The Texas Rangers spent the last two years listlessly wading through a post-title fugue state. The two years since the 2023 title run have been truly repugnant. The offense was utterly atrocious with the same names in the lineup that won it all in 2023. Last year the Rangers had the best ERA in the league for the first time ever. They also had the best defense in the league. The offense was so wretched they only managed to go .500. GM Chris Young was rightfully retained. It was not his fault the same pieces that won the World Series were consumed with The Disease of More. This affliction consumes championship teams, manifesting itself in selfish behavior. Chris Young did his best to trim the parts of the team that were tainted by this insidious virus.
Departures: Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim, Marcus Semien, Merrill Kelly, Tyler Mahle, Jon Gray, Patrick Corbin.
Merrill Kelly was a good starting pitcher for the Rangers. He returns to Arizona where he was traded from originally. Tyler Mahle was electric during his time as a starting pitcher in Texas. He spent over 75% of his Rangers tenure injured. He is sort of like what the Rangers were hoping Rich Harden would be in 2010 before he posted a 5.58 ERA. Harden’s ineptitude opened the door for Derek “Dutch” Holland and Tommy “Big Game” Hunter to take over in the rotation. These two youngsters stepped up along with CJ Wilson, who had been a closer but always saw himself as a starter. The rotation was of course legitimized by the trade for Cliff “The Yankee Killer” Lee. The Rangers had spent their entire existence from 1972 to 2010 looking for a legitimate top end starting pitcher. They failed to win the title that season and seemed forever searching for top end pitching. They seemed almost cursed in this regard, unable to develop nor sign great pitchers. That is why the Rangers having the best pitching in the entire league last year and not even having a winning record is so absurd. It seemed impossible the offense-focused Rangers would ever have the best ERA in the league. Hell, if you look at the worst ERA OF ALL-TIME seasons, the Rangers make the top 10 list multiple times. As awful as the past two seasons have been to watch, the starting pitching has been quite good. Jon Gray was also a part of that. He was a top 25 pitcher in the league when healthy. He spent about half of his Rangers tenure truly healthy. His career is likely done after going down with arm trouble last year.
Patrick Corbin had one of the worst contracts in baseball during his time in Washington. He was trotted out every day into the line of enemy fire due to sunk cost fallacy. He became sort of a running joke, available every 5th day to get shelled. He was brought into Texas to eat innings. He did that at a respectable clip. This is noteworthy for those of us who sat through the 2019 rotation of Jordan Lyles, Mike Foltynewicz, Kolby Allard, and Kohei Arihara. It is worth remembering the truly wretched years and how little there was to look forward to because it helps contextualize this season. Even within the context of being disappointing the last two years, the Rangers will boast an impressive roster that will compete for a playoff spot.
Adolis Garcia was a true star that helped carry the 2023 Rangers to their title. He was great against the Houston Astros especially. He spent the next two years swinging at everything and killing rallies. Garcia should be remembered for his heroics in the 2023 ALCS and Game 1 of the World Series. The 1184 plate appearances El Bombi logged in the two seasons since were more than enough sample size to know it was time to move on. Say what you will about GM Chris Young, he did NOT pull a 2011-2012 Dallas Mavericks and “blow the [core of the championship] team up.” Young gave every core player in that run all the opportunity in the world to earn another title. Young and Skipper Bruce Bochy were loyal to those players to a fault. The 2024 season was dismissed as a hangover season. The 2025 season was slow torture where the hilariously flawed offense played selfishly day after day as the team lost 2-0. Gone were the days of the 2023 “next man up” batting approach. The lineup was full of “me” guys playing for numbers, guys trying to do too much. Garcia was a MASSIVE part of this. He hit cleanup nearly every day and killed a plethora of rallies.
