Since the Rangers failed to land really any of their off-season targets, there are several questions facing the team heading into spring training and the 2013 season.
Today's Question: Will Mitch Moreland finally make the starting first base job his own?
In 2010 when Mitch Moreland came to the big leagues he gave the Texas Rangers a pleasant surprise by being a shot in the arm to the offense with some power and was actually the only Ranger to really see success at the plate during the five-game World Series loss to the San Francisco Giants.
For the past two seasons, the Rangers have done all they can to try to give the first base job to Moreland, having been seeking a mainstay at first since they traded away Mark Teixeira for basically the entire core of their team. Since he's been a regular, however, he's had some trouble either with consistency or staying healthy.
Now, Moreland might be down to his last shot at claiming the job the Rangers have tried so hard to give him. There was serious talk this winter of the Rangers moving Ian Kinsler to first base to accommodate the ascent of middle infield prospect Jurickson Profar, but Kinsler had a change of heart and asked to stay at second base. That means Profar will start the season Triple-A, but make no mistake, he'll get his way to Arlington at some point this season, somehow.
If Moreland doesn't do enough to show he's the Rangers' first baseman of the future, they could make the decision to go ahead and move Kinsler (either to first base or outfield) and let first base be handled by either him, Lance Berkman or possibly Mike Olt. If Kinsler moves, that'd open things up for Profar.
The point is, the Rangers have options if Moreland doesn't come through, so this could be his final shot to do something Chris Davis could never do — until he left for Baltimore, of course.
