When the Texas Rangers traded Marcus Semien to the New York Mets for Brandon Nimmo, it left a full-time opening available at second base. 

Entering the 2026 MLB season, which starts in earnest in just a little over a month, Josh Smith has his eyes on taking that everyday role for the ballclub.

But Smith is going to have to impress Rangers manager Skip Schumaker and show his ability to hit at a high level. Smith's ability to hit through the first stretch of a season has been incredible. Yet, he seems to be hitting a low mark in a season's second half.

So, as he tries to position himself for an everyday second baseman role, how can he change his hitting mindset to stay consistent at the plate all season long?

"I don't know," Smith said, according to MLB.com Rangers reporter Kennedi Landry.
"I wish there was a secret to hitting .300 in the second half.

"I think maybe just taking it one day at a time, and if I do have a bad day, just forgetting about it," Smith said. "I feel like that's probably the hardest thing for me. Sometimes if I'm struggling a little bit, I think about it probably too much."

In Smith's two full seasons with the Rangers, he's started out hot as a firecracker, only to cool off like a much-wished-for summertime breeze in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Let's take a look at his 2024 numbers. In its first 90 games, Smith had a slash line of .293/.392/.469. In the second half, his slash line dipped to .215/.265/.300. As for last season, in the first 84 games, Smith's slash line was .277/.353/.416; in the second half, .208/.306/.286.

That's quite a discrepancy for Smith. It also doesn't leave him with a feeling that Schumaker could trust him to hit at a consistently high average throughout the season.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young knows that Smith wants to be the one who holds the cards at second base. But Young said that Smith has to come in at spring training and compete for the role.

"The player who comes into camp and earns the job will be the second baseman," Young said. "But Smitty, the good version of him, I think it lends itself towards believing it's his job to win. But he's got to go do it."

When it comes to getting that second base job, Smith realizes that he's not the only one in the mix for it.

"I don't think the job is mine to hold yet," Smith said. "I know we got some guys competing for it. You never know, anything could happen and we have good players, as well. But I'm just gonna do what I can, control what I can and not really try to do anything differently."

It's time to see if Smith can truly step up and make his full-time mark at second base.

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