Taveras is not in Texas' starting lineup against San Francisco on Friday.
Taveras belted a solo homer in Thursday's loss to the Athletics, but he'll begin Friday's contest in the dugout while Dustin Harris starts in center field and bats seventh. Taveras is slashing .200/.212/.292 with six stolen bases, six runs scored, one home run and seven RBI over 66 plate appearances this season.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Homers in return to lineup
Rotowire
Taveras started in center field and went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Athletics.
Taveras, who had been held out of the starting nine the previous three games, returned to action and belted his first homer of the season. The blast pushed his batting average up to .200 (13-for-65) with a 1:19 BB:K, which partially explains why Kevin Pillar, Josh Smith and Dustin Harris started in center field the previous three contests. The switch-hitting Taveras typically sits against lefties, but the Rangers faces righties in two of those three games. Smith is now needed at shortstop to cover for Corey Seager (hamstring), so Taveras' outlook for playing time could improve even if his struggles at the plate continue.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Riding pine Wednesday
Rotowire
Taveras isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.
Taveras owns a .576 OPS against left-handers since 2023, so the Rangers will keep him on the bench Wednesday against southpaw JP Sears. Kevin Pillar will fill the resulting void in center field and bat leadoff.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Idle Tuesday
Rotowire
Taveras is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Athletics.
Taveras will sit for a second consecutive game Tuesday after going 0-for-6 with a strikeout against the Dodgers over the weekend. Josh Smith will start in center field instead and bat leadoff.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Swipes sixth bag
Rotowire
Taveras went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Angels.
The switch-hitting center fielder had gone without a hit in the three prior games, but Taveras made the most of his leadoff single in the sixth inning Tuesday, as he stole second base, advanced to third on a Travis d'Arnaud throwing error and then trotted home on a Marcus Semien sacrifice fly that was inches from leaving the yard. Taveras hasn't done much at the plate yet this season, slashing .213/.229/.255 with zero homers, four RBI and four runs through 16 contests while mainly batting ninth for the Rangers, but he has pilfered six bags in seven attempts.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Missing from starting nine
Rotowire
Taveras is not in the lineup for Monday's tilt versus the Cubs.
The switch-hitting Taveras has started in center field all nine times the Rangers have faced a right-hander this season, but he's been absent from the lineup both times they've encountered a lefty. Kevin Pillar is in center field and batting fifth Monday.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Busy on basepaths in win
Rotowire
Taveras went 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and two stolen bases in Friday's 5-2 win over the Rays.
The 26-year-old switch hitter hasn't done much at the plate so far -- he's batting .182 (4-for-22) with zero extra-base hits and a 1:6 BB:K -- but Taveras is at least making an impact with his legs. After swiping a career-high 23 bags in 2024, he's gone 4-for-4 in steal attempts through his first seven games of the campaign. Evan Carter has just one hit in 17 at-bats to begin his season at Triple-A Round Rock, so Taveras seems to have a firm hold on the starting center field spot in Texas for now.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Off and running
Rotowire
Taveras went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 4-3 win over Boston.
Taveras used his legs to set up the game-winning run in the fifth inning. He beat out a bunt for a hit, stole second base and scored on a Marcus Semien single. It was the second steal in as many games for Taveras, who appears to be on the strong side of a platoon in center field. Kevin Pillar started against the lone lefty the Rangers have faced through three games.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Starts against righty
Rotowire
Taveras started in center field against right-hander Tanner Houck and went 1-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base in Friday's 4-1 win over the Red Sox.
Taveras made his first start of the regular season after he rode the bench Thursday against a lefty. Kevin Pillar, who started Thursday, appears to have worked his way into a timeshare in center field to start the season. Taveras may not provide much value as a hitter, but he's posted double-digit steals each of the last four seasons at the major-league level.
Taveras will be the Rangers' starting center fielder after Evan Carter was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Taveras came into spring training in line to serve as the club's fourth outfielder, but he outplayed Carter by a wide margin, finishing with a .747 OPS with four home runs and four stolen bases during Cactus League play. The switch hitter could sit in favor of Kevin Pillar against some lefties, but manager Bruce Bochy said a platoon in center field isn't guaranteed, per Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Might be favorite to start in CF
Rotowire
Taveras is starting in center field and batting ninth in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Royals.
