Texas Rangers pitcher Chase Silseth (63) turns the ball over to manager Skip Schumaker as Cody Freeman, left, and Elias Díaz, right, stand by during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
PHOENIX – Skip Schumaker spent another sleepless night Thursday. When bullpen moves don’t work out, it keeps the manager up. Safe to say, he’s had a lot of sleepless nights lately.
“On a day like yesterday when things don’t work out, you look internally,” Schumaker said Friday as the Rangers tried to shake off a blown three-run lead at Seattle and prepare for maybe their last stand this season against Arizona. “Did I push the right button? Am I doing the right thing? You always look inside out to try to make sure I’m putting the guys in the best situation to succeed.”
That’s always hard at the tail end of a season when innings counts and typical fatigue start to pile up. It’s even more difficult considering most of the Rangers’ key bullpen arms are pitching in higher leverage situations than ever before. Due to their self-imposed spending limitations, the Rangers improved the bullpen less than any other area of the club. The “big” acquisition, Chris Martin, is long gone after posting a 9.00 ERA in 16 games.
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The thinness of the bullpen is showing. On Thursday, Jakob Junis, the most experienced reliever in the bullpen, failed to retire any of the four batters he faced in a disastrous seventh inning that saw the Rangers lose a 3-0 lead on Julio Rodriguez’s three-run homer.
For the record, Schumaker did all the calculations in his head of how he might have better deployed his relievers after Jacob deGrom had to leave an outstanding start due to groin tightness. Perhaps he could have turned to a lefty, since two of the first three hitters due up in the seventh were left-handed. But he valued the first out of the inning and the matchup against Rodriguez as the potential highest-leverage situation of the inning.
His plan had been to use Junis for the seventh and turn to his one elite arm, Jacob Latz, for the final two innings. Latz was rested and ready. The plan blew up four batters in.
Last week though, Latz suffered his first loss since April when he surrendered a three-run homer in the 10th inning to Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Aranda. The Rangers have had to shuttle Cole Winn and Peyton Gray to the IL in the last three weeks, due as much to fatigue as anything else. They are constantly scrambling.
In the 15 games leading up to Friday, the bullpen was 2-3 with a 5.98 ERA, which ranks 28th in the majors. On occasion, bullpen ERAs can be deceiving. But that’s only when the numbers are good and it doesn’t account for inherited runners. When they are bad, there’s no hiding it.
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And lately, it’s just been bad. Bad enough to stick out as a notable deficiency.
“We are all a little bit beat up with the wear and tear of a full season,” said Tyler Alexander whose 66 appearances lead the staff by 15 and are 14 more than he’s ever made in a season. “You’ve got guys pitching in roles, whether its me doing what I’m doing or young guys that have never pitched in leverage.
“So, the mindset is just: Get three outs before you give up a run. Any way you can. If it’s ugly, it’s ugly. Whatever you’ve got to do.”
So, why does a 15-game snapshot matter? Because that’s all the Rangers have left in the season entering Friday night. The bullpen must be significantly better at protecting leads or holding games close.
The good news is the Rangers are getting reinforcements. Whether it’s too little, too late is a matter of debate. But Robert Garcia was solid in his first two games back and Nathan Eovaldi could be activated from the IL on Saturday. He’ll likely serve as a potential opener or a multi-inning reliever, a role he’s performed once before with great success after an arm injury.
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Getting another arm back has to help, right Skip?
“It’s not another arm; it’s Evo,” Schumaker said. “I love where he’s at because he feels like he can help the team win right now and doesn’t want to waste any more of these rehab assignments or anything else. He’s a whole different arm, and that’s the exciting part. I think it could provide a potential spark.”
It’s the kind of spark the Rangers need if the final 15 games are to matter.