Seeking offensive special sauce, Bochy flips Burger to DH

MINNEAPOLIS -- Jake Burger has 206 career games at third base, 125 at first and eight at second.

But this season, in his first with the Rangers, Burger has been the designated hitter six times. All but one instance has come within this month. The latest came Wednesday night during the Rangers’ 6-2 loss to the Twins at Target Field.

Entering this season, Burger had been the designated hitter 69 times in his 283 career games between the White Sox and Marlins. With the Rangers of late, Josh Smith has held down first base, with Burger slotting in at DH.

It has become the preferred alignment for manager Bruce Bochy during this recent three-city road trip.

The Rangers haven’t had a set DH since Joc Pederson went down with a right hand fracture on May 24. As Bochy has rotated through his options while giving players days off their feet, Burger has been the only one comfortable at the position.

“[Burger] just seems comfortable at DH,” Bochy said “I guess some guys don't feel that comfortable. Some guys don't want to DH, but he's done a good job at it. So just going to keep him there for a bit. He's done such a great job at first base, I'm going to have to put him back at first at some point.

“Being a DH is just about getting accustomed to it, being able to deal with all the free time when you used to play the field.”

That being said, Bochy is clearly sacrificing Burger’s defensive abilities.

Burger did not come up as a first basemen, but had been getting more reps there through his time in Miami over the previous two years. This year with the Rangers, he became a full-time first baseman after the club traded Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals.

In 2025, Burger has 0 outs above average but 3 defensive runs saved at first base. Smith has 0 outs above average and 0 defensive runs saved at the position.

With the Rangers in desperate need of offensive production, Bochy wants to put all the guys in the best position to succeed. If that means Burger at DH and Smith at first for the time being, then so be it.

“I do think Burger is our best defender there,” Bochy said. “So, yeah, I'm giving up something to get something, which you have to do in this game sometimes. I think it's worth it, especially when our offense hasn't quite been what it should be.

“Smitty, I think he does a good job over there. That's a compliment to say that Burger is a little better. You usually don’t want to give up too much defense at first base. If I didn't think Smitty was gonna be pretty good, I wouldn’t do it.”

It’s something Burger said he’s been comfortable with since his White Sox days, when he leaned on Gavin Sheets throughout his time there.

“Gavin and I came up together, and he was DH’ing a lot,” said Burger, who was hitless on Wednesday. “We were bouncing ideas off each other on how to stay present and ready with it. Obviously, wherever Boch needs me, that's where I'm going to be.

“For me, it's just about taking in the game, watching the game, staying present that way and being with the guys out there when they're on defense. I’m not trying to overswing as well. That's the biggest thing.”

Burger said it has been a slow build up for him, though. He DH’ed just five games during his rookie season in 2021 and nine times in ’22. He then slotted in at designated hitter 29 times between Chicago and Miami in ’23 and 26 times with the Marlins in ’24.

On the surface, it was challenging.

“I think for me, it's trying to create those micro at-bats,” Burger said. “I think it's really easy when you're playing defense because you can go out there and make a play and reset the day a little bit. When you DH, that's all you really have.

“Again, it’s just trying to stay present with the guys and not getting too wrapped up in micro at-bats.”