Wyatt Langford has forced the Rangers into another lineup puzzle, and this one starts with the outfielder himself admitting he is still not all the way back.
Langford told Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News that he is still feeling lingering effects from the forearm strain and hamstring injury that sidelined him earlier this season. The forearm issue was the bigger one, keeping him on the injured list for more than a month and even forcing the Rangers to shut him down after his first rehab attempt in early May.
He said he is not in pain, but he also didn’t hide the reality of where he stands physically. Langford said he is playing “through something.”
That matters because Texas has already built a fairly rigid plan around the designated hitter spot, and Langford’s situation makes it tougher to maneuver. Joc Pederson has been the regular DH against right-handed pitching, while the Rangers have rotated options against left-handers.
For a stretch, that was Justin Foscue, who handles lefties well. On Saturday, it was Logan O’Hoppe, a catcher who is currently getting DH turns while Danny Jansen and Elias Diaz handle the catching duties.
In a different setup, the Rangers could use the DH to give Langford more rest. But Pederson’s heavy usage there limits that.
Corey Seager’s need for occasional DH days adds another wrinkle, especially with his back issues having already cost him two months this season. If Pederson had not occupied DH for 105 games this year, Seager - with four DH games - and Langford - with nine - likely would have gotten more chances there.
The roster shuffle gets even tighter because Josh Jung has been out for a month with a calf injury. That has pushed Ezequiel Duran to third base and Cody Freeman to second base, unless Evan Carter is not in the lineup. In that case, Duran moves to center field, Freeman shifts to third, and Foscue takes second.
The only spot Texas can really slide Pederson to is first base, and that happens when the club wants to give Jake Burger a day off his feet.
For Langford, the biggest issue may be what this means defensively. If the arm strength still isn’t fully there, baserunners can test him and look for the extra base on balls that might otherwise be held to a single. And because the Rangers keep cycling through DH options against lefties while Pederson owns the job against righties, there’s not much room to simply park Langford there more than once a week.
So for now, Langford keeps playing, at least until the season ends or the Rangers fall out of the playoff race.
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