The Texas Rangers have had a rough start, limping into the All-Star break eight-and-a-half games out of first place in the AL West with a losing record and an uphill battle to make the playoffs.
But they ended the first half strong, winning two out of the three games against the division-leading Houston Astros.
Here's a breakdown of the Rangers season so far, and what challenges lie ahead as they return Friday night at 7:05 p.m. CT against the Detroit Tigers.
One-two punch
First, the highlights.
The top two in the Rangers' pitching rotation — Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi — have been one of the best combos in the league this year. DeGrom really feels like he's back to his vintage self from his New York Mets days, with the fourth-best ERA in all of baseball. He's also finally been able to stay healthy and really deliver for the Rangers so far, making good on that five-year, $185 million contract.
Eovaldi missed about a month early in the year with a right triceps injury, which has kept him from qualifying for a lot of the MLB stat leaderboards — he's thrown about 20 fewer innings than deGrom — but he's still had a phenomenal year, and frankly has been even better statistically.
That's a heck of a one-two punch to have at the top of your rotation, and can really compete with anybody in baseball. But the pair have also been important veteran mentors for some of the young talent like Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, who have held down spots in the back end of the rotation of late. Both of those young players have had some early ups and downs, which is to be expected with young pitchers in the major leagues, but they could also be some pretty crucial difference makers down the stretch.
Building on momentum?
The Rangers scored four or more runs in all but two games in July, including each game against Houston, so they've been able to get the bats going — a promising sign after some inconsistency hitting the ball early in the year. That starting pitching we mentioned was strong as well, between deGrom, Eovaldi, and even Leiter, who had a pretty good start to open the series and get that first win.
The Rangers weren't far off from a sweep in that series against the division-leading Astros, taking an extra-inning loss after the bullpen couldn't quite close it out. But there's plenty to like from that performance, some of which certainly could carry over into the second half.
It's a long season...
So do the Rangers have any shot at winning the division?
It's definitely going to be an uphill battle, but there's 162 games in an MLB season and still plenty of baseball left to play, so they certainly aren't completely out of the race just yet.
They still have some improvements to make in the second half — namely, the offense. They just flat out haven't gotten on base enough, which may sound simplistic, but it's really one of the keys to the sport: giving yourself those opportunities to score runs. And that's reflected in the numbers: They rank 25th out of 30 MLB teams in batting average and on-base percentage, with similar figures in slugging and runs scored.
That trouble at the plate has contributed to some of their struggles in tight games recently. They lost three games in walk-off fashion in July. On the plus side, that means they were pretty close to winning those games, but they've got to be on the winning end of those a little more often going forward.
One of the big spots that's given the Rangers trouble this year has been at first base. They traded for Jake Burger in the offseason from the Miami Marlins to try and help fill the void at that spot and hopefully bring some power to the lineup with his big home run ability, but the move hasn't really panned out the way the Rangers hoped. Burger's been demoted to the minor leagues multiple times and recently the Rangers called up veteran Rowdy Tellez to replace him. Tellez is a left-handed hitter who will likely see time against right-handed pitchers, with the Rangers possibly going to more of a platoon approach against lefties.
Overall, the team is going to need a lot more consistency to justify not selling off some players at the trade deadline.
The MLB trade deadline
That's the big question mark: will the team make moves at the trade deadline?
The next two weeks leading up to the July 31 deadline will be very telling. Rangers general manager Chris Young has shown a willingness to be aggressive in the past, including making some moves last year that didn't ultimately move the needle in a season of struggles after winning the World Series in 2023. That being said, if the Rangers show some positive signs over the next couple of weeks, we could see some similar movement from Young.
Texas starts with a tough series against the Detroit Tigers, who are leading the American League. That will be a huge — and difficult — series for them, but then there are some more winnable games against the Oakland Athletics and the Atlanta Braves. If the team is able to string together some wins in that stretch, it might really motivate the Rangers to decide to go all in and bring in some key pieces at the deadline.
While playing the best team in the AL is going to be a big challenge for the Rangers, it's also a big chance for them to rise to the occasion. They get started Friday night, when all 30 MLB teams return from the All-Star break.
John Fields is sports reporter and editor for the Denton Record-Chronicle, and Bekah Morr is an editor and newscaster with KERA News.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
