The 2023 Texas Rangers had one of the most unlikely championship runs ever. Led by legendary manager Bruce Bochy, powered by an elite offense and a pitching staff that stepped up massively in the postseason, they won the World Series — the first in franchise history. The future looked bright. They had core pieces like infielders Corey Seager — World Series MVP — and Marcus Semien locked up for the rest of their prime. Rookie outfielder Evan Carter had an excellent postseason and 2023 first round pick Wyatt Langford was tearing up the minor leagues. Their big free agent signing before the season, Jacob deGrom — a former winner of the Cy Young award, recognizing him as the best pitcher in the league — was projected to rejoin the team during the 2024 campaign. It looked like the franchise was set up for success for a long time.
Following this magical run came a 2024 campaign that saw the Rangers miss the postseason. It was an injury-filled season, affecting key contributors like Carter, Seager, infielder Josh Jung and starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. The team also got down years from players like Semien, League Championship Series MVP Adolis Garcia and Langford. Still, there was hope that with a healthy offseason and time to reset before the 2025 season, the team would bounce back.
Through the first half of the season, the Rangers are middling 48-49, 8.5 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West and 3.5 games of a Wild Card berth. The players who were expected to have bounce back campaigns, like Langford and Garcia, have disappointed. The free agents bats they signed — infielder Jake Burger, catcher Kyle Higashioka and designated hitter Joc Pederson — have been less than impressive, all maintaining an OPS (on base % + total bases per at bat) well below the league average of .715. Pederson especially has been poor, having experienced a stretch of 41 consecutive at bats without a hit before landing on the injured list, not playing after May 24. They’ve had injuries to players like Seager, who suffered a hamstring injury early in the season. The most frustrating part about this is that the pitching staff has been incredible. Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi has had an incredible 1.58 earned run average through 91 innings pitched, deGrom and Tyler Mahle all have an ERA under 3 while Patrick Corbin has an ERA under 4. This massive weight that the pitching staff has had to carry has begun to take its toll. Eovaldi had missed a month of action from May to June because of triceps soreness in his throwing arm, and Mahle has been out of action since June 10 because of a shoulder strain on his throwing side with no clear timeline on a potential return.
The team has shown signs of progress. Through the first 59 games of the season (March-May), the Rangers were 28-31 scoring 3.32 runs per game, well below the league average of 4.32. In the last 38 games before the All-Star Break (June-July), the Rangers are 20-18 while scoring 5.18 runs per game. Bret Boone took over the hitting coach position on May 5, replacing Donnie Ecker. A different voice in the ears of the batting lineup may be helping. Semien and Carter bounced back from rough starts. Seager has been on a tear over the last month with an OPS over 1.000. Given the track record and talent of the roster, I believe this production can be sustained.
With the MLB trade deadline coming up in two weeks, decisions have to be made about the roster. Last year, the Rangers were in a similar position, with a 46-50 record at the break. They elected to “buy” at the deadline, trading prospects for established players in hopes to make a deep run. This decision was ultimately a poor one, as the team stumbled out of the break, playing the same level of baseball before the break and missing the playoffs. While the Rangers are certainly better than they were last year, they would risk weakening their prospect pool for another failed run. However, it would be hard to swallow selling at the deadline considering the pitching staff and the postseason legacies of several position players on the roster. A pitching trio of deGrom, Mahle and Eovaldi would be among the best in the postseason while an offense led by those who brought the first World Series victory to DFW could make magic happen again. Personally, I find it hard to give up on this team for those reasons. If I was general manager Chris Young, I’d try to make upgrades to the roster, ideally getting one or two relievers to strengthen the bullpen and perhaps a bat that can contribute against left-handed pitching, which the Rangers have struggled against this season. They have gone 5-17 when playing a left-handed starter thus far, compared to a 42-33 record when facing a right-handed starter.
Only time will tell what direction the Rangers choose to take and whether or not it was the correct move. When considering the pitching staff, the talent on offense and the inherent variability of baseball, the team can make another run to the World Series with the right moves. The two weeks between the All-Star Break and trade deadline will be, without a doubt, the most important stretch of the season. For Rangers fans across the metroplex, all we can do is watch it unfold. My advice? Give those two weeks a chance.