With Opening Day just two days away, this is a bit of a signal that Carter is not locked into everyday at-bats in Texas and will be in a bit of a timeshare with Taveras to start the season.

Taveras is hitting .214 in 28 at-bats, but he’s making them count. The 26-year-old is probably going to play behind Evan Carter for the most part initially this season, though things might work out differently in the long run. While Taveras has never been quite as successful as hoped, he’s still probably one of MLB’s top 30 center fielders.

While many assume that Taveras will be on the bench in Texas so that Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia, and Evan Carter can start; however, it might not be that simple. Taveras is a strong defender in center field while swiping 23 bases in 151 games. His value on the bases and on defense could keep him in the lineup more often than not.

The deal is still pending a physical, but the 32-year-old had been receiving plenty of interest around the league after hitting .275/.393/.515 with 23 home runs and a career-high .908 OPS with the Diamondbacks last year. Pederson has historically dominated right-handed pitching and saw only 32 total at-bats against left-handed pitching last season, so Texas will almost assuredly lock him in as their everyday DH against right-handed pitching, more than replacing the offensive production they were getting from Nathaniel Lowe. Of course, that means the Rangers are also back to only three outfield spots for Adolis Garcia, Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, and Leody Taveras, so somebody is going to be left out of regular playing time in 2025.

With two outs and none on in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth, Taveras singled off Andrés Muñoz, stole second base and then scored on a Marcus Semien single. Before that, he homered off JT Chargois in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5. It probably rates as his best game in a rather disappointing 2024 season. He’s batting .231/.290/.359 in 510 plate appearances.

It’s not surprising that Taveras sat versus lefties on Friday and Saturday, but he would normally be in there against a righty today. Instead, the Rangers have Travis Jankowski in center. Taveras has had a disappointing season, but he’s not particularly slumping at the moment, having gone 5-for-17 with a couple of doubles in his last five games. This is the first time he’s been out of the lineup against righty since July 31.

With the bases loaded and the infield drawn in with one out in the ninth inning, Taveras bounced a single up the middle to knock in the game-winning run. The 25-year-old’s defense keeps him on the field, but his .227/.282/.345 slash line with 39 RBIs means that he doesn’t need to be on your fantasy rosters.

Taveras opened the scoring in the ballgame with a two-run single off of Tanner Bibee in the second inning. He then swiped second base and raced around to score on Corey Seager’s two-run double. While his bat has perked up a bit over the past few weeks, it has been a rough season overall for Taveras who is hitting just .229/.286/.349 with nine homers, 37 RBI and 15 stolen bases (in 20 attempts).