Dunning could start, but Rangers don't need him yet

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Though he scattered 10 hits, right-hander Dane Dunning on Monday became the first Rangers starter to get through six innings this spring.

Thing is, the Rangers aren’t likely to ask Dunning to get through six innings any time early in the season. It appears the club is leaning towards carrying him and left-hander Cole Ragans as bullpen/long-relief options into the year. They could potentially back up Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, both of whom are expected to be on restrictive pitch counts early.

“We’re here to win, so we’re going to break with the guys that fit our needs and, let’s be honest, our needs are going to include some long guys,” Bochy said. “We’re not going to be stretching some guys out early because they did get a little behind. You look at the Dunnings and the Ragans and those guys and those are some important innings they could be filling for us. And it doesn’t mean they can’t spot start for you if you need it.”

Dunning has pitched almost exclusively as a starter professionally, but he was primarily a reliever at Florida his junior season ahead of being drafted in the first round.

“I feel like I can do it,” he said. “You still have to get used to it. As a starter, you have kind of have your routine and the other four days it’s a little different. But whatever they need, I’m up for it.”

Can Rangers utility man Josh Smith help in center field? Life imitates art, they say. Saturday night, the art: Josh Smith and his wife, Claire, danced through Taylor Swift’s epic 44-song set in nearby Phoenix, including, about a third of the way through: “Ready for It.”

Sunday morning, the Rangers asked him the same thing.

Though it’s a pretty safe bet they weren’t conjuring up a scorned lover or a bank heist, as the lyrics suggest. They merely wanted to know if he was comfortable going out to play center field for the first time since a mid-summer trial at Triple-A Round Rock. By Monday, he was starting there in the big league exhibition against Cleveland. Come next week, he might just be out there on opening day against Philadelphia, facing fellow Baton Rouge Catholic alum Aaron Nola.

What was that Taylor sang about wildest dreams?

Less than a week before the Rangers leave Arizona, they find themselves in a potential pinch in center. Expected starter Leody Taveras is still dealing with a strained oblique muscle that has his availability for opening day in question. Expected plug-in Bubba Thompson has struggled with strikeouts. And veteran Travis Jankowski, who was supposed to be a potential depth option, is in a two-week hitless stretch.

That trio had combined to start all of the Rangers’ first 23 exhibitions before Smith played seven defensively uneventful innings in a 5-5 tie Monday. Smith did take a walk and scored the tying run from first on an Ezequiel Duran double. Smith is 10 for 24 in March and has reached base 16 times in his last 30 plate appearances. He’s solidified his spot on the roster as a utility player. Now he’s potentially expanding it.

He played center in a minor league game Sunday a couple hours after the Rangers asked him. He was a bit surprised — he hadn’t even worked out in center this spring in an organized drill. Then he went out and made a sliding catch.

“Wherever they need me, I’ll try to be ready for it,” Smith said Monday. “I feel pretty comfortable. I’m prepared for it. I’m going to be that guy who can play anywhere and take that as something of a challenge. As a natural shortstop, you are just trying to be an athlete and kind of let your actions take over and not think about it too much.”

The Rangers, however, will think about it this week. A lot.

Taveras, a switch hitter, has only 10 official at-bats this spring due to the early-March strain. He has been swinging from the left side without much issue but hasn’t tested the right side yet. The Rangers were planning to test it Wednesday but ended up giving him the day off to “back off him a little,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

If Taveras is closing in on being ready come next week, maybe the Rangers carry him into the season even if he’s not available the first weekend. In a bit of a 40-man roster crunch and needing to carry a minimum of 13 position players, the Rangers might not have other choices. Jankowski, the non-roster invitee who has center field experience, is hitless in his last 14 at-bats dating back to March 8. It would be hard to justify creating a 40-man roster spot for him for a short-term stint.

Thompson, a speed and defense guy, is the likely fourth outfielder. But since homering on March 7, he’s struck out in half of his at-bats. He has three singles in 18 at-bats since. The strikeout is an issue, especially for a guy speedy enough to turn routine grounders into base hits. Thompson struck out 30.9% of the time after he came up last season, and it was closer to 40% over the last three weeks of the season.

“The biggest thing Bubba needs to do is a little more contact,” Bochy said. “That’s what we’re working on here with him. He’s got game-changing speed, especially late in the game. You can see pitchers distracted by it. He’s as fast as any player I’ve ever seen. He’s got [Billy] Hamilton-type speed.”

Nola, who has started the last five openers for Philadelphia, ranked fourth in the majors in strikeouts in 2022. Putting a hitter with contact issues up against him might make for automatic outs. On the other hand, Thompson has the ability to impact a game without reaching base. His speed gives him exceptional range in the outfield. He’s had a couple of questionable reads this spring, but he ran down a couple of balls on Monday.

Over the next week, they will continue to look at the situation. Because the one thing they can’t afford to do is have center field be a … wait for it … blank space.

Briefly: LHP Martín Pérez, who had been with Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, will return to the team on Wednesday. Perez has pitched just 1/3 of an inning since March 11. … Special assistant to the GM Ian Kinsler joined the club on Monday for the remainder of spring training. Kinsler, who hadn’t worn a Rangers uniform since 2013, managed Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. … SS Corey Seager extended his hitting streak to 12 games, the longest spring hitting streak by a Ranger in a decade. He had a pair of singles through the right side, both of which likely would not have gotten through the shift a year ago. … San Francisco fans will have to wait until August to reunite with Bruce Bochy. The former Giants manager will stay back in Surprise when the Rangers play split-squad games at the Giants and home against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday. … RHP Owen White returned to a game for the first time since the end of February, going one inning for Double-A Frisco Sunday. His fastball sat in the 92-94 mph range. The Rangers expect White, their top pitching prosepct, to be ready for the start of the minor league season after he dealt with some arm fatigue.