The Rangers are at the halfway point of spring training. Brandon Nimmo made his first appearance in a spring training game yesterday. That was by design.

When the soon-to-be thirty-three-year-old outfielder came to the Rangers in the Marcus Semien deal from the Mets, Nimmo asked new Texas manager Skip Schumaker to slow play him in spring training. He felt he needed only a handful of spring at-bats to prepare for the season. 

In past springs when he has gotten too many at-bats, Nimmo feels it wore him down for the season. Fewer spring at-bats keeps him fresh and allows him to play more games during the regular season as he gets into his thirties.

It’s worked. The last four years Nimmo has played in over 150 games each season. Over that span, he’s racked up a .346 on-base percentage. Only Corey Seager was better.

Former All-Star slugger Gary Sheffield said he needed only eight spring at-bats to get ready for the season and would ask his managers to comply. It worked for him, as well. He put up Hall-of-Fame-calibre numbers.

The Rangers desperately need offense. If Nimmo can maintain his high on-base percentage, especially at the top of the order, it will go a long way to turning around a team that dramatically underachieved the past two seasons.

Nimmo is the key to this offense. 

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Texas versus Kansas City, 7:05