Josh Smith goes into Texas Rangers training camp trying to win either a starting job in left field or a super-utility role.
InsidetheRangers.com previews every player on the Texas Rangers 40-man roster heading into Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona.
OF/IF Josh Smith
In 2022: Smith made his Major League debut on May 30 and went on the injured list June 4, which necessitated the Rangers calling up Ezequiel Duran. Once Smith returned in June, he played some third base and he played left field as he tried to carve out a role in Arlington. Ultimately, he spent some time at Triple-A Round Rock in August before returning to the Rangers for the final month of the season.
He played 73 games with the Rangers, batting .197/.307/.249/.556. He scored 23 runs, hit five doubles and two home runs (one inside-the-park). He drove in 16 runs. He walked 28 times, struck out 50 times, stole four bases and was caught stealing three times.
Smith played four different positions for the Rangers — two games at second base, 36 games at third base, six games and shortstop and 24 games in left field. He had one error in 152 total chances.
Contract Status: Smith is a rookie and under team control for the foreseeable future.
In Surprise: Smith has a couple of different pathways to make the Opening Day roster. First is to win the left-field job outright. That would mean beating out the incumbent, Bubba Thompson, and possibly Duran, who played some outfield during his time in the Dominican Winter League. The second is to convince the Rangers to be a super-utility player, one that can play in the infield and outfield consistently. To do that, he might have to beat out a veteran like Brad Miller, who can do similar things but doesn’t have Smith’s overall speed. The Rangers want to get something out of Smith, who was one of four players the Rangers got in return for Joey Gallo in 2021. Now that he’s had a taste of the Majors, expect the Rangers to give him a long run to prove he’s worth a roster spot in 2023.
2023 Texas Rangers 40-Man Spring Training Previews:
Joe Barlow | John King | Dane Dunning | Brett Martin | Jake Odorizzi | Yerry Rodriguez | Owen White | Cole Ragans | Andrew Heaney | Glenn Otto | Josh Sborz | Ricky Vanasco | Cole Winn | Nathan Eovaldi | Jon Gray | Jonathan Hernández | Spencer Howard | José Leclerc| Martín Pérez | Brock Burke | Jacob deGrom | Taylor Hearn | Jonah Heim | Sam Huff| Luisangel Acuña | Ezequiel Duran | Josh Jung | Bubba Thompson | Nathaniel Lowe | Jonathan Ornelas | Corey Seager | Marcus Semien |
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