Monday newsletter time: With Eli White likely out, door to Rangers roster opens for Leody Taveras
(Screenshot/Bally Sports Southwest)
Eli White is going to be out for a while. The Rangers haven’t said that, but they really don’t need to say anything.
Lip readers and just about anyone who watched him collide Sunday with Charlie Culberson suspect that White broke his right arm. Some on the Twitter think he broke his collarbone. Maybe he broke both.
Culberson told reporters in Chicago that he lost a flyball from Danny Mendick in the sun while moving toward left-center field to catch it. White, who homered and drove in the Rangers’ first three runs, was coming from center field and dived for the ball.
His arm took the brunt of Culberson’s weight.
This was just a brutal collision between Charlie Culberson and Eli White pic.twitter.com/RaY4IraPl5
— Casey Drottar (@CDrottar19) June 12, 2022
There are no fingers to be pointed. Two players who are known for their grit were trying to make a play in the 11th inning, and neither did. White walked off the field under his own power, sort of, and went for x-rays, the results of which were pending after the Rangers’ 8-6 victory over the White Sox in 12 innings.
Expect the Rangers to summon an outfielder from Triple A Round Rock. The easy move is for Leody Taveras, who is on the 40-man roster and entered Sunday with a five-game hitting streak and looks to be on track again after a rough May (.202).
The Rangers have been biding their time on Taveras, waiting for an opportunity in which he was trending the right way and would be in a situation where he would play every day. Having him in center field would allow Adolis Garcia to play right field, which is easier on him physically.
This situation appears to check all of the boxes.
Bubba Thompson will probably be discussed, though he is not on the 40-man. Andy Ibanez and Nick Solak are 40-man infielders who can play left field, and both are right-handed hitters who could slide into a platoon with Brad Miller or Zach Reks.
Taveras did not play Sunday as Round Rock finished a series at Tacoma. Sea-Tac Airport has many flights to DFW.
Someone is probably/likely/certainly coming to replace White.
A win nonetheless
The injury was the most noteworthy part of a crazy game that saw the Rangers blow leads of 3-1 and 6-3 before finally hanging on in the 12th as Kolby Allard, naturally, notched his first career save.
One of the heroes was Ezequiel Duran, though had the White Sox won he would have been the goat. No, not the G.O.A.T. He booted a potential double-play grounder that allowed Chicago to score two runs in the seventh to tie the game.
He atoned for it in the 11th with a three-run homer, the second long ball of his first eight days in the majors, and he also wisely kept the tag on Luis Robert as he slid into third and momentarily came off the base for the last out of the game.
Jonah Heim had the tiebreaking two-run single in the 12th, with Garcia somehow getting under the tag at home for the second run. Right-hander Jon Gray struck out 10 in six innings of one-run ball as the Rangers earned a split on their six-game road trip.
They returned home Sunday night ahead of a short three-game homestand against Houston before heading back on the road for a four-game series at Detroit … before returning home for a five-game homestand β with two off days β next week.
Nice scheduling, MLB.
ICYMI …
Vacation has ended, sadly, though Rangers Today was only off a few days while in Tennessee. That’s right: There were a few things posted that require your attention, in case you missed it. Also, please, please, please subscribe to the Texas Rangers Baseball Podcast YouTube channel. We’re almost to paydirt, but need everyone who is reading this to go and subscribe. Thanks for your support.
The Sunday Read: Observations while on vacation
Friday on the farm: The hot-hitting Jonathan Ornelas
T.R.’s Memoirs: New York, New York
Texas Rangers Baseball Podcast: Audio and video links with Bubba Thompson
Doggy video!
My son last week after a marathon Wednesday. Enjoy. See you Tuesday.
Ran out of battery..ππΎπ¨π pic.twitter.com/TOWDr8PUGu
— πoΜ΄gΜ΄ (@Yoda4ever) June 6, 2022
Jeff Wilson, jeff@rangerstoday.com
