Rangers' Yang Hyeon-jong likely to open 1st big league season in bullpen

유지호 / 2021-03-15 14:11:17

MLB-pitcher

▲ In this Associated Press photo, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the bottom of the fifth inning of a major league spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix on March 13, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this Getty Images photo, Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward watches his club in action against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a major league spring training game at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona, on March 7, 2021. (Yonhap)

MLB-pitcher

Rangers' Yang Hyeon-jong likely to open 1st big league season in bullpen

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- After being a high-end starter for most of his career in South Korea, Texas Rangers' left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong has been hoping he'd get a chance to prove his worth in the same role in the majors this year.

It seems as though he won't get to do that -- at least not at the start of the regular season early next month.

Yang threw two scoreless innings in relief against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday in Arizona. It was his second spring training outing -- both of them have been in relief -- and a clean bounce-back performance after serving up a home run in one inning of work the previous Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With his wealth of experience starting in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and proven track record as an innings eater, Yang was seen as a potential candidate for a back-end rotation spot for the Rangers. After all, the rebuilding Rangers could use all the experienced arms they could find, and they will have to be careful about increasing workloads for pitchers with injury histories as they enter a full 162-game season following a pandemic-interrupted 60-game season in 2020.

Manager Chris Woodward, though, said over the weekend that Yang is "in the mix" for a multi-inning role out of the bullpen. Woodward added Yang could also be deployed as the second pitcher in a "tandem" setup, whereby the starter is only asked to cover the first couple of innings to manage fatigue and the next pitcher serves as the bridge before relievers take over.

"We're obviously internally looking at who's in the lead in certain spots. Either in that second tandem spot or multiple-inning reliever role, he's right there," Woodward said in a Zoom session after Saturday's game. "We don't have to worry about innings on this guy. He can pitch any role that we put him in. It's nice to know that."

Asked if Yang will be in the rotation on his own at the start of the year, Woodward said, "I don't even know what he'd have to do to earn that ... unless he just absolutely dominates the next four, five times he's out there."

"It's kind of unfair to the rest of the guys," Woodward continued. "He's never pitched in a regular season major league game and a lot of other guys have. At some point during the season, he can (start)."

Although Yang was late to report to camp because of a delay in getting his work permit issued, Woodward said the Korean pitcher isn't far behind the rest of the pitchers. He'll be able to throw three innings his next time up, the skipper said.

As much as Woodward liked Yang's command against the Brewers, he was also effusive of Yang's composure.

"The thing that stands out for me is his comfort on the mound. He didn't seem to be rattled," he said. "It was kind of like he was pitching in a backyard game. You'd think, first time out pitching in a major league camp, that you'd see a little bit more stress on his face. He seems to be in total control out there. We just need to see him more."

(END)