The Texas Rangers announced their roster for the 2023 World Series ahead of Friday’s Game 1. They are carrying the exact same roster from the ALCS, where they bested the Houston Astros in a seven-game showdown. Bruce Bochy‘s club now goes into battle against the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks, who also announced their roster on Friday.
The #WorldSeries roster is set. pic.twitter.com/iT6DqWwbpP
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) October 27, 2023
Breaking Down the Rangers’ World Series Roster
Jonah Heim will be the main guy behind the plate for the Rangers. One backup catcher, Mitch Garver, is the DH for Game 1, while Austin Hedges rounds out the catching contingent.
In the infield, the Rangers will have Nathaniel Lowe at first, Marcus Semien at second, Corey Seager at shortstop, and Josh Jung at third. Josh Smith will serve as the utility/backup infielder. Semien and Seager each provide an above-average share of power out of the middle infield.
The starting outfield for Game 1 is as follows: Evan Carter in left, Leody Taveras in center, and Adolis Garcia in right. Garcia was a one-man wrecking crew against the Astros. He homered in each of the last four games, slugging his way to ALCS MVP honors. Robbie Grossman and Travis Jankowski are the two reserve outfielders.
The rotation will consist of Nathan Eovaldi, Jordan Montgomery, and Max Scherzer. Andrew Heaney could possibly make a spot start for a bullpen, which he did in Game 4 against Houston. Jon Gray is expected to be a long-relief man, but it wouldn’t be out of the question to see him start at some point. The same goes for Martin Perez, who was part of Texas’ regular season rotation.
In the bullpen, the righties are Gray, Dane Dunning, Chris Stratton, Josh Sborz, and closer Jose Leclerc. Meanwhile, the lefties are Perez, Corey Bradford, Aroldis Chapman, and Will Smith, who is looking to win his third straight World Series, each with a different team. The setup role may be shared between Sborz and Chapman, possibly being dependent on matchups. While Chapman is no stranger to high-leverage spots, it is Sborz who has done the heavy lifting in the seventh and eighth innings this October.
Photo Credit: © Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
