MLB Notebook: Texas Rangers Preview

From 2017-22, the Texas Rangers finished under .500 every year. In 2023, they hired Bruce Bochy and won the World Series. Last year, even Bochy couldn’t stop the losing. Texas was back under .500. Can the Rangers ever find a consistent, positive footing?

Here’s our assessment of Texas going into the new season:

HITTING FOR POWER

Texas has got some serious muscle. Corey Seager is one of the best power-hitting shortstops in the league, averaging 30-plus homers a year. Marcus Semien isn’t far behind at second base, usually hitting 25 or more. Few, if any, teams can bring this kind of muscle up the middle.

The corner spots, more traditionally known for power, have their own hitters. Jake Burger, who has spent his short career with the White Sox and Marlins, is in to play first base and is an established 20-25 HR guy. Adolis Garcia in rightfield, has averaged 30 bombs a year over the last three seasons. While third baseman Josh Jung struggled with injuries last year, he showed power during the magical ’23 season. And Wyatt Langford emerged with 16 homers in his rookie year playing leftfield.

And we’re not done. Texas has acquired Joc Pederson, a consistent power hitter, to DH. And while Jonah Heim is a mediocre offensive threat overall, he does hit between 15-20 homers.

In short, there’s going to be a lot of home runs flying out of the park in Arlington this year.

GETTING ON BASE

Actually having baserunners to turn those bombs into crooked numbers looks a little more problematic. Seager is a consistent all-around offensive threat. Pederson takes his walks, and posts good on-base percentages. Otherwise, this facet of the Rangers is a question mark.

Semien has normally been decent at getting aboard, but his batting average slumped to .237 in 2024. A rebound year from him would be the quickest and surest way to give the offense a boost. Langford batted .253, and seeing natural improvement in his second year is another logical place to look. Otherwise, I’m not seeing much else.

STARTING PITCHING

This is a major problem. Nathan Eovaldi is reliable. Everything else is a mess. It’s March, so we can look at Jacob de Grom in the rotation and speculate how good things can be. But de Grom has made nine starts combined over the last two years and hasn’t started more than 15 games since 2019. Tyler Mahle is trying to come back from Tommy John surgery. Jon Gray just broke his wrist. Cody Bradford is out to May with an elbow injury. At this point, just knowing who Bochy is going to send out to start games would be a step forward.

BULLPEN

The relief corps has more stability, but it’s not necessarily a positive. Chris Martin pitched well in Boston the last two years and will get a chance at closing. So will Robert Garcia, who is modestly above average. Unless rookie Marc Church is spectacular, Bochy has no one that is a lock to get three outs and put a zero on the scoreboard.

OUTLOOK

This is a bad team that will hit a lot of solo home runs but not do much else. I’m not sure what betting markets are seeing in having an Over/Under win total of 86.5. Even a winning season would be one of Bochy’s great managerial jobs.