SURPRISE, Ariz. _ The Rangers want Nomar Mazara to be a little quicker on his feet.
If only that were a metaphor.
Just try sneaking a long-winded and winding question about his fielding, one of the main components of a spring training project, by him. Might as well be a flat, fat fastball.
"What do you want to get at?" Mazara said, his face breaking into a smile when your correspondent stumbled over asking him to evaluate his defensive strengths and weaknesses. "Let's just get right to the point."
OK then, here's the point: Mazara was not a good fielder last year and hasn't been since he reached the majors in 2016. Similarly, he hasn't been a terribly aggressive base runner. Even though there is plenty of room to grow on offense _ Mazara is a more-than-adequate hitter with the ability to bloom into a star _ he could make bigger steps on the field and on the bases.
The Rangers told him as much in a frank and open conversation in January. Their presentation was direct. But rather than focus on what he didn't do well, the idea was to focus on how much more he can do.
"You have to make them aware," said outfielder instructor Jayce Tingler, who made the Mazara Makeover presentation and is shepherding the transformation. "If we didn't think he wasn't capable of more, then we wouldn't address it. He's so mature _ at the very top of the list of guys I've ever dealt with _ and has been that way from the beginning."
Tingler knows Mazara as well as anybody in the Rangers' organization. He spent two years managing teens in the Dominican Summer League and was the coordinator of instruction at the Dominican academy when the Rangers signed Mazara in 2011. Tingler was the minor league field coordinator for Mazara's first three seasons in the U.S. and the Rangers' outfield coach at the time the Rangers called the then-23-year-old up to the majors.
In January, Tingler laid it out. Mazara had average foot speed in the outfield, but he could be a much better overall defender by improving his first step on balls to his left and balls he had to go back on.
Tingler showed Mazara his sprint speeds on the bases were below average. Tingler and told Mazara that if he was able to take five extra bases in 2019, he'd move from 144th overall to the top third among qualifiers.
Without Adrian Beltre hitting behind him, Mazara is also free to be a little more adventuresome on the bases.
Tingler said nothing about Mazara being at minus-30 in defensive runs saved, which put him among the bottom-dwellers in baseball over his three-year career. He didn't have to. The idea wasn't to harp on the past or berate him over perceived weaknesses, but about what could take place with some improvement in the future.
"(Tingler's) known me a long time," Mazara said. "He gets straight to the point. But he's also open to what we think, and he listens to us. (The coaches) are doing everything to help us get better. When I left that meeting, I left pretty happy."
