NL West, Los Angeles Dodgers: +151<\/p>\n
NL Central, Milwaukee Brewers: +135<\/p>\n
NL East, Atlanta Braves: +91<\/p>\n
AL East, Tampa Rays: +38<\/p>\n
AL Central, Chicago White Sox: +27<\/p>\n
AL West, Texas Rangers: -16<\/p>\n
Analytics, making sports better since … still not sure.<\/p>\n
At the same time in 2023, the Rangers were also in first place with a run differential of +148.<\/p>\n
Different teams, and a different time. At that juncture in \u201823, the Rangers\u2019 ownership group was in a long run of empowering either president of baseball operations Jon Daniels<\/a> and or Chris Young to improve the team, even if it meant adding to the payroll.<\/p>\n Now, the Rangers are less than a year removed from team owner Ray Davis telling Young that the team would have to \u201cimprove from within,\u201d which is a cute way to we aren\u2019t spending money. The Rangers\u2019 payroll ranks right<\/a> in the middle of MLB, and the team is playing to that level.<\/p>\n The Rangers are in first place for three reasons \u2014 the division is awful, they play hard, and they are exceeding in areas that were feared to be concerns.<\/p>\n If Davis is serious about winning, and wants to host some playoff games, he owes it to this club<\/a> to allow Young to add a bat, and maybe an arm, before the trade deadline which would bump up the team\u2019s payroll. They\u2019ve earned the right to try to win.<\/p>\n The Rangers\u2019 buying at the deadline hinges on this<\/p>\n Injuries are always a delicate reason to explain a team\u2019s state, and both Young and Rangers\u2019 first-year manager Skip Schumaker<\/a> walk daily atop a taut razor wire with this subject.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s offense ranks 23rd in MLB in runs scored, and some of this is due to injury. The team has been without All-Star shortstop Corey Seager and outfielder Wyatt Langford for more than half of this season. Seager has played in 51 games, and Langford 43.<\/p>\n Seager\u2019s injury issues<\/a> this season could fill the Internet, as are its own concern; it also impacts (hamstrings?) the entire franchise. He\u2019s again on the injured list with back issues, but the team is hopeful he will return shortly.<\/p>\n Seager in this lineup pushes the team into a different set of expectations. Or it should.<\/p>\n If\/when he returns, the Rangers have to plan on him producing, which has been a problem when he has played this season. . If they can\u2019t plan on him to produce, it\u2019s time to explore dealing him.<\/p>\n Expectations for Langford should still be in the restrained, cautiously optimistic category.<\/p>\n With these two in the lineup \u2014 and playing well \u2014 the Rangers can win this division.<\/p>\n The risk of the Rangers doing nothing at the deadline<\/p>\n This is not like the summer of 2024 when Young believed in his team<\/a> so much he did little at the trade deadline; he felt like they had earned the right to prove they could make a push and earn a playoff spot.<\/p>\n They didn\u2019t, and he has the scars to prove it.<\/p>\n This American League West is so average the Rangers, Seattle Mariners or even the Houston Astros could win it with 85 victories.<\/p>\n Leaving spring training, one of the primary concerns for the Rangers was its bullpen, and halfway through the season this group ranks 10th in MLB.<\/a> The evolution of Jacob Latz from hopeful starter to All-Star closer is one of those from-heaven developments all good teams need.<\/p>\n The Rangers are pitching well enough that the ownership group should lean into a team that is over achieving.<\/p>\n To sit still now would send a terrible message to a clubhouse full of pros, all of whom know the score. They are good enough to try to make a push for an attainable division title.<\/p>\n The current Rangers are one of those teams that don\u2019t make a lot of sense, but they\u2019re in first place, and it would be a waste not to capitalize on the circumstances, even if a few of them defy the stat nerds.<\/p>\n If the Rangers do nothing, it will not be a case of management believing in the group, but rather ownership that doesn\u2019t want to spend the money.<\/p>\n Mac Engel<\/a><\/p>\n Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality.
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