Among the many decisions the Rangers will have to make between now and Opening Day is what role, if any, Ronald Guzmán will have.

The first baseman is out of options, which adds some urgency. If he isn¡¯t a fit on the Rangers¡¯ roster, he can¡¯t be sent to the Minor Leagues, which means he¡¯s more likely to be picked up by another organization. If he is a fit, the Rangers will be gambling that his 2021 performance will align more with what he¡¯s doing in Spring Training, and less like he¡¯s fared the past two seasons.

¡°I definitely feel like I¡¯m a totally different player from last year,¡± Guzm¨¢n said after he exited the Rangers¡¯ 7-2 loss to the Dodgers on Friday. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve made some really great adjustments and you can tell in my at-bats, my takes and my approach. I feel like I¡¯ve shown everything I¡¯ve worked on in the offseason is different, and that I¡¯m going in the right direction.¡±

Guzm¨¢n homered Friday and is slashing a robust .346/.433/.769 in Cactus League play. The work he put in during a winter ball stint, plus extra time he¡¯s spent examining his swing and making necessary adjustments, appears to be paying off.

Both Guzm¨¢n and manager Chris Woodward used the word ¡°consistency¡± -- Guzm¨¢n would like to see more of it in terms of how much playing time he gets, while Woodward would like to see it show up regularly in at-bats, regardless of playing time.

¡°He's done a good job and I'm proud of him,¡± Woodward said. ¡°I want to make sure, mentally, he stays in that frame of mind and maintains what he's got going so he can, somewhere down the road, be even more consistent than he is right now.¡±

Guzm¨¢n¡¯s opposite-field homer off Kenley Jansen in the seventh inning was a good example of his elevated comfort level hitting the ball to all fields this spring, an area that he wanted to improve.

¡°I¡¯m getting better at it now, with my approach and the things that I¡¯ve been working on,¡± Guzm¨¢n said. ¡°I feel like it¡¯s been there before and it helps me to understand I don¡¯t necessarily have to pull the ball in order for me to hit a homer. That helps my confidence and shows I can hit the ball different places and cover the plate a lot better.¡±

Now all he needs is regular playing time, something that may be challenging, given his struggles against left-handed pitchers. Guzm¨¢n has a career average of .177 vs. southpaws, whereas Nate Lowe, also a left-handed hitter, is slightly better at .231. Guzm¨¢n is considered the better defender of the two.

Woodward remains ambiguous about the first-base situation, maintaining the Rangers aren¡¯t close to figuring out how it¡¯s going to shake out.

But he¡¯s definitive about what Guzm¨¢n has to do to increase his playing time.

¡°You got to earn those at-bats,¡± Woodward said. ¡°And that's what he has to do, honestly, to be on the roster. He has to have that consistency, whether it's [against] all the righties, or once every four or five days or on an everyday basis.

¡°I know there's going to be struggles when you don't play every day. I don't expect him to hit every pitch that¡¯s in the strike zone when he's not playing on a consistent basis. But I do expect the bat quality to be the same.¡±