Marcus Semien began every season not ready to play. He spent SIXTY games “getting into playing shape.” As one of the carries of the offense this proved to be detrimental. The Rangers were unable to stop the bleeding as their perennial leadoff hitter showed up to yet another season unready to play. By the time Marcus finally woke up it was July and the season was already a repugnant ruin. Marcus could have carried the team through the early season struggles, it would have only taken a run or two. Instead, Marcus and Adolis were penciled into the money spots of the lineup every day and drug the team down constantly. This level of harshness is warranted when the sample size is so big. Marcus, who almost never gets hurt, spends every year of his career “getting off to a slow start…” except for his one-year contract in Toronto where he came out of the gates playing like every AB translated to money. Go figure.
Marcus was traded to the Mets for Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo is a solid hitter and an average corner outfielder. The 2025 Rangers were clearly a team that lacked vibes and team unity. Austin Hedges’ absence loomed large in a clubhouse full of terminally boring dopes playing for numbers. Hedges’ was a defense-focused catcher that everyone liked. The handsome and amiable backstop allowed the Rangers players to feel like boys who could enjoy the game. He was allowed to walk after 2023 and it was perhaps the most important “backup catcher being allowed to walk” decision in baseball history. The Rangers teams of the last two years HAD the talent… but issues with chemistry sunk the team. Hopefully Nimmo can stay healthy and get on base. He is slated to be the leadoff man.
Jonah Heim was the best catcher in the AL in 2023. He was overworked relentlessly and driven into the ground. He had the lowest OPS+ (100 is always average, higher is better) on the Rangers last year. This is an all-time joke offense we are talking about here. That means on a team full of pathetic, underperforming dults, Jonah was the most inept. It looked like he was back in his prime form early in the season when he was splitting time with Kyle Higashioka. Then Higgy got hurt, Jonah was overworked again and never recovered. Jonah is like the Joba Chamberlain of catchers. A bright young star destroyed by overuse. The sour tale played out on a daily basis for two years.
Additions: Brandon Nimmo, Andrew McCutchen, Danny Jansen, MacKenzie Gore.
The most notable move the Rangers made was trading four prospects for lefty strikeout artist MacKenzie Gore. Gore is a lefty with a violent delivery. His style is of the Chris Sale/Randy Johnson mold. He throws hard and attacks down in the zone with his slider. He is a very good pitcher. He would have been the ace of over 20 Rangers teams in their history. It is hard to overstate how good the pitching situation is compared to how low the potential felt for decades as a Rangers fan. The Rangers were a nightmare destination for pitchers for years. They played in a hitter-friendly park in the Texas heat. The domed stadium seems to have helped with courting pitching free agents. Buck “The Managerial Anthrax” Showalter once asked owner Tom Hicks for NO free agents one offseason if it meant they could have a dome installed. Gore is a welcome addition to the rotation.
The Rangers added solid backup catcher Danny Jansen. Catcher has been a BRUTAL position in Texas for the last two years. Hopefully the addition of Jansen halts that wretched cycle.
2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen will be the Rangers 4th outfielder. Cutch was a legit star a decade ago. He is a serviceable player today that excels against lefty pitchers. He will get some starts against lefties in the spot of Evan “The Little Savior” Carter, who still struggles to hit southpaws. Cutch is an amiable, intelligent vet that plays with an edge. Players like this can prove invaluable, especially in moments like last year when the team was bleeding out and no one had the courage to call out the locker room. Bochy just bobbed his head and penciled in tomorrow’s lineup a day ahead of time as Semien and Seager raced to see who could take a cab home the fastest. Hopefully Cutch can fill the void of Hedges, from an accountability perspective.
Brandon Nimmo is three and a half years younger than Marcus Semien. He will be asked to hit well and play decent defense. Mets fans were sort of sick of Nimmo and hopefully he can find his niche in Texas. Both the Mets and Rangers clubhouse seemed “off” from a vibes perspective. This trade will improve their vibes and team chemistry.
