For those that follow this team closely as I have every year since 1972 there has been some good, bad, and ugly baseball over the past 52 years. As the team enters another difficult road trips of the early season, they have fallen to below .500 for the first time since Bochy took over as manager.
At the start of the season almost everyone agreed that the team had to play good enough to stay in contention until the Calvary arrived in June through August. Most writers and Ranger fans anticipated the starting pitching would be the most worrisome part of the team. Instead, it has been the hitting and bullpen that have been an issue. The team’s greatest strength last season in situational hitting with runners in scoring position has become the team’s glaring weakness. The number of times this team has left the bases loaded at the end of an inning borders on epic failure!
On the surface the lack of production makes zero sense, yet the mistakes made on defense is a big part of what I believe is psychologically affecting this team. When you make mistakes in one area, it bleeds into others. That means players press at-bats, and expand their strike zones which leads to bad outcomes.
There are a lot of questions and more questions than answers.
My observation is that losing Josh Jung is a bigger loss than anyone could possibly imagine. Yes, Josh Smith has been amazing at third base, but he lacks the middle of the lineup power that Jung has, and the ability to hit against lefties. This same hitting funk almost cost the team a playoff birth last season as the team nosedived when he was hurt last season. At the time the Rangers had lost 5 of their 6 All-Stars due to injury, but it wasn’t until Jung returned to form that the team began to win again. Corey Seager who we know was ailing and missed most of training camp has been in an epic slump. Additionally, Adolis Garcia who was the RBI master in situational hitting last season has all but disappeared for over a month.
Injuries are a big part of it as Lowe, Jung, Carter, Seager, and now Adolis have all been banged up, along with Justin Foscue, and Wyatt Langford. The reality is that this team has yet to field a healthy line-up. This has provided huge opportunities for younger guys to step up and prove they are ready for the next level. Players named Duran, Wendzell, and others have not delivered anything. The team ranks in the middle around 13th in most hitting categories compared to last year being at the top of the league. There is no valid reason for this because of the talent level.
The bullpen is a hot mess outside of Yates and Robertson. Unfortunately, those two can’t pitch every day. Again, there have been opportunities for youngsters to step up and they have not.
Finally, let’s address the elephant in the room of starting pitching. The starters this season have been outstanding overall. Some of the rookies they brought up were just not ready for MLB hitting, but to rank 10th in starting pitching ERA considering the injuries is far beyond expectations.
One thing that would help the bullpen is if some of the starters on the DL were to return and add depth as some starters moved into other roles. The reality is that Dunning and Eovaldi are the only two that are likely to return. Max Scherzer most likely has nerve damage and his career is possibly over. It takes 2-years to fully come back from the types of surgeries that Tyler Mahle and Jacob deGrom have had. I suspect deGrom is probably thrown his last pitch as a starter, but he might make a nice bullpen arm at some point. Cody Bradford was shut down from throwing with broken bones, so I highly doubt he will return. The list of highly doubtful returns extends to Josh Sborz, Austin Pruitt, and Brock Burke.
If you look historically at any franchise that has this many injuries, they did not make the playoffs, but instead were playing for a top draft pick. The fact the Rangers are holding on by a finger nail is simply amazing.
However, that does not mean this team is likely to flip a switch and suddenly get better soon. Yes, it would help when and if Eovaldi, Jung, Dunning, and Adolis were to return to form. By the time they do it is possible that the Rangers will be too far back with not enough games left to catch anyone.
Injuries have always been a part of the game, more so now since the addition of the pitch clock. Yet, there is never a substitute in the regular season for a team that can score runs. Pitching wins playoffs, but regular season games are won with hitting and defense. The Rangers are struggling in all phases of the game and are on the road playing the hottest team in baseball. The schedule favors the Rangers more in June, so there is a chance, but they need to win just few games to stay in contention before the month of May ends. The way they have to win is to create runs, play more small ball, take better at bats, exercise patience at the plate, and above all stop free swinging. The long balls will come when there is pressure on opposing pitchers.
While I have learned to trust Bruce Bochy, he may need to stretch out and make some changes. Batting order is one area, if Smith is getting on base, try him in the 2-hole and move Seager to 3. That moves everyone down a notch. What would fix a lot is better defense, this team reminds me of those 1980’s team where there are plays to be made, but don’t happen. They are not classified as errors, although the team has a lot of those too, but yield extended at bats and prolong innings providing more opportunity to other teams. Fundamental baseball is the key to winning over 162 games. This team needs to figure that out quickly.
Otherwise, I am suggesting some early trades this season. I think the A’s closer Mason Miller would be a nice addition, so would Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals for another veteran reliever. Another target would be Yusei Kikuchi a starting pitcher from Toronto. Those additions would fortify the bullpen, but have nothing to do with a team that has lost the ability to hit the ball. They could use another right-handed batter, but that guy is Josh Jung. The price to get those 4 players would be extremely high in the farm system. Yet, as we have already seen our farm is not ready for prime time anyway, so if they can’t play here, then we may as well trade them for what works now.
I don’t see the Calvary on the horizon, so barring some trades the only thing the team can do is to perform “operation bootstrap”. They are going to have to pull themselves up by their own laces!
