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3 clear Texas Rangers weaknesses Astros can exploit in 2024
This year's version of the Texas Rangers has several flaws.
That other baseball team who plays in Texas may have won the World Series last year, but don't take that to mean that this year's Rangers team is ready to repeat as champions. Don't forget, that hasn't happened in over 20 years.
Yes, the Texas Rangers won their first-ever World Series title in 2023, but the Houston Astros are in much better position heading into the upcoming season and will still be the team to beat in the AL West.
The Rangers have endured some difficulties from their last game in 2023 until now. What are some weakness that this year's Rangers team has, and how can the Astros exploit those heading into the 2024 season?
3 clear Texas Rangers weaknesses Astros can exploit in 2024
The Rangers have a multitude of injuries
Every team deals with injuries; it's just part of the game. The New York Yankees will be waiting for a few months before their ace Gerrit Cole returns to the mound after undergoing an MRI on his right elbow. But the Rangers will be without three of their starters to begin their title defense in 2024.
Max Scherzer will be out of action to begin the season. The three-time Cy Young Award-winner and future Hall of Famer underwent herniated disc surgery and will miss several months of action. Scherzer isn't expected back until June or July.
Jacob deGrom is not well either. Astros fans could probably clip the previous sentence and use it again sometime later this year. deGrom is attempting to return from Tommy John surgery. The Rangers don't expect deGrom to return to the mound until August. Knowing deGrom's injury history makes even that date seem optimistic.
The Rangers will also be without Tyler Mahle until sometime later this summer. Texas inked the former Minnesota Twins hurler to a two-year deal knowing he was still recovering from Tommy John surgery as well.
It's a bold strategy to assume that the top of your rotation is reliant upon the full recovery and return to form of three injured pitchers. Corey Seager also hasn't seen the field this spring following a sports hernia, Josh Jung has been slowed by a calf injury, and Nathaniel Lowe will miss at least a month with an oblique strain. The Rangers are wounded, and the season hasn't even started.
The Rangers bullpen is a mess
The Rangers starting rotation (which we'll address again in a moment) is not good. But it's quite possible that the Texas bullpen is even worse than it was a year ago. And that's saying something.
The Rangers bullpen ranked 11th in ERA (4.77) among American League teams last season. Only the Los Angeles Angels' (88) relief corps allowed more home runs than the Rangers did a year ago. Texas' relievers were also last in the league in strikeouts. This bullpen was abysmal in 2023, and they didn't get any better.
The Rangers lost Aroldis Chapman, Chris Stratton, and Will Smith to free agency. Though Texas added David Robertson and Kirby Yates, those two aren't going keep your bullpen afloat in the eighth and ninth innings if Jose Leclerq, Grant Anderson, and Danny Duffy run it aground in the sixth and seventh.
The Astros lost Kendall Graveman to injury and three talented relievers (Phil Maton, Hector Neris, and Ryne Stanek) to free agency. But Houston also brought in one of the best closers in the game when they signed Josh Hader.
Texas has done little-to-nothing to fix their biggest issue from last season, and it's assumed that they'll just have enough bats to slug their way out of it. Winning games 11-9 might work during the regular season, but if the Rangers hope to contend in the playoffs, they'll need to address the bullpen, because no lead will be safe in Arlington. Didn't Jose Altuve teach you that last year?
There's so much uncertainty in the Rangers starting rotation
If Nathan Eovaldi is your ace, you've got a problem. That's what the Rangers are dealing with at the moment. While Eovaldi has a solid track record, he's not a high-strikeout pitcher. Jon Gray, the Rangers' No. 2 starter to begin the season, is in the same boat. Gray is a middle-of-the-rotation starter that Texas will be relying on to be a frontline pitcher for the better part of three months.
Those injuries that were mentioned earlier (Scherzer, deGrom, and Mahle) are intertwined with the Rangers rotation, but there's uncertainty beyond those three hurlers as well. Not only is Scherzer injured, he's also 39 years old.
Astros fans have already seen these lingering injury issues creep in with their star pitcher Justin Verlander. Relying on aging stars who are no longer in their prime is a strategy, though it's not always a successful one. Thankfully Houston has the likes of Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, and Hunter Brown to offset Verlander's absence.
The Rangers will attempt to stay atop the AL West with the trio of Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, and Cody Bradford filling out the rotation. Former top draft picks Cole Winn, Jack Leiter, and Kumar Rocker aren't ready to contribute at the big league level.
If the Rangers don't improve their starting rotation, then Houston has a golden opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the defending World Champions before Scherzer, deGrom, and Mahle return to the mound.
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