That's a question the Rangers hope to get a better answer to in the offseason. General manager Jon Daniels was asked what Borbon needs to do to be the team's starting center fielder during Thursday's chat here on ESPN Dallas.
Daniels' response:
"It's not really spring training -- it's more about what we see in winter ball this offseason, what we do as far as other personnel moves, and how the rest of the outfield shapes up. Was Julio a finished product and ready to play center field at a high level everyday this year? Probably not. But we feel he will be in time. Let's not forget he played very little baseball in 2007 [broken ankle in college, then sat out the summer]. He then had 800 PA's all told in 2008 [including spring and winter ball]. The more he plays, the better he'll be."
Borbon played in 46 games and had 157 at-bats this past season. He hit .312 with four homers and 20 RBIs. He had a .376 on-base percentage and added 19 stolen bases. That's a small sample size and Borbon has to prove he can do it over the long haul. Borbon struggled at times with his defense and had three errors in the 16 games that he played in left field.
That's why winter ball and getting some more plate appearances and chances to play the field is so important.
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Richard Durrett
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.
Ben Rogers
Ben Rogers joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2009. He is one half of the "GameNight with Ben & Skin" show, heard weekdays from 6p-9p on 103.3 FM ESPN.
