26 year old lefty swinging Hank Blalock had his worst season in the last 4 years and he still put up solid numbers overall.  Blalock hit .266 last season with 76 runs scored, 16 homers, 89 RBIs and a .726 OPS in 152 games.  Part of the reason for the low batting average is that Blalock often looks helpless against lefty pitchers who held him to a .216 batting average and a .596 OPS in 162 at bats against them.  The Rangers really don’t have a strong hitter to put at third base against lefties so Blalock is likely to still play every day.  Blalock made 12 errors in 122 games at third base last season and that’s too many.  He also doesn’t have much range on defense.  Look for Blalock’s power to return this season as he should hit 25-30 homers, but his average will stay down because he can’t hit lefties.

30 year old Ramon Vazquez looks like the front runner to back up Blalock, but he’s a left handed hitter too.  He played in 14 games at third base last season and only made 1 error while showing slightly below average range.  30 year old Jerry Hairston only played 1 game at third base last season but he could probably handle it defensively.  Desi Relaford and Matt Kata are long shots to make the Rangers, but either of them would be decent on defense at third base.