Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Joins roster for World Series
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The Rangers added Duran to their World Series roster Tuesday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Duran will be added to the roster as a replacement for Adolis Garcia, who suffered an oblique injury on a swing during Game 3. Duran slashed .276/.324/.443 across 439 plate appearances during the regular season, but he has yet to register a plate appearance in the postseason and will likely be used off the bench during the final games of the Fall Classic.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Left off Rangers' WC roster
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Duran is not on the Rangers' AL Wild Card Series roster, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
Duran was a revelation for the Rangers in the first half, but he faded badly after the All-Star break and hardly played down the stretch, so his exclusion from the team's first-round roster doesn't come as a big surprise. The Rangers are carrying three catchers on their roster.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Sitting in third straight
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Duran is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox.
Duran is on the bench for the third straight game and is unlikely to recapture an everyday role over the final two weeks of the season after the Rangers activated Josh Jung (thumb) from the 10-day injured list Monday. After getting off to a hot start to the season at the plate, Duran is slashing just .224/.291/.314 with a 29.5 percent strikeout rate since the All-Star break.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Absent from lineup again
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Duran is not in the lineup for Monday's tilt versus the Astros.
It's the second game in a row that Duran has yielded to Josh Smith at third base. Duran had gone 0-for-11 with four strikeouts in his previous three contests.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Gets Sunday off
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Duran is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.
Duran will get a maintenance day after he started at third base in each of the past seven games while going 7-for-23 with three walks, four runs and a stolen base. Josh Smith will fill in for Duran at the hot corner Sunday.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Takes seat Friday
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Duran is absent from the lineup Friday versus the Brewers.
Mitch Garver will fill the DH role and Josh Smith will cover first base as the Rangers take on right-hander Brandon Woodruff. Duran, a right-handed hitter, has done most of his damage against lefties this season.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Fighting out of slump
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Duran went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Giants.
Duran beat out an infield groundball to short, which enabled J.P. Martinez to score the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning. It was the second straight multi-hit effort for Duran, who is fighting out of a slump. The outfielder/infielder had hit .156 (10-for-64) over 21 games before going 6-for-11 during the three-game series against San Francisco.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Homer shy of cycle
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Duran went 3-for-4 with a triple, a double and two RBI in Saturday's 9-3 win over the Giants.
Duran also had a sacrifice fly in the contest, but he came up a homer shy of the cycle. He was in the lineup at designated hitter for a second straight game after he was hit on the hand by a pitch Wednesday. Duran should maintain a near-everyday role at least until Jonah Heim (wrist) returns to action, which could push Mitch Garver into the DH spot more frequently. Duran is slashing .282/.328/.483 with 14 home runs, six stolen bases, 42 RBI, 44 runs scored, 18 doubles and two triples over 93 contests.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Starts at hot corner
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Duran started at third base and went 0-for-3 in Monday's 5-3 win over Oakland.
Duran filled in at third base in the first game following Josh Jung's thumb injury. It was announced Monday that Jung will miss at least six weeks, and Duran is expected to be part of the fill-in solution along with Josh Smith. Duran's .514 OPS in 19 games since the All-Star break, however, stands in stark contrast to a productive first half when he posted an .870 OPS with 12 home runs and 35 RBI in 70 games.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Possible waiver wire pickups
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Duran has been sitting more often while batting just .161 (9 for 56) since the All-Star break and, indeed, was out of the lineup Sunday. But he came off the bench and homered in two plate appearances, taking the place of injured third baseman Josh Jung. Turns out Jung has a fractured thumb, which means the Rangers will need a fill-in third baseman for the next couple weeks. That's probably enough to move Duran back into the lineup on a full-time basis, and he may be your best choice to replace Jung in Fantasy as well. Despite his recent struggles, his xBA and xSLG are both around 80th percentile (.271 and .476, respectively), and of course, there's no better place to hit than the Rangers lineup, which provides ample run and RBI opportunities.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Homers off bench
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Duran went 1-for-1 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's 6-0 win over the Marlins.
