{"id":361563,"date":"2025-10-04T14:38:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T14:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/361563\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T14:38:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T14:38:15","slug":"what-needs-fixing-before-2026-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/361563\/","title":{"rendered":"What needs fixing before 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARLINGTON \u2014 The Texas Rangers<\/a> were five days into their offseason Friday when the club\u2019s brain trust spoke to reporters at the annual season debrief to unpack, effectively, what went wrong this year and how it can be avoided in the future. <\/p>\n

The managerial vacancy dominated the discussion before it was filled hours later when the club finalized a multi-year deal with Skip Schumaker<\/a>. The payroll chat was unavoidable. The team\u2019s culture and personality were examined. The pitchers were applauded. <\/p>\n

But, in true form to these Rangers, no discussion is complete without an autopsy of a flawed offense that\u2019s now underperformed in consecutive seasons. <\/p>\n

Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young \u2014 among those tasked with fixing it \u2014 has theories. He spelled out his to-do list over the course of a nearly hour-long session. <\/p>\n

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\"MiamiThe internals<\/p>\n

This time last fall, at the club\u2019s end-of-year news conference that followed their World Series hangover season, Young emphasized the importance of internal improvement and bounce-backs from the team\u2019s incumbent stars. <\/p>\n

About that….<\/p>\n

Six of the seven position players who spent each of the last two full seasons with the Rangers regressed offensively year to year. Outfielder Wyatt Langford, whose .740 OPS in his rookie season climbed to .775 in year two, is the only hitter who did not take a step backward. <\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Rangers president of baseball, Chris Young (left) and general manager Ross Fenstermaker listen during a post season press conference, on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, at Globe Life Field in Arlington. <\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The rest did. Some slid further than others. Second baseman Marcus Semien\u2019s .669 OPS was a career low and represented a 30-point drop from the season prior. Right fielder Adolis Garc\u00eda\u2018s fell by nearly 20 points. Catcher Jonah Heim\u2019s .602 OPS remained the same year-over-year and is the third-worst of any batter that\u2019s taken 800 or more plate appearances leaguewide in that span. Third baseman Josh Jung\u2019s .684 OPS is nearly 100 points worse than his rookie season two years ago.<\/p>\n

Young shot down any notion of \u201cphysical decline\u201d despite the fact that Semien, at 35 years old, is the second-oldest everyday second baseman in baseball. Young believes that Semien is in a \u201cphysical spot\u201d that will allow him to make necessary adjustments to counter his age, but also acknowledged that there may be a need for mechanical changes. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is, for Adolis and Marcus, we saw flashes,\u201d Young said. \u201cFor Marcus, it was more sustainable. Marcus had a period where he was really, really good and it looked like normal Marcus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Semien slashed .324\/.383\/.549 in June and shook his brutal slow start. He\u2019s also due $26 million next season and has consecutive seasons of regression on his ledger. Young, when asked directly Friday if the club would trade one of its higher-priced players to aid roster construction<\/a>, said that \u201cour job is to make the best decisions possible to build the strongest roster … that\u2019s how we\u2019ll approach it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda, 32, and Heim, 30, are both eligible for arbitration this winter. The Rangers could choose to non-tender both and effectively end their tenures with the club. The two combined to earn more than $15 million this year. A player\u2019s salary cannot be reduced by more than 20% in arbitration. <\/p>\n

Young insisted Friday that there is a \u201cgreat core in place\u201d and that the organization\u2019s health is strong. The next step will be to determine how the front office can successfully build around the current iteration of this team. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have decision to make as to what the future looks like,\u201d Young said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t determined anything as it relates to anyone arbitration eligible. The reality is we\u2019ll have to evaluate everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The philosophy<\/p>\n

The issue with the club\u2019s lack of internal improvement is one thing. The early-season approach to continue \u201cwith the same offensive philosophy\u201d that didn\u2019t match the personnel\u2019s capabilities, according to Young, is another. <\/p>\n

The Rangers were built to slug with a host of free-swingers that, ideally, could accumulate enough extra base hits to overcome a penchant for swings-and-misses. The power never turned on at a consistent clip, though, and the Rangers were at times left with a lineup that featured the negative profile of a slug-happy team without the rewards of one. <\/p>\n

Young believes that a philosophical shift toward contact over power \u2014 which settled into place two months into the season and one month after offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker was dismissed \u2014 helped allow the Rangers to score the fifth-most runs in the American League from June 1-Sept. 28. <\/p>\n

He listed three areas in which he believed the Rangers meaningfully improved \u2014 and can continue to improve \u2014 this season. <\/p>\n

