The Texas Rangers won their first World Series title in 2023 but didn’t get a chance to repeat in ’24. Texas won 78 games and missed the playoffs thanks to a myriad of injuries and suboptimal performance from key contributors. Here’s a deeper look at the 2024 Texas Rangers, as we recap their season.
The Offense
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 683 | 18th |
| Home Runs | 176 | 18th |
| OPS | .686 | 23rd |
| Whiff% | 24.4% | 11th |
| Hard Hit% | 38.9% | 16th |
The Pitching
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 4.35 | 21st |
| Relievers’ ERA | 4.41 | 26th |
| Strikeouts | 1,371 | 15th |
| Whiff% | 26.3% | 9th |
| Chase% | 28.8% | 10th |
The Good
The Rangers offense in 2023 went through their big guns, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. That was indeed the case in 2024. Semien, despite a low .308 OBP, hit over 20 home runs for the fourth-straight season and played exceptional defense (+19 OAA). Seager, despite playing 123 games, hit 30 home runs for the Rangers.
Texas also received great production from infielder Josh Smith. Smith, a utlityman acquired three years ago in the Joey Gallo trade, played in 149 games and had 13 home runs, 44 extra-base hits, and added 11 steals. He also filled in well at third after Josh Jung suffered a wrist fracture early on in the year.
Aside from Semien and Seager, arguably the Rangers’ best bat besides those two was Wyatt Langford. Langford pushed his way to the Rangers’ Opening Day roster after blowing through the Minors in 2023. He struggled in spurts but still delivered during his rookie campaign. The rookie hit 16 home runs and stole 19 for Texas in 2024.
Langford came on during the final six weeks of the regular season. The former Florida standout hit .278/.360/.521 (.881 OPS) with nine home runs and 17 extra-base hits from August 15 onward. That extra-base hit total was tied for 20th in the league over that span.
The Rangers hit big with Langford, a five-tool player with speed, power, and great bat control. And with five years of team control left, Texas the opportunity to see Langford potentially develop into a controllable superstar.
On the pitching end, Rangers starters did fine under the circumstances, which I’ll get to in the next section.
Andrew Heaney logged 160 innings for the Rangers in 2024. Michael Lorenzen (104 ERA+) pitched well after the Rangers added him just before Opening Day. And yet again, Nathan Eovaldi was reliable for the Rangers. Eovaldi posted a good 3.83 FIP and struck 166 over 170.2 IP. He’s not a flamethrower anymore — although Eovaldi still throws hard — but he’s become incredibly good at throwing off hitters and changing speeds.
The Rangers also saw a strong season from Kirby Yates, the team’s closer for much of this year. Yates struck out 85 over 61.1 IP and posted a 1.17 ERA, all while he notched 33 saves. Is that sustainable for Yates, a free agent, in 2025? Maybe not, as he does have fringe-average command. But, his stuff is elite, including that splitter.
The Bad
The 2023 Texas Rangers were an offense juggernaut. That wasn’t the case in 2024. Texas went from third in runs scored during their championship season to 18th and put up almost 200 fewer runs. Additionally, the Rangers finished in the bottom half of the league in home runs and OPS.
There are some culprits. Josh Jung, who hit 23 home runs in his rookie season, had seven over 46 games. Jung missed most of 2024 with wrist problems, including a fractured sustained in the first week. Rookie Evan Carter dealt with a stress fracture in his back that limted him for most of the season.
However, arguably the most concerning development from the Rangers’ lineup was regression from Adolis Garcia. Garcia posted a .224/.284/.400 (.684 OPS) with 25 home runs and 52 extra-base hits last year. It was Garcia’s worst statistical campaign.
Garcia has long been a high-whiff player but he got significantly more aggressive in 2024. His Chase% went up over 4% from 2023. The other issue was the fastball, as he only hit .203 off the heat and a 30.9% Whiff rate off those pitches. Thanks to bat metrics from Statcast, we can now see what was obvious from video: his swing is incredibly long.
Long swings can help generate power but makes it very difficult to catch up with fastballs if the swing isn’t started early enough. His 103 cumulative whiffs off fastballs of speeds 95 MPH or greater was the highest this past season.
Texas also received next to nothing in terms of offensive production from the DH spot. Rangers designated hitters had a .257 wOBA this season, the lowest across Major League Baseball (h/t Fangraphs).
On the pitching side of things, Texas wasn’t terrible in that regard. Sure, there was poor performances from some relievers, like Grant Anderson and Jose Leclerc. Anderson, a trippy reliever with a crossfire delivery, saw opposing hitters barrel pitches to the tune of 10%, below league average. He gave up 11 home runs, eight off his low-90s four-seamer.
Leclerc, meanwhile, pitched better later on the year but was removed from the closer’s role after excelling there during the 2023 MLB Playoffs. He gave way to Kirby Yates, who didn’t relinquish the role back.
The injuries, though, were massive for the Rangers. Jacob deGrom, as expected, didn’t come back until late in the year. Thus, the Rangers needed to rely on their starting pitcher depth to get by. It’s tough, though, when Max Scherzer made just nine starts while other depth starters were also injured.
Early Projected Lineup for 2025
- C: Jonah Heim
- 1B: Nathaniel Lowe
- 2B: Marcus Semien
- 3B: Josh Jung
- SS: Corey Seager
- OF: Wyatt Langford (LF), Leody Tavares (CF), Adolis Garcia (RF)
- DH: Evan Carter
- SP: Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Dane Dunning, Kumar Rocker
- RP: Josh Sborz, Jacob Latz, Matt Festa, Walter Pennington, Cody Bradford, (FA Additions)
The one immediate need, just from looking at the team’s early 2025 lineup, is pitching. Max Scherzer and Andrew Heaney became free agents, while Nathan Eovaldi turned down his vested player option for 2025.
Eovaldi pitched great for the Rangers over the last two seasons and should be an option for Texas. The bottom line for Texas is this: there’s a lot of variability among their potential starting options.
Kumar Rocker pitched exceptionally well between the Majors and Minors in 2024 but will likely have his innings controlled. Jack Leiter struggled with command, while Jacob deGrom’s health issues are an omnipresent reminder that pitching depth is vital for any playoff contender.
The good news for the Rangers, though, is that Texas have their entire 2024 lineup under contract for 2025. Obviously, Texas will need improvements from Adolis Garcia, assuming he’s back. Plus, healthy seasons from Josh Jung and Corey Seager, among others, can go a long way.
The Rangers have already made front office and personnel changes in recent weeks. Texas lost Will Venable to the White Sox, as the ex-Padre became the latter’s new manager. Additionally, former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker joined the club’s management as a senior advisor.
Could that set him up to replace Bruce Bochy? Perhaps. But, early word is that the Rangers would be fine if Bochy managed beyond the 2025 season.