The Pitchers: The Rangers return many of the starters that led them to the best ERA last season. Nathan Eovaldi will get another Opening Day nod. He is a proven warrior that stood tall in the playoffs. He was incredible early in the season in 2023 after Jacob deGrom blew his arm out. He was incredible early last season when the offense never showed up. Eovaldi is a top 20 pitcher in the league. He is a big righty that throws fastball/slider/splitter/curve. His splitter is his best pitch. A true power pitcher. A true warrior.
Jack Leiter has made his three year transition from “Can’t Miss” prospect to good MLB starter. Jack has great stuff and has improved his command enough to be a consistent asset. Although he has officially taken the next step into “proven MLB starter,” he has shown flashes of being a true top end ace. His ceiling is very high.
Kumar Rocker will man the final spot in the rotation. He is still working on his command. He is a fringe 5th starter. At least the Rangers are trotting one of these guys out, instead of having an entire five man rotation comprised of people like this. Rocker is also young with room to grow.
The Rangers Home Opener is the best pitcher in baseball, Jacob deGrom. Jacob deGrom, perfection personified, is everything that is right with the game of baseball. Jake is a Florida man who warms up to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.” Calm and surgical on the mound, Jake eviscerates batters with a truly staggering mix of 3 nasty pitches. He also has perfect control over them. Jake boasts a 102 MPH heater, which is about as hard as one can physically throw. What makes Jake special is his ability to command this pitch with pinpoint precision. Jake also throws a hellacious 92 MPH slider. Sliders look like fastballs initially until they dive down and away. Ted Williams said it was the hardest pitch to hit. Pitchers discovering the slider are like Zerg players in StarCraft: Brood War discovering how good plague was vs Terran. deGrom also throws a nasty changeup that sits at about 90 MPH. It also looks like his fastball initially, before dropping down. Not only does deGrom have legitimate S class command, every one of his pitches moves sharply and assails the plate at a torrid pace. Most pitchers only have one great pitch. If they have excellent command, it is often because they lack great stuff. Many power pitchers that throw hard, walk many batters. deGrom is an absurd anomaly. To have three excellent pitches AND top end command of all of them is utterly unheard of.
deGrom fields his position very well. He is a former shortstop. He is the second best hitting pitcher in baseball to Shohei Ohtani. He led the Rangers in innings pitched last season. He did not miss a start and anchored the best starting staff in baseball/Rangers history. deGrom is so special that baseball fans of other teams will watch random Rangers games just because Jake is pitching. The Rangers are lucky to have him and starting him on the home opener was incredibly smart.
The Rangers bullpen remains much as it was. Danny Coulombe, Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Dane Stunning (Dunning), Shawn Armstrong, Luke Jackson all left. Dane Stunning stood tall in 2023 when he took over for Jacob deGrom after Jake tragically blew his arm out. That is how Rangers fans should remember him, not the ineffective husk of a pitcher that was strafed again and again in 2025 and into the World Baseball Classic.
Plucky flamethrower Cole Winn could end up being the closer for this team. It looks like Robert Garcia will start season as the closer. Bullpens are somewhat hard to predict and pretty fluid.
The lineup: Kyle Higashioka and Danny Jansen will do the catching for this team. They are both above average. The Jonah Heim show was long and tired.
Jake Burger and Joc Pederson will play first for this team. Both were brought in before last season for pop. Both were clueless trainwrecks for the first half of the season. Pederson’s season was historically awful and meme tier until he woke up in September when the team was dead to cobble together some meaningless hits against September call-ups. Burger’s tale was just as sordid. These two clowns’ hacky comedy routine made Lazy Marcus Semien’s lack of preparation stand out even more. This was the core of the offense being bad. The Jonah Show, the two new guys making fools of themselves, Marcus running it down, Josh Jung and Adolis trying to go deep and pressing…
Wyatt Langford had a good year. Evan Carter was good when healthy. Corey Seager was GREAT when healthy. Burger and Pederson will need to wake up this season. They made the roster due to sunk cost fallacy/having ZERO trade value at this point so the Rangers are better off starting them. Can you imagine this team with Pete Alonso, the Mets slugger who went to Baltimore this offseason?
