who’s on first

Mitch Moreland, the former Mississippi State star from Amory, is the Texas Rangers’ first baseman heading into spring training. So says Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, who told mlb.com: “It’s Mitch’s job to lose.” And yet, the Rangers keep making moves that could impact Moreland’s playing time. They traded for Mike Napoli on Tuesday. Napoli is a catcher primarily, but he played first base down the stretch for the Los Angeles Angels in 2010. Of course, Texas previously signed free agent Adrian Beltre to play third base, Michael Young’s former spot. Young is expected to play some first base now, too, in addition to DH duties. And not to be forgotten is Chris Davis, a former top prospect at first base. It’s getting crowded over there. Moreland, a left-handed hitter, posted good numbers in his big league debut (.255, 9 homers, 25 RBIs in 47 games) and cranked it up in the postseason (.348 with seven RBIs). Though there have been concerns voiced about his defense, he certainly looked sharp during the run to the World Series. Bottom line: It’ll be very interesting to watch how the competition plays out this spring.