This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Josh H. Smith knew he would need an outfielder's glove eventually. A career middle infielder throughout his time in the Minors, Smith read the writing on the wall when the Rangers signed Corey Seager for 10 years and Marcus Semien for seven.

But Smith wasn’t the only one. Texas had a plethora of middle-infield prospects nearing the big leagues with no place to play them. Now, Smith (Rangers’ No. 7 prospect) and Ezequiel Duran (No. 4) are together at the big league level, just not playing the positions they originally expected.

“Everybody became outfielders,” Rangers outfield coordinator Tony Beasley joked. “But I knew with Josh, he was taking reps in camp. We didn’t know with Duran, because we hadn’t decided that he would do anything outside of the infield at that point. Now that he's here, we need to find places to play him. With both of them, we’ve got to be creative. We'll have to find who can do what, how versatile can they be in certain spots defensively and not be a liability. That’s where we’re out.”

Both Smith and Duran -- who were two of four prospects the Rangers got from the Yankees in the Joey Gallo trade last year -- are likely to get live reps at third base and left field, though neither has much outfield experience. Duran never played there in the Minors at all, while Smith logged 10 games in center field at Triple-A earlier this season.

The Rangers as an organization have had success converting infielders to outfielders when necessary. Ironically, it was most recently Gallo, who came up through the Rangers system as a corner infielder and became a two-time Gold Glove Award-winning right fielder.

What does it take to successfully convert a good infielder into an even better outfielder?

“Most people would think that it's easy,” Beasley said. “Sometimes we take for granted that anybody can catch the ball in the air. But for me, it’s embracing a mentality. I preach, I call it a gangster mentality. It’s taking pride in not allowing balls to hit the turf. Nothing hits the ground. They hear that from me all the time, every day.

“I’m not saying the infielders can’t be G’s, but when they come to the outfield, there's a high expectation to make sure we take care of the baseball and we attack it aggressively. We expect to make plays. We embrace that. We are a bunch of G’s out there. That's how we go about it. Being passive is not a part of our DNA.”

Beasley noted that the two might get a couple mulligans for their first few starts in the outfield, but he still emphasized the aggressiveness he would like them to play with. They’re both athletic players, with good baseball instincts. Both are up to the challenge in Beasley’s eyes.

With the infusion of youth to the Rangers' roster, it’s impossible not to realize the domino effect it’ll have. Smith and Duran’s rise will likely limit playing time for veterans Brad Miller and Charlie Culberson.

“That's a Rubik's Cube,” manager Chris Woodward said of the lineup shuffle. “It’s a challenge, but I think the commitment from all of the players [is important], because I don’t want these [young] guys up here playing just twice a week. Some guys are going to have to sacrifice a little bit to allow for Duran and Smith to get their playing time. … Being able to navigate it and keeping everybody happy, that's the hardest thing. Trying to figure out that balance and making sure everybody's still in, it's a challenge for us as a staff. It’s such a good group of guys.”