Strike zone control: The Rangers swung at 32.9% of pitches outside of the strike zone (the fifth most in baseball) before June 1; they swung at 31.6% (league average) afterward. It\u2019s a simple formula: A high chase rate means that pitchers will throw in the zone less. Fewer pitches in the zone create fewer opportunities to see pitches that a hitter can do damage against. Their improved strike zone control led to both fewer whiffs and a greater contact rate.Lower launch angles: High launch angles can lead to home runs when power hitters are in form. They can lead to pop-outs and fly-outs when they\u2019re not. The Rangers had baseball\u2019s highest average launch angle (16%), the highest fly ball percentage (43%), the lowest batting average on balls in play (.263) and the second-most pop-ups (138) before June 1. After June 1, when the Rangers became \u201cmore line drive focused,\u201d per Young, their launch angle (14%), fly ball percentage (39.9%) and BABIP (.283), total pop-ups (195) each neared league average. Situational hitting: Among pure counting stats, save for possibly total runs scored, a team\u2019s performance in high-leverage or critical moments might have the largest direct correlation to wins and losses. The two aforementioned areas of focus can directly play into the effectiveness here, too. The Rangers ranked bottom-five in both batting average with runners in scoring position (.219) and in two-strike counts (.152) before June 1. It called for more patience, shorter swings and an emphasis on balls in play versus strikeouts. They hit .254 with runners in scoring position (15th in baseball) and .166 with two strikes (22nd in baseball) after June 1. <\/p>\n

The easiest way to lean into this approach is to acquire hitters who\u2019ve built a track record that can match. The club\u2019s finances \u2014 including more than $140 million committed to just a half-dozen players and a likely reduced payroll \u2014 make that a harder needle to thread. Young believes that the winter and spring training will be \u201ccritical\u201d to indoctrinate the roster as it stands. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe philosophy did shift,\u201d Young said. \u201cThe players have not had an offseason to adjust. I think they\u2019ll be asked to do different things in the offseason in terms of their training, and not just simply working on one specific swing, but being able to do multiple things that may allow them to be more successful and contribute to a team-type of approach that is necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ballpark<\/p>\n

Globe Life Field profiled as a pitcher\u2019s park this season. Its park factor \u2014 an advanced metric which effectively measures how conducive a stadium is to offense \u2014 was the third-lowest in baseball. Seattle T-Mobile Park, where the Rangers are 14-43 in the last six seasons, is the only AL stadium that\u2019s less favorable to bats. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a not-so-insignificant issue. Their .660 OPS at Globe Life Field this season was the lowest of any team at home in baseball this season. Their .706 OPS on the road was league average. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the challenges for us as a front office,\u201d Young said, \u201cis to determine what types of players will have offensive success in this ballpark to build a roster accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

General manager Ross Fenstermaker said that \u201cstable skills, on-base percentage, the ability to make contact, [and] execute situationally\u201d will be traits that the Rangers could prioritize in external additions. He also cautioned that the stadium\u2019s park factor has been inconsistent in recent years. It was statistically a hitter\u2019s park in the two seasons prior to this one. In 2022, the first season in which StatCast carried data for Globe Life Field, it was neutral. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to [over-correct] one way and have to make an adjustment in season,\u201d Fenstermaker said. \u201cWe do need to do a deeper examination on this and have some thoughtful conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty to be had about this offense. <\/p>\n

Twitter\/X: @McFarland_Shawn<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Miami<\/a>Who is Skip Schumaker? 10 things to know about Texas Rangers\u2019 new manager<\/a><\/p>\n

Schumaker takes over after Texas parted ways with Bruce Bochy at the end of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

\"Miami<\/a>Skip Schumaker joins Rangers with a luxury most new managers don\u2019t have: familiarity<\/a><\/p>\n

Few incoming managers get the chance to audit the system like Schumaker has had in Texas.<\/p>\n

\"Skip<\/a>Texas Rangers hire Skip Schumaker as new manager<\/a><\/p>\n

Schumaker, 45, replaces Bruce Bochy, who parted ways with the organization after the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/a>Here\u2019s why Texas Rangers, Ray Davis can\u2019t afford not to spend this offseason<\/a><\/p>\n

The only way the Rangers can challenge the Astros and Mariners next year is if they don\u2019t make the same mistakes as their AL West bunkmates.<\/p>\n

Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click or tap here to sign up for our Rangers newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ARLINGTON \u2014 The Texas Rangers were five days into their offseason Friday when the club\u2019s brain trust spoke…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2393],"tags":[4805,5,3246,384,386,4,149,1567,69,3240],"class_list":{"0":"post-361563","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas-rangers","8":"tag-article","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-chris-young","11":"tag-corey-seager","12":"tag-marcus-semien","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-rangers","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-texas-rangers","17":"tag-texasrangers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115316411980242826","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}