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Rangers examining internal options at 1st base

Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers have a hole to fill at first base, and general manger Jon Daniels appears to be looking at a number of different in-house options.

When last year's starter Mitch Moreland joined the Boston Red Sox on a 1-year, $5.5-million contract, the Rangers were left without a bona fide first baseman in its lineup. Daniels addressed the positional vacancy Saturday, and confirmed that the team is considering a number of different options, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.

"First base, DH, and one of the corner outfields, we view that as connected," Daniels said. "We still feel we have some internal options. But we're not closing the door, if it's the right fit for the team and financially, we would have to consider that, too."

One in-house option that could be called upon to take on the role of primary first baseman is Ryan Rua, who saw action in 31 games at the position. A second choice could be Jurickson Profar, who appeared 17 times at first base in 2016.

The Rangers have also been linked to free-agent Mike Napoli, who has already had two tenures with the club from 2011-12, and then again in 2015.

"I know our GM," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "If there are options, I feel confident they are being investigated. We have some internal candidates I feel confident in that we can make better."

One of the candidates Banister could very well have been referring to is up-and-comer Joey Gallo. The 23-year-old only played in 17 games last season, with just one of those games coming at first base.

The former first-round pick has been looking for a breakout chance at the big league level for a couple of years now, and a transition to first-base could be the opportunity to do so.

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