Taveras is hitting .214 in 28 at-bats, but he’s making them count. The 26-year-old is probably going to play behind Evan Carter for the most part initially this season, though things might work out differently in the long run. While Taveras has never been quite as successful as hoped, he’s still probably one of MLB’s top 30 center fielders.

While many assume that Taveras will be on the bench in Texas so that Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia, and Evan Carter can start; however, it might not be that simple. Taveras is a strong defender in center field while swiping 23 bases in 151 games. His value on the bases and on defense could keep him in the lineup more often than not.

With two outs and none on in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth, Taveras singled off Andrés Muñoz, stole second base and then scored on a Marcus Semien single. Before that, he homered off JT Chargois in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5. It probably rates as his best game in a rather disappointing 2024 season. He’s batting .231/.290/.359 in 510 plate appearances.

It’s not surprising that Taveras sat versus lefties on Friday and Saturday, but he would normally be in there against a righty today. Instead, the Rangers have Travis Jankowski in center. Taveras has had a disappointing season, but he’s not particularly slumping at the moment, having gone 5-for-17 with a couple of doubles in his last five games. This is the first time he’s been out of the lineup against righty since July 31.