SURPRISE, Ariz. — Consider the spring missions of Cam Cauley completed.
Eyes have been opened.
On Sunday, the Rangers made five cuts from the major league roster, sending Cauley, right-hander Gavin Collyer and infielder Jonah Bride to the minor league camp where they will likely be assigned to Triple-A Round Rock. Right-hander Jose Corniell, who made his first appearance of spring on Saturday, was optioned to Double-A Frisco, while catcher Willie MacIver was optioned to Round Rock.
If there were questions about Cauley, who was left unprotected off the 40-man roster in December’s Rule 5 draft, he seems to have given the Rangers more affirmation about his abilities as a hitter. He batted .289 with an .841 OPS in 41 spring plate appearances. Now, he will be tasked with working on repeating the hitting ability at Triple-A for the first time.
In addition, the Rangers will continue expanding his defensive responsibilities up the middle with significant time in center field, along with shortstop and second base.
“He’s a winning baseball player,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “I think he’s taken his offensive game and profile to the next level. He’s cut his strikeout rate, his walk rate increased. He continues to hit the ball hard, disrupts. He’s a disruptor on the bases. So he showed the ability to be not only a really good utility player, but potentially, one day an every day, big leaguer, the way he’s going about it.
“Now, he’s going to have to play really solid defense to continue his progression at shortstop in center field. I think he’s a middle-of-the-field player. He’s still young and he’s not a finished product. He knows that. Continuing to work on defense is the easiest tool to get better at, because it’s based on work ethic and character. I think he can become at least a major league average hitter. And if he gets really good at defense in multiple positions, now you’re looking at a really valuable piece to have on your team, on a winning team, and not just another guy that comes up.”
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