Even a title team has a few questions
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This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry¡¯s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ARLINGTON -- The Rangers ruled the winter over the previous two offseasons, with the free-agent signings of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jacob deGrom.
Things have been mostly quiet this offseason. The signings of reliever Kirby Yates and starter Tyler Mahle are the only moves that the Rangers have made so far. Despite the lack of movement, Texas is in a good place going into the new year, with a number of returnees in both the lineup and on the pitching staff.
Three players from the 2023 squad have signed with new teams: Mart¨ªn P¨¦rez (Pirates), Will Smith (Royals) and Chris Stratton (Royals). But the Rangers still have their eyes on other free agents, as well as targets on the trade market.
Here¡¯s an outlook for the Rangers going into the new year:
Biggest question to answer before Spring Training
How will the rotation look?
The Rangers theoretically have already won the 2024 Trade Deadline with three starting pitchers -- deGrom, Max Scherzer and Mahle -- returning from injury in the second half of the season. But the rotation in the first half is looking mighty thin.
The Rangers¡¯ season-opening rotation lines up with Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning, Andrew Heaney and Cody Bradford. Prospects Owen White, Zak Kent and Cole Winn are waiting in the wings. It¡¯s a fine rotation, but if any of the top five arms gets hit with a substantial injury, it could cause trouble.
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One player poised to have a breakout season
Right-hander Owen White
It¡¯s difficult to pick a breakout season for a Rangers team that produced six All-Stars in 2023, plus a rookie outfielder, Evan Carter, who set the world on fire in the postseason and a first baseman, Nathaniel Lowe, who has both a Silver Slugger Award and Gold Glove Award to his name.
We look to the Minors, where White should be the next man up in a thin big league rotation. The Rangers' No. 8 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, White looked primed for the big leagues after a breakout 2022 campaign in which he posted a 3.59 ERA across High-A and Double-A. But he faltered to a 4.22 ERA in ¡¯23 as he made his transition to Triple-A. White was pushed into brief big league service with two relief appearances in '23 but didn¡¯t have the chance to fully stick around.
White, 24, has all the tools to be a frontline starter if he can get back to his 2022 form. Although he might not be on the Opening Day roster, it wouldn¡¯t be a shock to see him in Arlington soon thereafter.
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Prospect to watch in 2024
Outfielder Wyatt Langford
The obvious answer would be Carter, the club¡¯s top prospect who made his debut in September and still maintains rookie status through 2024, but that feels like cheating after his run through the postseason.
Langford, the Rangers¡¯ 2023 first-round Draft pick out of the University of Florida, is the next MLB-ready hitter in the Texas system. Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Rangers¡¯ No. 2 prospect and the No. 13 overall prospect, Langford jumped across four levels of the Minors and finished hot in Triple-A to end the regular season, good for a .360/.480/.677 slash line in his first professional season. He likely will start 2024 with Triple-A Round Rock after playing five games there to end last season, but he¡¯s no doubt knocking on the big league door.
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One prediction for the new year
Corey Seager wins AL MVP.
Seager had one of the best seasons of his career in 2023, finishing second in the AL in batting average (.327), slugging percentage (.623) and OPS (1.013) en route to a second-place finish in the AL MVP race. He played just 119 games because of injuries but still hit 33 home runs and had 96 RBIs. He won a Silver Slugger Award, was the All-MLB First Team shortstop and the AL starter at the position in the All-Star Game, while also finishing as a finalist for the Gold Glove Award.
With Shohei Ohtani¡¯s exit to the National League, Seager¡¯s chances at his first MVP Award have increased greatly. And if he performs anywhere near his 2023 level, he¡¯ll be a finalist again, at the very least.