Pitching is a Major Concern for Rangers

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The Texas Rangers had a really nice June, vaulting to the most wins in the American League during that month. They were playing error free baseball and pitching pretty well for most of the month. But, as happens from time to time in baseball, the turn of the calendar has been a major downer for the Rangers and their fans, especially when it comes to pitching.

In the month of June, the Rangers pitching was third best in the American League with an ERA of 4.04. The pitching was getting the job done. But in July, it has been a completely different story. The Rangers have the highest ERA in the American League in July, and ERA of 7.41, with a batting average against of .333. And for the season, Texas’ reliever core has an ERA of 4.96, again the worst in the American League. So how do the Rangers fix this problem?

They have a worn out pen, and that has been a real problem of late. Here are some individual ERA’s over the last 7 days:

Luke Jackson – 32.40

Cesar Ramos – 17.18

Michael Roth – 14.73

Chi Chi Gonzalez – 13.50

Nick Martinez – 12.46

Cole Hamels – 11.25

Martin Perez – 7.36

Now this is just for July, and some of them have less than one inning to their credit, but it is still really, really bad. So what can the Rangers do about this pitching fiasco? We can all hope that the return of Yu Darvish will help, but it looks like Derek Holland and Colby Lewis will not be around to help for some time. If the Rangers make a trade for pitching, should it be for a starter or a reliever? Who would you be willing to part with for pitching help? Joey Gallo? Jurickson Profar? Mitch Moreland? Nomar Mazara?

The fact is that the Rangers pitching is tired right now. They do need help, and I am just not sure where it is going to come from. The lead is now only 6.5 over Houston, who just keep winning at an amazing pace. The Rangers have been reported to be interested in players like Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore, Ervin Santana, and even Fernando Rodney before he was traded to Miami.

My opinion? I am not sure that the Rangers are going to get the help that they need from outside. They may just continue to call up young arms and see where that leads them, or they may make a trade before the deadline. Either way, Rangers fans have the right to be worried about pitching right now. Let’s just hope that it works itself out and the Rangers can continue to win like they did in the month of June, because it looks like Houston isn’t going anywhere.