{"id":28005,"date":"2025-01-21T13:18:53","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T13:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28005"},"modified":"2025-01-21T13:18:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T13:18:53","slug":"texas-rangers-boss-sets-playing-time-priority-for-super-utility-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28005","title":{"rendered":"Texas Rangers Boss Sets Playing Time Priority for Super-Utility Star"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Sep<\/picture><\/figure>\n
Sep 22, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) celebrates with shortstop Josh Smith (8) and second baseman Marcus Semien (2) and right fielder Adolis Garcia (53) after Langford hits a three run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the sixth inning at Globe Life Field. \/ Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Last year, Josh Smith came of age offensively, so much so that he earned a Silver Slugger award as the league\u2019s best-hitting utility player.<\/p>\n

However, he spent a good portion of the season at shortstop for an injured Corey Seager and at third base for an injured Josh Jung. Both are healthy entering spring training.<\/p>\n

So, where will Smith play this season? Texas Rangers president Chris Young isn\u2019t quite sure yet, but his versatility will be his calling card and getting him on the field is a high priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are ways we can get him in the lineup at least four or five times a week, maybe six depending on the need,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n

Smith stepped into third base in the first week of the season after Jung fractured his wrist when he was hit by a pitch. He spent the first half of the season at the hot corner, playing 83 games.<\/p>\n

Later, when Seager went on the injured list with a sports hernia, he finished the season at shortstop, where he played 49 games.<\/p>\n

He also played five games in the outfield \u2014 four games in left field and one in right field \u2014 along with a game at second base.<\/p>\n

Offensively he slashed .258\/.337\/.394\/.731 with 30 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 62 RBI, all of which either tied or set career-highs in a season.<\/p>\n

But his defense is just as valuable. He has a lifetime .971 fielding percentage, with a .980 clip at third base, where he\u2019s played more MLB games than any other position.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s played six different positions in three MLB seasons, as the Rangers asked him to fashion himself from a middle infielder into a super-utility player. That will be his role again in 2025, assuming everyone else is healthy.<\/p>\n

His baseball aptitude, willingness to learn each position and his physical talent have allowed him to become indispensable to the Rangers. That\u2019s why Young is setting out to get Smith regular playing time a priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cJosh stepped in last year and he was able to perform (offensively) while playing defensively well at multiple positions,\u201d Young said. \u201cThat\u2019s hard to do for a young player. That\u2019s a hard thing for a veteran player. It\u2019s such a versatile skill set and something that is so important to our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why on two different occasions on Saturday at Rangers Fanfest that Young was a possibility for playing time at center field. Both times it was unprompted.<\/p>\n

Anything to get Smith on the field in Young\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year, Josh Smith came of age offensively, so much so that he earned a Silver Slugger award as the league\u2019s best-hitting utility player.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nTexas Rangers Boss Sets Playing Time Priority for Super-Utility Star - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Texas Rangers Boss Sets Playing Time Priority for Super-Utility Star - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last year, Josh Smith came of age offensively, so much so that he earned a Silver Slugger award as the league\u2019s best-hitting utility player.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-21T13:18:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-2025-01-21T201847.991.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28005\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28005\",\"name\":\"Texas Rangers Boss Sets Playing Time Priority for Super-Utility Star - 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