When the Texas Rangers signed veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen to a minor-league contract on March 6, both parties knew they were working on borrowed time.

With less than three weeks until Opening Day, McCutchen knew he didn’t have long to impress the Rangers and prove himself worthy of a spot on the team.

Additionally, McCutchen admittedly hadn’t had much of an opportunity to face live pitching throughout the off-season.

However, as things currently sit, just days away from Opening Day, you wouldn’t be able to tell McCutchen didn’t get many live reps during the winter.

In 15 at-bats this Spring Training, McCutchen is hitting at a .533 clip with eight hits, a home run, and seven RBIs.

“He's doing a really good job,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said, according to Rangers beat reporter Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. “He's a winning player. He's trying to fight to get on a team, and he's also trying to get numbers and produce. He’ll hit a ground ball to second to try to win a game in Spring Training. That shows you what he's all about.”

A veteran player like McCutchen is always an ideal bench option because they can often still make an impact without regular playing time.

Although with the way McCutchen is playing this Spring Training, he may have the Rangers and their fans dreaming of more.

Every contending team needs unexpected contributors, and the Rangers no doubt hope McCutchen can be one of those.

Although it will be tough for McCutchen to break into the starting outfield, which features Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, and Brandon Nimmo, it’s not hard to see a way in which he could get consistent at-bats.

The Rangers will need to find a right-handed complement to Joc Pederson when a left-handed starter is on the mound, so that could open up some designated hitter at-bats for McCutchen.

Additionally, Schumaker has said that he wants to also use the DH role to get regulars some half days off, so that could create some playing time for McCutchen in the outfield.

By no means is McCutchen cemented into the Opening Day roster, but things look like they’re trending positively for him to be with the team when camp breaks.

Despite that, McCutchen still isn’t focused on results, but rather the quality of at-bats he’s putting together.

“It's not just necessarily the result, it's more of the quality of the results,” McCutchen said. “I’m getting consistent at-bats, working counts. Even when I'm behind, I’m getting the full counts, getting myself swinging at the strikes and not swinging at balls.

“It’s all of those things," McCutchen said. "Lots of people probably look at the result. I'm looking more at what led to the result. That has felt really good and consistent.”

There’s no doubt that if McCutchen finished up camp putting together this level of quality of at-bats, he’ll be playing at Globe Life Field for the first time in his career.

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