Duran entered the game after Josh Jung was lifted with a broken thumb. It's been a rough stretch since the All-Star break for Duran, who has gone 9-for-56 (.161) with a 7:20 BB:K and just four RBI in 18 games. With Jung likely out a minimum of four weeks, Duran and Josh Smith will have a chance to compete for playing time at third base, allowing Robbie Grossman to settle in at designated hitter. Duran's .281/.326/.482 slash line is better than Smith's .214/.344/.349 mark for the year, but neither has been particularly effective lately. Duran has added 14 homers, 39 RBI, 44 runs scored and six stolen bases through 325 plate appearances, though he'd likely be on the short side of a platoon if one emerges.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: On bench again Sunday
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Duran is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
Duran has now hit the bench three times in five games and may be losing hold of a regular spot in the lineup while he's mustered an underwhelming .145/.230/.218 slash line in 17 games since the All-Star break. Robbie Grossman will serve as the Rangers' designated hitter for a third game in a row and could end up serving as the primary replacement for Duran if the latter fails to show much improvement at the plate in the next handful of contests.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Sitting again Thursday
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Duran remains out of the lineup Thursday versus the White Sox.
Duran sat Wednesday in favor of Mitch Garver getting a turn at designated hitter, and it'll be Corey Seager filling the DH role for the Rangers in Thursday's matinee. Josh Smith is playing shortstop. Seager's swift return from a thumb sprain could continue to muddy Duran's path toward regular playing time.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Gets breather Wednesday
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Duran is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the White Sox.
Duran takes a seat after going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Tuesday night against Chicago. Travis Jankowski, Leody Taveras and Adolis Garcia will start across the outfield for the Rangers on Wednesday, with Mitch Garver filling the designated hitter role. Sam Huff is catching.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Sitting Saturday
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Duran isn't in the Rangers' lineup Saturday against the Padres.
Duran is slashing just .154/.250/.256 across 44 plate appearances since the All-Star break, so he'll take Saturday off to regroup. Josh Smith will start at shortstop in Duran's place and bat ninth.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Filling in at shortstop
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Duran started at shortstop and went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Dodgers.
Duran made a second consecutive start at short and 28th of the season, as Corey Seager (thumb) is on the injured list. Duran has been chilly since coming back from the All-Star break. He entered Sunday 2-for-18 with nine strikeouts over six games.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Stays hot Wednesday
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Duran went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and an additional RBI in Wednesday's victory over the Tigers.
Duran has multiple hits in four straight contests and eight of his last 10 starts. He's hit a home run in back-to-back games against the Tigers and collected eight extra-base hits, five RBI and eight runs during his 10-game hot streak. While he's been on another level recently, Duran has been a steady contributor all season for the Rangers, slashing .322/.364/.555 with 11 home runs, 33 RBI and 33 runs scored across 61 games (225 plate appearances). The 24-year-old can play infield or outfield, but he appears to have solidified himself as Texas' primary left fielder moving forward.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Scorching in June
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Duran went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Tigers.
Duran launched his 10th homer of the season as part of Texas' five-run eighth inning. He's hit safely in eight of 10 games with multiple hits in seven of them. During that stretch, Duran is batting .425/.439/.725 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, three RBI, a stolen base and seven runs scored. The 24-year-old infielder/outfielder has a firm grasp on the left field job, a role that had been filled by a rotation of players when the season started.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Not starting Thursday
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Duran isn't in the Rangers' lineup Thursday against the Angels.
Duran is just 1-for-11 with a home run during Texas' series with the Angels and will sit out Thursday's finale. Travis Jankowski will replace Duran in left field and bat eighth.
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Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Back in lineup Monday
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Duran (tightness) will start in left field and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Cardinals.
Though the Rangers attributed Duran's absence from the lineup for Sunday's 12-3 win over the Mariners to unspecified tightness, the expectation was that the 24-year-old was receiving more of a maintenance day after he returned from the injured list to start in left field in Saturday's win. Now that he's healthy again following a brief stint on the IL, Duran should take back a near-everyday role in either left field or at designated hitter, given that he's produced an impressive .872 OPS in 147 plate appearances this season.
