Fully healthy, Rangers ready to rebound in 2025

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- It was a boring day for the Rangers' pitchers and catchers on the first day of Spring Training. But maybe boring is what they needed.

Last spring, as Texas looked to defend its 2023 World Series title, it seemed as if the club started behind the eight ball. The Rangers had three veteran starting pitchers -- Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle -- on the injured list to open the regular season, and while the rotation had a solid group of pitchers, it was nowhere near full strength.

On top of that, a number of position players came into camp banged up, from Adolis García’s lingering left oblique injury from the World Series to Corey Seager's hernia surgery on his right side to the pure wear and tear Jonah Heim’s body endured from catching so many games in 2023.

President of baseball operations Chris Young gave the Rangers a mostly clean bill of health this time around.

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All healthy, deGrom, Mahle, Nathan Eovaldi and Cody Bradford each threw a bullpen session on Tuesday before the official report date, then proceeded to play catch and do pitcher fielding drills on Wednesday. Rookies and former Vanderbilt teammates Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter threw a bullpen session on Wednesday afternoon.

In short, it was a normal day.

“There were just a number of things that we were definitely behind [last spring],” Young said. “And still with that, we came out of the shoot OK last year. Then, we lost Evan [Carter] and Josh Jung. It really started to catch up to us. Then, eventually the pitching thinned out, too. So, we're in a great spot right now. This roster, as I said, the guys have done a tremendous job of preparing for camp. And now, it's our job to keep them on the field and have a good Spring Training.”

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The Rangers’ rebuilt bullpen will get a lot of attention over the next 45 days. Rightfully so, with so many new faces and so few defined roles. But the rotation has intrigue of its own.

Four veterans (deGrom, Eovaldi, Mahle and Jon Gray) along with third-year lefty Bradford make up the projected rotation. But Leiter (Texas' No. 4 prospect for 2024) and Rocker (No. 44 overall prospect for '25) have the potential to make things interesting.

Both former first-round picks made their MLB debut last season and will no doubt contribute at some point this season. Whether that happens sooner than later is up to their performances throughout camp.

Young noted that the staff is open to a six-man rotation and it’s something the club will keep in mind, but it’s not incredibly likely at this point -- though things could change depending on the personnel out of camp.

“There's some competition in the rotation,” Young said. “There's a lot of opportunity here, and it's important that, over the course of the season, we do a good job of continuing to develop our pitchers so that [manager Bruce Bochy] has good options. We're going to have guys go down -- every team does -- and guys will need to step up.”

Pitchers missing time is inevitable. But the Rangers are as healthy as can be entering Spring Training. That’s all they can ask for after the injury-riddled 2024.

Bochy has emphasized multiple times that a lot of things have to go right for a team to win the World Series. One of the biggest parts of that is staying healthy, and Texas was unable to do that in 2024.

“We're in a really good spot,” Young said. “Again, I think that looking at where we were last year and some of the medical restrictions we had coming into camp, we are in a much better place -- and I'm really excited that we can hit the ground running.

“Boch and his staff have done a tremendous job of staying engaged with our players this offseason, really monitoring their work and being very intentional with the things that they needed to focus on. I'm proud of our players. These guys have worked their tails off. They all seem to be in great shape. I know that sounds a little cliche, but these guys are really motivated. I'm excited.”