The Texas Rangers’ win in Game 3 of the World Series Monday night came at the cost of two of their most important players. Righty Max Scherzer and red-hot outfielder Adolis Garcia both left that contest early due to injury, and after further evaluation on Tuesday, Texas removed both from the World Series roster — ruling them out for the rest of the series.
Garcia will be replaced by utility man Ezequiel Duran, while Scherzer will be replaced by lefty Brock Burke.
Adolis Garcia is being taken off the roster. Ezequiel Duran will replace him, sources tell me, @JesseRogersESPN and @JeffPassan.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) October 31, 2023
The Rangers announced that Max Scherzer is also off the roster. LH Brock Burke will replace him.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) October 31, 2023
The Rangers sit just two wins away from their first title in franchise history, but it’s going to be an uphill battle after this latest news. The biggest blow is Garcia, who was in the midst of an all-time postseason run when he tweaked his oblique on a swing in the top of the eighth inning in Game 3. The outfielder won Game 1 of this series with a walk-off homer in the 11th, setting a new record for the most RBI by a player in a single playoffs and upping his October slash line to a ridiculous .323/.382/.726.
Duran was an underappreciated piece for Texas in the regular season: He has tremendous versatility defensively, playing just about everywhere both on the infield and in the outfield, and he posted a solid 106 OPS+. He hit just 14 home runs and slugged just .443, however, and this represents an obvious downgrade for a team that thrives on the long ball offensively. Travis Jankowski is playing right field in Garcia’s stead in Game 4, while the veteran Robbie Grossman figures to also get more playing time.
Scherzer had yet to find his old form as he returned from a September shoulder strain, but don’t underestimate the impact of his loss on a team that was already thin on viable starting pitching to begin with. The Rangers have Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery waiting in the wings for Game 5 and (if necessary) Game 6, but if this series goes to a Game 7 — which it very well might, given how competitive it’s been so far — Texas will be scrambling to fill innings with its season on the line. Jon Gray looked very good in relief of Scherzer in the middle innings of Game 3, and he could get the start in Game 7; he’s also recovering from a forearm injury, though, and he, Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning were all up and down in the regular season. Burke is strictly a relief option, as he posted a 4.37 ERA over 53 appearances this year and gives Bruce Bochy another lefty alongside the struggling Aroldis Chapman.
