Ron Washington packs Matt Treanor for playoffs as Texas Rangers head to ALDS with three catchers
Manager Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers announced on Thursday, September 29 that he will be bringing Matt Treanor to the playoffs roster as a third catcher in the mix. With Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba already in the line-up, Washington is expected
to fire up the hitting squad with flexibility as both players can feature in the same bout.
Though there is no indication as to how Washington desires to use Torrealba and Napoli against the Tampa Bay Rays’ starter Matt Moore in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Friday, September 30 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, it does provide
options to the skipper.
"It gives us versatility with both Torrealba and Napoli, with Napoli being versatile against left-handers. Both of them have been very productive for us this year, and I want both of them to stay engaged. And that's what it gives me. It gives me versatility,
especially with Napoli being able to go in the DH spot and play some first base."
Napoli was responsible for hitting two game winning homers against his former club, the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim in the last bout of the regular season and his form seems to be leading the hitting order. Torrealba, on the other hand,
smashed a grand slam and a home-run against the Angels, the night before the last game.
Both catchers are high on form but Washington prefers Napoli to be the first choice catcher for the club in the playoffs. The player has 30 home-runs for the season, while he carries a .320 batting average. His 75 RBIs and 72 runs, makes him a better contributor
of runs than Torrealba.
"I will keep the hot bat in the line-up," Washington said.
Torrealba has a batting average of .273 and his contribution is not as staggering as Napoli’s. The catcher has 40 runs, seven home-runs and 37 RBIs to his name for the 2011 season. It will be interesting to see the impact these players will have for the
Rangers in the playoffs.
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