ARLINGTON – Can’t tell you if MacKenzie Gore will become the next Rangers pitcher to realize his potential and continue an impressive run by the club, but he’s excited to be here. I know this because he said so at Thursday’s presser. Six times, by my count. In “Dogs Playing Poker,” Gore is the one whose tail is wagging.
He might simply be relieved to no longer play for the Nationals, an organization that lately has picked up where one of its predecessors left off, once inspiring a clever scribe to quip, “Washington: First in war, first in peace and last in the American League.”
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Of course, the Nats are in a different league from the old Senators.
Rangers
Then again, maybe not.
Anyway, if Gore pitches this summer the way most analysts believe he’s capable, Rangers fans will be excited about the postseason prospects for a club headlined by one of baseball’s best rotations.
And if it doesn’t work out for the Rangers, Chris Young can recoup his investment in Gore at the deadline and cash out Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, even Corey Seager, then start over in ‘28.
No, that date was not a typo.
A long and acrimonious work stoppage seems all but a foregone conclusion after this season. What with the Dodgers and Mets spending on free agents like they’re defense contractors, owners are more determined than ever to get a salary cap. The MLBPA, the biggest hitter of sports unions, is determined not to blink first. The pending standoff could get ugly, then protracted, maybe consuming an entire season. As usual, the big loser would be the fans.
The lone benefit of a looming stoppage is that it provides clarity for clubs going into this season. Even if you’ve got a pretty good idea every year whether you’re in or out, it helps when you’ve got the cushion of a year to hit reset.
If the Rangers are at least playing at a .500 clip at the deadline, it’ll be full speed ahead. Ten games under, and it’s women and children first in the lifeboats.
The problem, which we’ll get to in a moment, is what do you do if they’re somewhere in between come Aug. 3?
Until then, as Selena Gomez advises, you might as well live like there’s no tomorrow, because there might not be.
Young is playing his “win now” card because Gore gives him a potential championship-caliber rotation along with deGrom, Eovaldi and Jack Leiter. He’s counting on bounce-back seasons from Josh Jung and Jake Burger along with the continued growth of Wyatt Langford; better production with additions and/or changes at second base, right field and catcher; and reasonable health all around. The latter, in particular, hardly seems like too much to ask, though the Mavs can barely get off the team bus without calling 911 first.
Does Young still need a fifth starter and three more for insurance? Sure. Give me Jake Latz and Cody Bradford once he’s healthy this spring. Kumar Rocker looks more and more like an arm for the back of the bullpen. The Rangers need a closer, but they made do pretty well last season with what they had. This organization has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to bullpens.
Jung, Burger, Joc Pederson and Evan Carter have a lot to prove, and the Rangers simply must find a way to keep Seager in the order. If he has to DH a couple times a week, so be it.
For the record, even if the Rangers’ ERA was the best in baseball last season and the offense stunk up the Metroplex, Young did well to add to the rotation. I believe it was Eisenhower who said you can never have enough pitching, and if he didn’t, he should have.
The problem for Skip Schumaker going into his Rangers debut is there’s no margin for error in the first half. As our Evan Grant noted in a helpful 26 things for ‘26, 27 of the club’s first 40 games are against playoff teams. They can’t afford another slow start. But, if they do end up nose-first in the dirt coming out of the box, it might not be such a bad thing at that.
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Basically, they need to be good or bad, because meh only makes Young’s job that much harder.
My guess is if they’re a couple games under .500 in late July but trending upwards, Young will talk Ray Davis into investing. Shouldn’t be too hard. He’ll only need to remind him that he doesn’t have to pay players during a work stoppage.
If, on the other hand, the Rangers are two or three games under. 500 and scuffling, it’s probably time to blow it up. One winning season in the previous nine – even if it culminated in a parade – should tell Young this isn’t working. Trading Seager, who’s not getting any younger, and the front half of the rotation would restock the Rangers’ depleted farm system and give them something to build upon going forward.
Giving up on most of what’s left of a World Series lineup would be excruciating for Young, who’s as competitive as anyone I’ve come across. But it would be the right thing to do. Especially for MacKenzie Gore, who’s seen enough losing for a lifetime. Hope this didn’t suck all the excitement out of your day, Mac.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
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