Rangers vs Padres Pre-Game Notes, Ten Observations from the Colorado Series

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers kick off back-to-back two-game series against the San Diego Padres, beginning Monday night at Globe Life Field.

San Diego Padres (11-12) @ Texas Rangers (10-10)

Monday, August 16, 2020 8:05 p.m. CT Globe Life Field | Arlington, TX Roof Closed

ProbablesSD: RHP Zach Davies (2-2, 2.78 ERA) vs TEX: RHP Jordan Lyles (1-1, 6.06 ERA)

Broadcast

San Diego Padres TV: FOX Sports San Diego, FS1 Radio: KWFN, XEMO

Texas Rangers TV: FOX Sports Southwest Plus, FS1 Radio: 105.3 The Fan, KFLC

San Diego Padres Starting Lineup

Texas Rangers Starting Lineup

Injury Report

Brett Martin (10-day IL: left rotator cuff inflammation)In response to activating Danny Santana, the Rangers placed Brett Martin on the 10-day IL retroactive to August 13 with left rotator cuff inflammation. There had been no word of his injury before Sunday. 

Robinson Chirinos (10-day IL: left ankle sprain): Chirinos’ ankle is worse than originally thought. He was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to August 11.

Update from Rangers manager Chris Woodward on Friday:

“The last two games, obviously I didn’t say anything, but he was not even close to being available. We were in a little bit of a bind there with only one catcher, but we got through it. I think it’s the best. Robbie agrees. He needs to get fully healthy. He wasn’t contributIng like he wanted to, but that had a lot to do with his health. If we can get him back to full health, we’ll get the version of Robbie that we envisioned and that he wants to be.”

Nick Goody (10-day IL: back spasms) Goody had dealt with some back issues over a week ago and tried to pitch through them, but was unable to overcome them. The Rangers placed him on the 10-day IL effective August 12.

Joe Palumbo (10-day IL: ulcerative colitis flare up) Update from Chris Woodward on Friday:

“He’s doing better. The medication they put him on really worked. He’s really happy about it. I think it’s a few more days of light physical activity and then he can start getting back to throwing. He feels good. He was really worried that nothing was working. He just kept having flare up after flare up. He was losing weight like crazy. He’s not a big guy to start with, so he doesn’t have a whole lot of weight to lose. We were a little concerned, he was as well. Right now, he’s in a good spot. Hopefully, we get him throwing soon.”

Corey Kluber (45-day IL: shoulder tear) He is three weeks into a four-week shutdown. He went back to his home in Boston during this time.

José Leclerc (45-day IL: shoulder tear) Leclerc has the same prognosis as Corey Kluber. He is only a few days behind Kluber, roughly a week and a half into a four-week shutdown.

Edinson Vólquez (45-day IL: strained oblique) Vólquez suffered the injury last Tuesday night in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners. Chris Woodward says he hope Vólquez can make a return, but the 45-day window leads right to near the end of the season. Vólquez will rehab in Arlington.

Ten Observations from Colorado

1. Lance Lynn is still a Cy Young candidate. He’s at least in the top-three after the weekend. What he’s done is absolutely remarkable. 

2. Rougned Odor looked better. No, not quite where he needs to be. But three hits (including a home run) and three RBI is a good place to start after making adjustments to his swing after being benched last Wednesday.

3. The defense is still concerning. It could have been the combination of some lineup shuffling and the tall grass in the infield. However, some realities were exposed, including Nick Solak’s inexperience in center field and Derek Dietrich’s limitations in the field. In addition, Rougned Odor is not the defender that was named a finalist for the AL Gold Glove at second base in 2018.

4. Joey Gallo has been slumping hard. However, I’m not overly concerned. He’s taken some good hacks. He’s still patient at the plate. He actually may be a little too selective right now. Chris Woodward even admitted the offense as a whole has to take advantage of pitches in the strike zone earlier in counts in order to slug more. Maybe Gallo’s home run on Sunday can help get him out of his funk.

5. Rafael Montero reminds me a lot of Neftalí Feliz. If Montero further develops his slider, the Rangers have their closer through at least 2022. Obviously, the Rangers need to see a much larger sample size before they do something like they did with José Leclerc. However, his fastball and sinker are good enough to keep hitters uncomfortable if he can be consistent with his slider. 

6. I’m so happy for Taylor Hearn. He desperately wanted to get back on the mound after that catastrophe in Seattle. While he showed some nerves in his comeback last week, his outing on Sunday was much better. Hearn has the stuff to fill any role in the Rangers bullpen—maybe even develop back into a starter eventually. But overall, I’m just happy for the dude. He’s worked insanely hard to get back out there.

7. When will Todd Frazier come crashing back down to Earth? I mean, nobody wants him to. But he’s been their most consistent hitter since day one. He just continues to hit. Through the first third of the season, Frazier is batting .317 with two home runs, five RBI, and a .918 OPS. Frazier is a career .244 hitter. The highest average he’s ever finished a season with is .273 (2012, 2014). He’s been a sneaky-good addition to the roster and the clubhouse. 

8. Shin-Soo Choo is coming back around. He had a very solid series in Colorado. He also looks as fast as ever on the bases. At 38 years old, Choo has done very well considering he’s had to play the field more often than expected…again. Choo’s consistency at the plate gives the Rangers a much needed lift at the top of the lineup.

9. I’m not too concerned about Kolby Allard. He’s still very young and just pitched in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the league against a really good lineup. If Allard struggles as badly as he did on Sunday the next time he pitches, which will likely be this weekend in Seattle, then let’s get our caution flags out.

10. I like Kyle Gibson. I’m still sticking with that signing being one of the better deals made this past winter. He can pitch deep into games and give you quality starts more often than not. He pitched very well in Colorado and will likely pitch next time out in San Diego, a pitcher-friendly ballpark. I believe Gibson is trending upward for the Rangers.

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