The American League West, for the most part, has been a three horse race for the better part of a decade. If we are being honest, the Astros are probably the most dominant of the stretch, but the Mariners look like they have a chance to claim that title for this year and for a few years to come. The TexasRangersare not really ready to just give up, though as they have a decent mix of young and old players, and did win a World Series just three years ago.
TheRangersare one of those teams that were in it pretty much until the end of the season. Their Wild Card run ultimately fell short, and the team dropped to 81-81 to end the season. It has to be a bit disheartening to end up exactly even after a full season of play. I suppose it is better than anyone else we will cover who was below .500 last year, but playing 162 games to end up exactly average has to be annoying. To their credit, they hung in there and did everything they could to fight the Mariners and Astros, it just wasn’t enough as they navigated a slew of injuries and offensive under performance all year long.
The big move that the Rangers made this offseason was getting MacKenzie Gore added to the roster. They traded for the big lefty from the Nationals. This makes their rotation very strong behind the aging, but still great, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. Adding Brandon Nimmo to the team probably was more about years of control than it was about anything else. The loss of Marcus Semien (traded for Nimmo) is a bit of a wash. Adolis Garcia had a down year, and it was the second straight year for him, so they let him sign with Philadelphia. It is possible that he will be better with a more complete lineup, but I don’t blame them for letting him go.
Washington Nationals LHP MacKenzie Gore pitches vs. the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
This team turned Merrill Kelly and Patrick Corbin into MacKenzie Gore, basically. The rotation features three guys who can give you a win any time they take the ball. Gore to a lesser extent than deGrom and Eovaldi, but still a talented arm. The question will be how good this offense can be? I have a lot of questions about that. A few years ago when they won the World Series, they were the best offense in baseball. The past two years have shown it to be more of a fluke than a normality. The team is fairly young, so there are definitely possibilities that they collectively improve and take a step forward. There is also the opposite side of that, a situation where they don’t develop or advance past what they’ve shown to this point.
If I were to play anything on the Rangers, it would be to take them to make the postseason at +115, but that really isn’t much value. There are a lot of teams that have made more significant offseason progress than Texas has. However, that rotation, if healthy, will keep them relevant almost the entire season. That’s a bit tough for me to believe it will come true. deGrom hasn’t thrown back-to-back 30-start years since 2019. Eovaldi hasn’t made 30 starts since 2021. I’d lean to the under 83.5, which contradicts them making the playoffs, but my thought is that if they make it, I want good plus money value +160 or better. There is more of a path for them to end under 83 wins in my opinion.
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