In both of the Rangers' final exhibition tune-ups Monday and Tuesday, it's been Taveras in center field over Evan Carter, with one of those matchups coming against a righty and the other versus a lefty. It would seem to indicate that Taveras has won the center-field job, although manager Bruce Bochy has not confirmed it. If Carter isn't the starter in center, he will likely be assigned to Triple-A Round Rock, where he can play every day.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Starts in center field Monday
Rotowire
Taveras started in center field and went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, an additional run scored and a stolen base in Monday's exhibition game against Kansas City.
One of the questions throughout the Rangers' camp and Cactus League games was which of Taveras or Evan Carter would be the club's starting center fielder come Opening Day. While manager Bruce Bochy hasn't confirmed it officially, having Taveras start Monday is a signal that he'll open the season as part of the starting nine. The 26-year-old switch-hitting outfielder is batting just .204 (10-for-49) this spring, but Taveras swatted four homers along with a double and four stolen bases over 19 spring games.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Settles with Texas
Rotowire
Taveras agreed to a one-year, $4.75 million contract with the Rangers on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
The 26-year-old played in a career-high 151 games last season but had an underwhelming .229/.289/.352 slash line with 12 home runs and 23 stolen bases. Taveras is likely to begin 2025 as Texas' No. 4 outfielder, assuming Evan Carter (back), Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia (knee) can stay healthy.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Getting rest Wednesday
Rotowire
Taveras isn't in Texas' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.
The switch-hitting Taveras owns a .531 OPS against southpaws this season, so he'll ride the pine as the Rangers prepare to face left-hander Brady Basso. Sandro Fabian, Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia will start across the outfield while Taveras rests.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Homer, steal in win
Rotowire
Taveras went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a stolen base and three total runs scored in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Mariners.
This is the second time in six games he's recorded three hits, a homer and a steal in the same contests. Taveras tied the game in the seventh inning with a solo shot and then scored the winning run on Marcus Semien's walk-off single in the ninth. Taveras is hitting .265 (13-for-49) in September, lifting his season slash line to .231/.290/.359 with 12 homers, 21 steals, 44 RBI and 58 runs scored over a career-high 146 games.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Fills box score in win
Rotowire
Taveras went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run, a stolen base and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 13-8 win over the Blue Jays.
Taveras has homered in two of his last three contests after going 33 games without a long ball. While he's shown a little more power recently, he's still just 8-for-32 (.250) with three extra-base hits over 12 contests in September. The 26-year-old outfielder has 11 homers, 20 steals, 43 RBI, 55 runs scored and a .229/.287/.354 slash line across 141 games while maintaining a starting role in center field.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Records first September RBI
Rotowire
Taveras went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-4 loss to Seattle.
Taveras responded to the Mariners scoring in the second inning with his 10th homer of the season a half inning later to give Texas a lead. The RBI were the first during the month of September for Taveras, who entered the game batting .143 (3-for-21) over the nine previous contests. His elite defense keeps him employed, but it was easier to put him in a lineup every day when Taveras hit like he did in 2023 (.733 OPS).
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Not starting Friday
Rotowire
Taveras is absent from Friday's lineup against Seattle.
The Rangers will go with Ezequiel Duran, Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia in the outfield Friday. Taveras has gone 3-for-20 with five walks and four runs scored in September.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: On bench against lefty
Rotowire
Taveras is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Angels.
Taveras will be held out of the starting lineup against a left-handed starting pitcher (Tyler Anderson) for a third straight time. In his place, Wyatt Langford will man center field.
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Rangers' Leody Taveras: Doesn't start Friday
Rotowire
Taveras was not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Angels. It was his second straight absence against a left-hander.
Sandro Fabian started in the outfield Friday while Ezequiel Duran filled in Tuesday. It's unclear if sitting Taveras against lefties is the plan going forward, but more should be known Saturday when the Angels have another lefty scheduled. The switch-hitting Taveras is batting .202/.287/.262 over 96 plate appearances against southpaws this season.
