President of baseball operations Chris Young still believes the Texas Rangers can get better before the trade deadline, but they need to play winning baseball and get Corey Seager healthy.<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON \u2014 Even after dropping 2 of 3 weekend games in Atlanta, the Texas Rangers<\/a> entered play Monday still atop the American League West. It\u2019s still mind-boggling that the Rangers are playoff contenders, but it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n Chris Young is keenly aware of that. The president of baseball operations said on Monday the Rangers have battled to put themselves in a position to contend for their first postseason appearance since winning it all in 2023.<\/p>\n Young is still convinced that the team he assembled hasn\u2019t played its best baseball yet, in part because the Rangers still haven\u2019t played at full strength for much of the season. They can\u2019t get to his idea of their best baseball without Corey Seager, chief among all others, returning to the active roster and contributing over the final 62 games.<\/p>\n The next 13, though, are the most important of the season. The Rangers have 13 games before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and Young said on Monday that they must play winning baseball to convince him to add help.<\/p>\n Winning baseball in the AL West is a relative term. The Rangers entered Monday as the only team above .500, by only one game. Their lead in the division was a half-game over the Mariners, who come to town Thursday.<\/p>\n Young seemed to be more literal in terms of winning baseball than he was figurative. The Rangers need to pile up more wins than losses on their way to the trade deadline. <\/p>\n \u201cWe need to continue to play winning baseball and continue to stack on wins, get above 500 and maintain our position in the standings,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n The Rangers might have Seager for some of the next 13 games, but he acknowledged that there is a great deal of uncertainty with his back injury<\/a>. He fielded grounders and ran on the field Monday, before the opener of a three-game series against the White Sox, and said afterward that he\u2019s trending the right way.<\/p>\n His extended rest and slow buildup are by design. While the past four days have been good, he\u2019s still unwilling to target a date for his return. He\u2019s gunshy to do so, perhaps, because he doesn\u2019t want to miss a self-imposed deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no idea,\u201d Seager said. \u201cI would love to be able to give you that answer.\u201d<\/p>\n Young said that the Rangers\u2019 needs could be different in two weeks than they are now, though it seems likely that they will still need bullpen help and a right-handed-hitting outfielder. The return of Seager could address that, as it would free up Ezequiel Duran to play outfield against left-handed pitchers.<\/p>\n