Over the last six seasons, the Texas Rangers have been one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball. Only five teams have a worse record in that span. Cut it down to the last three seasons and the Rangers have the third-worst record in baseball since 2020.
Despite this, there is a lot of optimism surrounding this Rangers team entering 2023. A season removed from bringing in big-ticket free agents in Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, the Rangers made another splash this offseason when they signed Jacob deGrom to a five-year deal. With future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy leading the way as well, it's easy to see why many around baseball think the Rangers can make some noise this season.
It's hard to imagine a team that lost a combined 196 games in the past two seasons making a push for a playoff spot. If everything clicks for the Rangers though, there could be postseason baseball in Arlington, Texas this October for the first time since 2016.
3. Will the offense improve strikeout rate and OBP?
The Rangers' offense last year is a perplexing study. Only four teams in the American League scored more runs than Texas (three of them made the playoffs) and only three teams in the AL hit more home runs (all three made the playoffs).
On the flip side, the Rangers ranked 25th out of 30 teams in on-base percentage and struck out more than 23 teams. Five Rangers struck out more than 100 times.
Simply put, this offense needs to generate more runs outside of the long ball and that starts by getting on base more. Just two Rangers, Nathaniel Lowe (.358) and Corey Seager (.317), had a higher OBP than the league average last season (.312).
Having a more disciplined approach at the plate can pay dividends for Texas' offense in 2023. If it puts more balls in play and gets guys moving around the bases, the Ranger offense could carry the team throughout the season.
2. How will Bruce Bochy adjust to new rules?
The Rangers shocked a lot of people in the baseball world when they announced the hiring of three-time World Series champion Bruce Bochy as manager last October.
Bochy retired from managing in 2019 after 25 straight seasons in the dugout with the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. Following a three-year hiatus, he's back for an assumed one last hurrah and saw the Rangers as his preferred destination.
It will be interesting to see how Bochy manages in this analytics-driven day and age. Quoted in fellow World Series-winning manager Joe Maddon's book, Bochy spoke about his final years with the Giants and how the game evolved throughout his managerial career.
“I would say it was less fun. I came up with the more traditional way of managing,” Bochy said. “I made the calls. I made the lineups. You could see how the game was changing, and that's fine.”
The end of that quote would lead some to believe that Bochy is prepared to face the changes and made sure his managerial style evolves with the modern game.
How the future hall of famer adjusts to today's game and the new rules implemented over his three years away will be something to keep an eye on this season. The Tony La Russa experiment failed for the White Sox. Will Bochy's tenure with the Rangers be any different?
1. Can Jacob deGrom stay healthy?
Jacob deGrom.
When he's on the mound, no one throws a baseball better than him. The problem is, injuries have plagued his last two seasons.
Following back-to-back Cy Young Award-winning seasons in 2018 and '19, and the shortened 2020 season where he was just as dominant, deGrom has made just 26 combined starts in the last two years.
In those starts, which came in between injury after injury, deGrom pitched exactly like baseball fans know he does. deGrom posted a 1.90 ERA and 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings. In that span, he faced 563 hitters and walked 19 of them.
Concerns have already risen for deGrom during spring training, as he was shut down days into his first preseason with the Rangers after experiencing tightness in his left side.
Thankfully for Rangers fans, deGrom finally made his debut with his new team on Sunday, throwing three scoreless innings while striking out four Seattle Mariners.
It's easy to say that the best player on a given team is the X-factor. For Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers though, there is no debate. If the Rangers have aspirations of playing in October, deGrom needs to stay healthy and remain the leader of the rotation from Opening Day on.
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