Last year, the Texas Rangers were left heartbroken after being eliminated from playoff contention, but it didn’t come as a surprise.
Despite many foreseeing such an outcome, the pain remained. As outfielder Wyatt Langford stated after being eliminated, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, “We just haven’t really been playing our best baseball. We were hot there for a while. You know, baseball is one of those games where it’s hard to play really, really good at for a long period of time…”
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Now it’s time for the ballclub to bounce back for its 2026 campaign and re-enter the race to the postseason. The Rangers finished 81-81 overall last season, trailing the Houston Astros (87-75) and the Seattle Mariners (90-72). Is this the year Texas will lead its division?
Close, but Not Close Enough
New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo | John Jones-Imagn Images
This is likely going to be the theme of this year for the Rangers-close, but not close enough.
After acquiring a couple of top players, namely starter MacKenzie Gore and outfielder Brandon Nimmo, Texas may have added just enough talent to boost them above the Astros this year. However, don’t expect them to edge out the Mariners, at least not yet.
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Considering offseason acquisitions, front office adjustments and overall performance in recent years, here’s our projection for how the AL West standings will look once the end of the season approaches:
Team
Reason
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners were fairly squared away to begin with, and while they’ve lost some key names like Jorge Polanco, it’s hard to imagine them dropping in the standings right now.
Texas Rangers
Between new additions, such as Gore and Nimmo, they should be in good hands both on the mound and at the plate.
Houston Astros
Tatsuya Imai and Mike Burrows will add substantial depth to their starting rotation, but their ability to bounce back quickly after such a catastrophic season isn’t too convincing right now.
Los Angeles Angels
This is a major if, but if the Angels make a splash on one of the remaining free agents, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them edge out the Athletics by the end of the regular season.
Athletics
They’ve been relatively quiet this offseason without many notable improvements, and their rotation still needs more depth
It’s a bold prediction, but projecting a second-place finish in the AL West for the Rangers might not be too far out. Texas has made some major moves this offseason, particularly when they acquired Gore from the Washington Nationals, but they also shocked the nation when they shipped out Marcus Semien in exchange for Nimmo.
They certainly haven’t been the most aggressive franchise this offseason, but their moves shouldn’t be overlooked, either. There are still some glitches to work out regarding their offense, which struggled in 2025. But overall, fans should expect to see steady improvements from Texas this season.
Perhaps not a World Series appearance just yet, but one step forward is progress. That begins with climbing in the AL West standings, knocking down their division rivals one by one. The two teams to beat this year will be the Astros and the Mariners, although edging out Houston is the more attainable goal for right now.
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Good things could be coming for the Rangers, slowly but surely. As always, a groundbreaking transaction among any franchise could completely upend the this prediction, but for now, this projection of their 2026 campaign stands.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as Predicting Where Rangers Will Land in AL West Standings During 2026 Season.