Josh Smith will play second base. He has been a very solid contact hitter for the past couple seasons. He faded a bit down the stretch last season. Hopefully that experience prepared him to play every day. Semien played great defense, that will be the hardest thing to replicate.
The best shortstop in baseball, Corey Seager, will start for the Rangers. He is simply brilliant when healthy. He is in the S class of hitters that includes the likes of Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and Yordan Alvarez. He is a true star. He plays average defense, but continues to improve this element of his game.
Josh Jung will get the nod at the hot corner. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but has had a frustrating career. As soon as he hits his stride, he gets hurt. Dry stretches drag, hot streaks are unfairly cut short. Jack Leiter’s career has a bit of this element too. They are both All-Star level players with even higher peak rank potential than that. This will be a make or break season for Josh Jung, who fans adore but are growing impatient with. He posted an OBP below .300 in the last two seasons. He does not walk enough. He is the sort of hitter pitchers know will flail at outside sliders or curves in the dirt because he wants to drive runs in. He is the sort of hitter that constantly gets himself out. He made positive strides in 2023, but regressed badly due to lack of coaching. It is a make or break year for him.
The outfield will be patrolled mainly by Wyatt Langford. He is a young star that hits for power and steals bases. He is a top end defender that will get some looks in center. Evan “The Little Savior” Carter will start in center too, mostly against righties. Having both of these guys in the outfield is a huge asset. They are both incredible defenders that boast range and speed. The Rangers will try to get both of these guys in as many outfield lineups as possible. They will then put Andrew McCutchen or Brandon Nimmo in one of the corners. Nimmo will likely be penciled in leadoff, RF, almost every day. Carter will ride the bench against some lefties, meaning Langford would slide to CF that day to cover more field. The other outfielders would be positionless replacement level cogs Sam Haggerty and Zeke Duran. Seeing these two as your other bench players really makes you appreciate the presence of Andrew McCutchen. Haggerity and Duran are both fast, boasting top 15% sprint speed. They are both middling hitters. It is a decent bench, although getting Carter to hit lefties should be a top developmental priority. The idea The Little Savior should be ceding ABs to Zeke Duran is a joke. Duran has good baseball tools but looks uncomfortable at every position.
The bench is solid in the sense you are not asking too much out of anyone. Veteran presence and MVP experience in Cutch is HUGE on a team that was lost last year. Cutch still has some left in the tank and came into Spring Training with a chip on his shoulder after the ABHORRENT JOKE Pittsburgh Pirates would not offer him a reasonable contract despite him being the face of their franchise. The versatility and speed of Duran and Haggerity make them ideal bench pieces. This is a VERY solid roster that will be led by Skip Shumaker.
The 2011 World Series Champion and 2023 Manager of the Year will be a welcome reprieve from the Boomerish Bruce Bochy. The Brilliant Bochy had lost touch with his clubhouse and players. They were playing in a severely disconnected way offensively. Bochy was a pitching-focused skipper. He led the Rangers to a World Series. He got the team a title. He was unable to adjust to losing his hitting coach after that season. The Rangers’ approach at the plate became awful and the coaches could not get a lineup full of All-Stars to hit their weight. While this was happening, Bochy’s pitchers had the best ERA in baseball. Bochy was REALLY good at managing the pitching side of the game. He was key in the Rangers winning their first title. He was also complicit in watching a World Series winning roster hilariously underperform and be torn apart from a chemistry perspective. Bochy’s “everything is fine” approach as everything burned down around him was maddening to watch for two years straight. The 2025 Rangers would have won 96 games if Billy Martin had been at the helm. It is one thing to have a bad team or lack pitching. It is another thing entirely to have the horses that can win the race and waste the talent. That was the real tragedy of the 2025 season. The pitching and defense was the best in the league. A mere average offense would have netted Texas a playoff spot. Instead we were treated to some truly awful, selfish garbage at bats day after day.
2026 will be a monumentally important season in Rangers history. Prediction: The Rangers will win 95 games and win the AL West.
