SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Between 2022-25, Marcus Semien played 596 of 648 games at second base for the Rangers in the regular season, good for 91.97% of the time during his Texas tenure.
During that same time period, Ezequiel Duran had the Rangers’ second-most starts at second base with 40. Cody Freeman was a distant third at 24.
Both are options to replace Semien as the starting second baseman. There are a number of internal options, to tell you the truth. But Josh Smith, the Rangers’ super-utility star, clearly has an inside track to the position.
But it won’t be handed to him, that much is clear. Duran, Sam Haggerty, Michael Helman and even an injured Freeman all want their own crack at the position. Smith will still have to prove it.
“It’s Smitty's opportunity right now,” manager Skip Schumaker said on Friday. “Like, 'Go get it, take it. Don't look back. There's other guys that want it, too. There's other guys that are fighting for that spot.'
“We'll see what happens. But I'm looking for him just to take hold of it and force me to play him every single day.”
Semien is one of the best defensive second baseman in the game, leading the American League at that position in defensive runs saved (5) in 2025, while also finishing third in the AL in outs above average (7). And while Smith said he simply needs to hit in order to grab ahold of the starting spot, defense still does matter.
Schumaker even recalled his own move to second base ahead of the 2009 season with the Cardinals, which he jokingly called a “trainwreck.” A natural outfielder, he had -45 defensive runs saved at second base between 2009-15.
“The one thing about Marcus is he worked at it,” Schumaker said. “He worked to get better. I think defense is the easiest tool to get better at, because it takes character and makeup and work ethic. I can't teach you how to run faster. That's hard to do, but I can teach you how to get better defensively.
“I think [Smith has] those qualities, the work ethic to be good to great. It's not gonna happen overnight. It takes a lot of work. I’m not expecting Marcus Semien Gold Glove defense. I don't know if that's gonna happen, but he’s expecting it, which is all you can ask for.”
Smith hasn’t been a full-time second baseman since before high school, he said. He was a shortstop in high school, a third baseman his freshman year at LSU and then a shortstop the rest of the way. With the Rangers, he’s played every position except pitcher and catcher.
Across his big league career, he’s collected 157 starts at third base, 107 starts at shortstop, 45 in left field, 31 at designated hitter, three at second base, seven in right field, 23 at first base and two in center field.
When asked about his comfort playing second full time, he laughed.
“Well, I also had never played left field before two years ago, or first base before last year,” Smith said. “I’m just trying to learn. … It's a very weird working at one position, for me. It's been a while since I've done that. I’m just trying to master that and get better at it. It is a lot of work. I think it's harder to be good at one position than be OK at all of them.”
He’ll get his shot to be really good at this one. He’s just gotta prove it.