The Sunday Read: Massive infield makeover could be in store for Texas Rangers next season

(AP photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)

The 2021 regular season ends a week from today, which for the Texas Rangers means packing up their bags and heading scattering for home.

It also means the media is trying to spin meaningless games forward, like six months forward. Not a day has passed in probably, oh, a month in which manager Chris Woodward hasn’t been asked about 2022.

A month might be generous.

Too often, or at least more often than he had hoped earlier in the season, Woodward hasn’t been able to provide a definitive answer.

Some of that is due to the uncertainty of which players the Rangers will acquire in the offseason. Some of that is due to the uncertainty of the players the Rangers have been fielding this season.

That’s especially so in the infield.

Isiah-Kiner Falefa might not be the shortstop next season. Second base is wide open. First base could be upgraded. The preference at third base has played the whole season in the minor leagues.

“Where they fit next year, we can’t determine that,” Woodward said Saturday. “We can’t tell them that. We honestly can’t look them in the eye and say, “Hey, you’re going to do this next year.’”

Here’s a dive into each position, starting up the middle.