How did Texas Rangers sink so far from World Series title?

The reigning champions are 11 games under .500 and 10 games back out of first place in the American League West.

Reality likely started to set in with the Texas Rangers about three weeks ago, but only on their most recent homestand did they start to talk about it.

They almost certainly aren’t going to defend their World Series title, the first in franchise history, and they are going to have to hustle over their final 31 games to avoid finishing below .500. Heck, they’re going to have to hustle to maintain third place in the American League West.

The Rangers are off today in Chicago after dropping 2 of 3 weekend games at Cleveland. The series started off the right way, sort of like the season, but losses Saturday and Sunday encapsulated all that has gone wrong.

The 2023 World Series champions are 60-71, 10 games behind the first-place Astros. The Rangers are closer to last place than first place.

The lack of offense is the No. 1 issue that has put the Rangers in their current predicament. A pitching staff that was keeping the Rangers within striking distance in the West starting falling apart about a month ago. The defense that was so sure-handed in 2023 is making too many mistakes.

That covers most of what has gone wrong in 2023, not all of it.

Where did the O go?

No team scored more runs last season in the American League than the Rangers. They also collected the most hits, tied for the most homers and led in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.

And this season? The Rangers are 10th in runs scored and homers, and 11th in slugging and OPS. Their .237 batting average is ninth in the AL but 26 points short of last season.

So, yes, the Rangers have underperformed, especially considering that they overachieved last season.

Adolis Garcia enjoyed a career year in 2023 with 39 nine home runs and 107 RBIs. Jonah Heim would have driven in 100 runs if not for a three-week stint on the injured list that forced him to settle at 95 RBIs. Leody Taveras had a breakthrough season.

As good as Corey Seager is, he had never been as good as he was when healthy in 2023.

Fingers aren’t being pointed as Seager, nor should they be. He hit his 29th homer of the season Sunday, and his team-leading .852 OPS is nearly 100 points higher than the next closest to him, Josh Smith (.763).

No offense to Smith, who is having the best season of his career, but he shouldn’t be second on the team in OPS. Garcia should be.

His OPS is .693, down from a career-best .836 last season. But his career OPS entering the season was .739, which some might say is slightly below league average. Heim posted a .755 OPS in 2023, was at .691 entering the season and is at .620 this season.

Nathaniel Lowe’s OPS (.717) is down from last season (.775) and his career mark entering 2024 (.796).

The Rangers also haven’t received enough production from rookie outfielders Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford, who entered the season as favorites to be the Rookie of the Year. Carter never got going, still stumped by lefties, before injuring his back, and Langford has learned just how good big-league pitchers are.

Injuries

The offense took a huge hit when Josh Jung was hit by a pitch in the fourth game of the season and missed the next four months. Smith did a commendable job filling in, but even with his career-high 12 homers, he just isn’t the same threat as Jung.

But the injuries to the lineup might have started last season. Heim never needed surgery on his wrist after it was originally thought he might not be able to play because of it. Garcia was injured in Game 3 of the World Series and taken off the roster.

Seager played late last season with a sports hernia that was finally repaired Jan. 30. Lowe pulled an oblique in spring training and missed the first three weeks of the regular season.

Those four didn’t have a fun spring training, and neither did Jung for that matter because of a calf injury. Though Garcia had a great opening month, Seager and Lowe were slow to get going, and Heim petered out as summertime arrived.

The Rangers played an extra month, had one less month to recover and get ready for the season, and some have noted that the team lacked energy in spring training because of it.

Pitchers, too

The Rangers knew what they were getting into on the injury front on the pitching side, with right-handers Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle ruled out to start the season.

But they also saw Cody Bradford go down early with a back injury, and Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray have also spent time in the injured list. The same goes for Dane Dunning and Josh Sborz.

Scherzer was initially out because of a herniated disc, but he also was felled by a nerve issue in his right shoulder that is still bugging him. He and Gray both landed on the IL in late July, after the Rangers had climbed back into contention, and the trade of Michael Lorenzen at the deadline put the Rangers in a bind.

Scherzer’s woes have been costly and so was the stress fracture in Bradford’s back. The same goes for Sborz in the bullpen. Without him on three separate occasions, the Rangers have had issues in the sixth and seventh innings.

The farm system hasn’t provided the quality depth needed to overcome the injuries, either in the rotation or filling in for an injured reliever.

The money thing

The Rangers have played all season with the highest payroll in franchise history and have surpassed the luxury tax for the second straight season. After going years without spending like a big-market club, owner Ray Davis spent to build a World Series winner.

So, it’s hard to say that ownership is a problem. Yet, the lack of a TV deal after this season has led to Davis not opening his wallet.

He closed it when the Rangers were hoping to re-sign Jordan Montgomery, especially after Scherzer was injured. The Rangers didn’t sign the big right-handed bat many thought they needed, which might have pressed Langford into the major leagues with only 161 career minor-league at-bats.

At the trade deadline, when it was abundantly clear that the Rangers need to acquire a potential everyday bat, they traded for part-time catcher Carson Kelly.

Frustration is mounting within the club about ownership, more specifically Davis, being more concerned with the bottom line than giving a full-throated defense of the world title.

Were the Rangers doomed before the season even started? Not at all. Could the rotation and lineup have been constructed differently if Davis decided he wanted to keep up with the Joneses? Yes.

Maybe he would have had the Rangers not been an offensive enigma and had the pitching staff been healthy throughout. There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Rangers’ disappointing 2024.