Could Jankowski be right fit for Texas in CF?

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Rangers are looking for a premium defender to play center field and the Padres have one in Travis Jankowski.

He has just one full season in the big leagues and is still developing offensively, but he could be the answer for the Rangers if they don’t re-sign Ian Desmond or Carlos Gomez, or land Billy Hamilton in a trade with the Reds.

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Jankowski is not as established as the others, but his defensive abilities are highly attractive. The Rangers have made it clear they are valuing defense above all else in center field.

“[The] reality is that the better that we get defensively, the better we’re going to make our starting pitching and relief pitching core,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “The situation last year, [we were] a club that won 95 games; however, we still need to get better on defense.”

Jankowski played center field in 87 games for the Padres, including 77 starts. According to Fangraphs, he had the fifth-best ultimate zone rating defensively for any Major League center fielder with at least 500 innings at the position. According to Stats Inc., he had the highest zone rating for any center fielder with at least 80 games.

Meanwhile, the Padres are looking for a defensive shortstop. The Rangers may not be willing to include Jurickson …

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