Other teams around Major League Baseball should be taking notes; the Texas Rangers had to tweak their original plans and still built a winning baseball team.
The Texas Rangers put on a management masterclass the past two seasons, crafting a team piece by piece with an even mix of free agent signings, trades and draft picks.
It all started in 2021, when a 28-year-old Adolis García hit 31 home runs and finished 4th in Rookie of the Year voting. In December of that year, they invested half a million dollars into their middle infield. The signings of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien gave them a base to work around. That base was supplemented by depth signings such as Mitch Garver, a solid catcher who was underappreciated in Minnesota, and pitcher Jon Gray.
After the 2022 season, they bolstered their starting rotation, signing two-time Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, who has been a very solid hard-throwing journeyman, and Andrew Heaney. They also hired a future Hall-of-Fame manager in Bruce Bochy, who had won three titles with the San Francisco Giants.
However, the 2023 season did not go exactly according to plan. A bad bullpen and injuries (specifically, deGrom opting for Tommy John surgery on his UCL) caused them to shift their focus to the trade market. They traded for another Hall-of-Famer in Max Scherzer, the flame-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman, and Jordan Montgomery, who played a vital role in this years’ playoffs. Injuries in the starting lineup prompted the Rangers to call up Evan Carter, who raked the rest of the season.
Almost every player contributed to this championship run, including Jacob deGrom. The Rangers won all 6 games he pitched in this season. If they had lost even two of them, they possibly miss the playoffs, giving up that Wildcard spot to the Mariners.
A multifaceted strategy like this is something a lot of teams can learn to implement. Take the Mets for example. They’ve proven that you can’t just buy a winning team. You also have to make the right trades at the deadline and draft well.
Looking to the future, the Texas Rangers will be the league’s standard.
Tough Money Sports 