ARLINGTON -- The Rangers offense has been the main point of criticism for more than two years now. The first change of some kind was bound to come at some point this season.
It happened on Wednesday, when the Rangers designated veteran Andrew McCutchen for assignment, while also signing utility infielder Nicky Lopez to a one-year Major League contract.
“Certainly, we respect Andrew, what he's accomplished, not only in this game, but more importantly, who he is as a person,” said president of baseball operations Chris Young. “It's been wonderful having him, but we're at a point where given the injuries [in the infield], Nicky gives us another option and provides some versatility, which is needed right now, given where we are.”
The Rangers signed McCutchen to a Minor League deal on March 6 and he was given an abbreviated Spring Training to prove he still had something in the tank. He hit .429 with a 1.270 OPS in nine Cactus League games and broke camp with the big league club.
McCutchen ultimately hit just .192 (14-for-73) with one home run, two doubles and five RBIs over 37 games for Texas, including 16 starts at designated hitter (9), right field (5) and left field (2).
The 39-year-old was mainly used as a pinch-hitter and as a platoon complement to left-handed designated hitter Joc Pederson. Of McCutchen's 83 plate appearances with the Rangers, 21 came as a pinch-hitter, the most in baseball entering play Wednesday. He was 2-for-18 (.111) with three walks in those spots.
“I think this is as much about the role we had for him as it is the need up the middle,” Young said. “You saw a couple days ago with JJ [Josh Jung] down, we had Zeke [Duran] at third, and we're playing Michael Hellman at short and [Justin] Foscue at second. It's not really ideal in terms of putting these guys out of position, We had to really shore this up, and have some coverage.”
The Rangers have no doubt been dealing with injuries that have kept the offense from reaching its potential. Shortstop Corey Seager has been out for more than a week with back inflammation, while left fielder Wyatt Langford is out for a month with a forearm strain. Second baseman Josh Smith has a long list of injuries that most recently includes viral meningitis.
The Rangers' offensive issues, which came to a peak on Monday when they were no-hit by the Astros, should not be entirely placed on McCutchen’s shoulders, obviously. But for a team that needs to find different ways to win -- mainly bunting and speed, as opposed to slugging with Seager and Langford out -- he became the unfortunate fallout.
Lopez has the profile of a guy that the Rangers need right now.
“He's definitely got that profile of the bat-to-ball skills, he puts the ball in play, has the speed-bunt combination and obviously is really good on the defensive side,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “He's a pro, he's been around a long time, and he's going to fit right in.”