The Rangers have spent a lot of the season hovering round .500. They’ve as robust a 1-2 rotation punch as any group in MLB. Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi give Texas a great probability to win each outing. They’ve little margin for error with a lineup that has struggled to attain runs for a second straight yr. Assuming the Rangers discover themselves in place to purchase, they should swing for an influence bat. They nonetheless have a lot of the personnel from the 2023 group that mashed its method to a championship, however a lot of the hitters from that membership have gone backwards over the previous two seasons.
Document: 48-49 (18% playoff likelihood, per FanGraphs)
For different entrants on this sequence, see this publish.
Purchase Mode
Potential wants: First base, catcher, proper subject, energy bullpen arm
The Rangers enter the second half tied for twenty second in MLB in scoring. They’re eighth in runs scored over the previous month, so issues have been higher currently, however they’re nonetheless hitting .243/.322/.387 even over this current stretch. They’re within the backside third in common, on-base proportion and slugging for the season. There have been far too many straightforward outs.
This isn’t a one-year drawback. Texas had a .238/.305/.380 group batting line in 2024. They tried to treatment that — with a selected deal with their woeful numbers in opposition to fastballs — by signing Joc Pederson and buying Jake Burger. The offense hasn’t gotten any higher, at the very least partially as a result of each Pederson and Burger have performed poorly.
President of baseball operations Chris Younger and his employees are again to the drafting board. The Rangers have had by far the worst designated hitter manufacturing (.160/.241/.265) in MLB. Most of that falls on Pederson, who has hit .131/.269/.238 in 46 video games. He has been out almost two months with a damaged hand and remains to be weeks away from a rehab task. They’ve largely used catcher Jonah Heim at DH in Pederson’s absence. He is hitting .219/.262/.346 throughout 280 plate appearances. The Rangers want to seek out somebody who can draw into that place.
Solely 21 gamers have taken at the very least 150 plate appearances on the DH spot this season. Of that group, Marcell Ozuna is the obvious commerce candidate. He is taking part in on a $16MM wage that is perhaps too wealthy for Texas, and he hasn’t hit nicely over the previous two months. The Nationals would fortunately dump what stays of Josh Bell’s $6MM wage. The ever streaky Bell was horrible in April, raked in Could, had an terrible June, and is hitting nicely in a tiny pattern in July. Texas might ship the Nats a middling prospect and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.
Bell would solely make sense as one in every of a number of offensive acquisitions. The DH spot has been the most important difficulty however is way from the one drawback. Texas has additionally gotten below-average manufacturing out of catcher, first base, third base and proper subject. They don’t seem to be going to have the ability to afford upgrades at 5 completely different positions, after all, however that at the very least offers them a large positional internet they will forged.
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