Last season wasn’t disastrous, but it wasn’t an ideal season for the Rangers after winning the World Series in 2023. Now that some of their key pieces are healthy and needle-moving players were added this offseason, the Rangers are letting the league know not to mess with Texas.

I would also recommend not messing with the new 26” Boomstick Burrito that Texas is introducing at their ballpark this season.

The quest to repeat as World Series champs was not successful for the Rangers, as they finished 78-84 on the season and third in the AL West.

A 16-14 start to the season kept them between first and second place, but a subsequent 22-32 record from the start of May to the end of June dropped them to third place, and they didn’t budge from that position for the rest of the year.

Their offense stayed fairly healthy last season with eight different players logging at least 120 games, but they fell victim to some underperformance among the some of the team’s key players. RF Adolis García’s OPS dropped over 150 percentage points from 2023 to 2024, and despite playing in six more games last season, he hit 14 less homers between those same seasons.

Albeit playing in 159 games, last season was the first time since 2018 that 2B Marcus Semien didn’t get to at least 161, and his production also dropped off significantly between ’23 and ’24. Semien slashed .237/.308/.391 with a .699 OPS, 23 homers, and 74 RBIs, with his bWAR dropping from 7.7 to 4.1 last season.

SS Corey Seager, on the other hand, reached 30 home runs for the third straight season, hitting .278/.353/.512 with 30 homers, 74 RBIs, and 21 doubles. Seager, who made the AL All-Star team for the third straight season, missed almost all of September with a hip injury, something that probably kept him from getting to the 33-home run mark he set the previous two years.

One of the more intriguing parts about Texas is that its offense has a solid mix of veterans and younger talent. However, a couple of those younger players hit different roadblocks last season. 3B Josh Jung played in only 46 games due to multiple right wrist injuries, and LF Evan Carter played in only 45 games due to a lumbar sprain. It was announced yesterday that Carter would start 2025 at triple-A.

Then-22-year-old OF Wyatt Langford shook off a hamstring injury in May to log 134 games in his rookie season, slashing a solid .253/.325/.415 with 16 home runs, 74 RBIs, 25 doubles, and 19 stolen bases. Coming off of an excellent showing in spring training, Langford is a popular breakout pick in Major League Baseball.

Finally, utility man Josh Smith posted his best season in his third major league campaign, hitting 13 homers, 62 RBIs, and 30 doubles in 149 games. He’ll have to compete for playing time given that Texas got healthier this offseason and with the additions that they made, but if those are the numbers he can maintain, he’s quite the luxury to have off the bench.

Texas finished the season between the middle of the pack and the bottom third of the league in many pitching categories, but they dealt with a fair share of injuries. Fourteen different pitchers started a game last year for the Rangers, with Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, and Jacob deGrom combining to make 15 starts.

They had to maximize what they could out of Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney, the only two pitchers to make at least 29 starts. Eovaldi held a 3.80 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 29 starts, the fifth consecutive season that he’s posted an ERA between 3.60 and 3.90. To help keep consistency and durability in the starting rotation, the Rangers re-signed Eovaldi to a three-year, $75 million contract this winter, a deal that will take him to the end of his 37-year-old season once complete.

Out of the bullpen, 2024 was an impressive season for Kirby Yates, who mimicked his dominant 2019 season with the Padres in several ways. Last season, Yates pitched to a 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 12.4 K/9, also logging 33 saves. Yates, who only averaged 93 mph on his fastball last year, relies mainly on deception. But that didn’t hold him back from ranking at the 98th percentile in strikeout rate and the 94th percentile in whiff rate. His prize? A new contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On top of their lineup getting healthier, the Rangers added a pair of power bats to their lineup that have a track record of being home run threats.

First, they acquired 1B/3B Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins in exchange for infield prospects Max Acosta and Echedry Vargas and pitching prospect Brayan Mendoza. Burger played in 137 games last season with the Marlins, slashing .250/.301/.460 with 29 home runs, 76 RBIs, and 23 doubles.

While his slash line seems relatively average, Burger’s first half was far worse, but he balanced out his season with 64 excellent second-half games. In that period, Burger hit .279 with a .901 OPS, 19 homers, and 41 RBIs, including a pair of four RBI performances. Now surrounded by a more potent lineup, Burger has a chance to maintain those numbers, if not exceed them.

Along with Burger, they also signed DH Joc Pederson to a two-year, $37 million contract in late December. Pederson played 132 games last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, posting career-bests in batting average (.250) and OPS (.908) to accompany his 23 home runs and 64 RBIs. Now entering his 12th major league season, Pederson ranked at the 94th percentile in walk rate last season and 93rd percentile in average exit velocity. Albeit a smaller sample size, his career numbers at the AL West ballparks aren’t very good, but he has an opportunity to pick those numbers up whenever he suits up.

With Burger set to start at first base, the Rangers killed two birds with one stone in moving former 1B Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals in exchange for lefty reliever Robert Garcia. Breaking in with the Marlins in 2023, Garcia made 72 appearances last season out of the bullpen for Washington. He owned a 4.22 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 across 59.2 innings total. He features a 94.5 mph fastball with a mid-80s changeup and slider, and he did an excellent job last season limiting hard contact. After a really good spring, Garcia has the opportunity to pitch in high-leverage and set up roles this year.

Garcia was the first of many relievers that Texas added to their bullpen, joining Luke Jackson, Chris Martin, Shawn Armstrong, Hoby Milner, and Jacob Webb. Adding Martin was a sneaky good get for Texas; in his previous two seasons as a member of the Red Sox, he walked only 11 batters versus 96 strikeouts across 95.2 innings.

The Rangers also signed C Kyle Higashioka to a two-year, $13.5 million contract, as well as veteran starting pitcher Patrick Corbin to a one-year, $1.1 million deal. Corbin will make two minor league starts to start the season to help complete his build-up. A change of scenery has been needed for a while for Corbin, who just concluded an underwhelming six-year tenure with the Washington Nationals.

Notable minor league deals: OF Kevin Pillar (will start with the Rangers on Opening Day), SP Adrian Houser, 2B Alan Trejo, C Tucker Barnhart

This has the makings to be a very fun Rangers team, and with the additions of Burger and Pederson, they remind me a lot of their World Series team in that they have the potential to slug their way to victories. They still need to see rebounds to some extent from Semien, García, and Jonah Heim, however, as those guys left a lot to be desired last season.

They’re going to need whatever the offense can give them because the pitching is still somewhat of a wild card. Jon Gray was struck by a line drive two weeks ago in a spring training game, fracturing his wrist. Thankfully, Gray will not need surgery, but his return is slated for some time in June. Fellow starter Cody Bradford will also miss a couple of months due to soreness in his throwing elbow, but his MRI came back clean.

With those guys out, the Rangers finally have an opportunity to see Mahle and deGrom start a season with a clean slate. Furthermore, a pair of first-round draft picks in Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, will start the season in the rotation.

Even with the question marks surrounding the pitching, there is still a high ceiling on this Rangers squad. If anyone is fit to dethrone the Astros in the AL West, it is 100% this team.