Analyzing Rangers' rotation depth amid key injuries

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- A wise man -- Rangers general manager Chris Young -- once said: “You can never have too much starting pitching.” That will always remain true, especially for the former pitcher at the helm of the reigning World Series champs.

As pitchers and catchers reported to Surprise, Ariz., for the first day of camp on Wednesday, it was clear that the health and stability of the rotation will be key for the 2024 season.

With Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle all shelved until the summer at the earliest with varying injuries, it’s clear that finding guys that can provide quality big league innings will be a point of emphasis for the club throughout Spring Training.

“I will say this, we’ve got some guys on a mend,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We know it. So that's gonna make you a little thin. So that's why it's important that we look at our options in camp here. These are things we're discussing as we speak, we did yesterday for quite a while. And so until we get those guys back, we'll get to find a way to keep these guys healthy and keep the depth. But we do have some guys here that we think will give us that depth too.”

The rotation is currently headed by Nathan Eovaldi, with Jon Gray, Dane Dunning and Andrew Heaney filling in the spots behind him. Second-year lefty Cody Bradford -- who made eight big league starts in 2023 -- figures to be the No. 5 starter, but he shouldn’t be sharpied into that spot just yet.

“We're gonna have to have guys step up,” Eovaldi said. “We've got guys who can start for us and we'll be able to fill that void. Again, we're gonna have really big arms coming in that second half, we’re just gonna have to go out there and continue to do our job and have good, quality starts.”

There are depth options behind those five, but the question remains about the quality of innings they can get out of these guys in the regular season.

The Rangers have two pitchers in camp with big league experience in Danny Duffy and Jose Ure?a on Minor League deals who could earn spots on the roster. A trio of prospects -- Owen White, Cole Winn and Zak Kent -- are all on the 40-man roster, and could make spot starts as needed.

“We understand that there's a first half of the season and that we were going to need to have some depth there, too,” Young said. “We’re making sure that we have those options coming out of camp, and I think there's a great opportunity for some of our young players to really establish themselves as options for us. We're looking forward to seeing those guys in camp and seeing what they can do and seeing how close they are to being Major League options.”

Despite the clear hurdles the Rangers face going into the 2024 season, everybody in the clubhouse on Wednesday was confident in the club’s ability to compete for a World Series once again.

One message was clear for the reigning champs entering camp: it’s time to turn the page. There will still be moments to celebrate the Rangers’ historic 2023 season -- Dunning is excited about the ring reveal -- but starting on Wednesday, it became time to think about how they could do it all over again.

“We have to keep our eyes forward, I think it's gonna be important,” Gray said. “I think the guys in here are going to be doing a great job of that. So I think we're all looking forward to what we have in the season coming up and we can work on getting better and how we can become a better team. So I think that's gonna carry us.”