Texas Rangers back in Wild Card race despite injuries, offensive struggles
The Texas Rangers’ offense has struggled for much of the season and the team is still awaiting the return of several key pitchers, but with the resurgence of hitting by key hitters Adolis Garcia, Marcus Semien and more recently, Corey Seager, the team sits only 2.0 games out of the final American League Wild Card spot.
In the AL West race, the Rangers are 6.5 games behind the Houston Astros following Wednesday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals. Granted, the Rangers have 88 games left to play, but they’ve won seven of their last 10 games to work their way back into the playoffs discussion.
Elite pitching despite injuries
The Rangers’ starting pitching this season has been elite, with Tyler Mahle and Jacob deGrom ranking ninth (2.34 ERA) and seventh (2.19 ERA) among starters in MLBs, and the team ranking second overall with a 3.08 ERA.
In his first full season since a UCL injury in 2023, deGrom has regained his elite form, especially in the friendly confines of Globe Life Field, where he is 4-2 with a 1.83 ERA in nine games.
Mahle was in the midst of a career year, sporting a record of 6-3 with a 2.34 ERA, before his right shoulder sent him to the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 12.
Before the Rangers game on Wednesday, the California native spoke about how frustrating the injury was in the midst of a successful season.
“I felt so good, and then just randomly, that start I felt good, leading up that whole week through a great bullpen, played catch every day, was feeling great, and then all of a sudden that day it was just like it didn’t feel right,” Mahle said. “So that part is really frustrating.”
Mahle is not the only starting pitcher sidelined; Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Cody Bradford are all unavailable due to injury.
Eovaldi, who has been sidelined since May 29 with right posterior elbow inflammation, and after a bullpen session on Tuesday and could return to the Rangers lineup as soon as their upcoming series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bradford, who fell sick on Tuesday, hasn’t played since spring training with an elbow sprain, is close to making his first rehab start, initially set for this weekend, which could be pushed back a couple of days because of his illness.
Gray still has several more bullpen sessions to throw before he is scheduled to face hitters.
Despite this, of the Rangers’ five pitchers with the most games started, only Jack Leiter has an ERA above 3.66.
On the bullpen’s side, Josh Sborz is also making headway in his return and threw a 25-pitch bullpen session, and manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged what Sborz’s return would do for a bullpen that already has the seventh-best (3.35) ERA in MLB.
“He’d be a great weapon to have down there, he’s got experience, he’s got stuff, closed out a World Series for us. This guy, when he’s healthy, he’s as good as any setup guy,” said Bochy.
Hitters finding their groove
This season has been a struggle at times for Rangers hitters, especially Semien and Garcia, who have been moved up and down in the lineup throughout the season.
Semien has been excellent behind the plate over his last 30 games, hitting .294 with four home runs and 13 RBIs over that span. Garcia, who was benched in early June, has started to regain his all-star form, hitting .321 with a home run and six RBIs over the past seven games.
Bochy explained his mentality amid the Rangers’ struggles at the plate.
“Look, we’re all competitive and we’re here to win, so losses are a lot heavier, but fortunately, I’ve been through some tough years, seen some teams go through slumps, try to learn from those experiences. But more than anything, keeping the faith, a lot of baseball left. Talented team with gifted hitters,” said Bochy, “Now you look at the month of June, it has been better...it’s starting to happen.”
Corey Seager, who missed time this season due to hamstring injuries, is hitting .364 with four hits in his last four games heading into Wednesday’s game against the Royals..
Bochy credited Seager and Semien for their recent success at the plate, saying the pair were starting to square up the ball more frequently and successfully.
The Rangers concluded their homestand against Kansas City on Thursday afternoon, they travel to Pittsburgh for a weekend series beginning on Friday.
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 8:10 PM.
