The 2023 MLB season saw the Texas Rangers reach the pinnacle of baseball, winning the World Series with a roster full of young and experienced players that you thought would be competing once again the next season. However, nothing is a given in this league, where the variance from one year to the next can be drastic.
With that being said, 2024 has been a disappointment for the Rangers. Texas is currently 70-75 and are a whopping 7.0 games out of a Wild Card spot with less than a month to play. In other words, they are almost certainly going to miss the playoffs unless they have a miracle run of winning along with every other competing team collapsing down the stretch.
While this isn’t impossible, it is quite far fetched. The good news for the Rangers is that they are getting some late season reinforcements that could help them try to achieve that difficult goal. Jacob deGrom will return to the rotation after missing yet another year with injury. The former two-time Cy Young winner is one of the best pitchers in the game… when he actually plays the game, that is. In four minor league rehab starts, deGrom had a 0.84 ERA with 15 strikeouts and one walk in 10 2/3 innings.
He will be a major boost to a decimated rotation that will also be getting three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer back. He has been on the IL since August 2 and has dealt with his share of injuries at 40 years old. The future Hall of Famer was fantastic in his lone rehab start, striking out eight batters in 4.0 innings of hitless ball. Indeed, getting these two veteran aces back on the mound will be a huge boost for Texas.
But these two aren’t the only boosts that this rotation will receive in the coming days.
Top pitching prospect Kumar Rocker, who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, is scheduled to make his MLB debut Thursday with a start in the series opener in Seattle. He had Tommy John surgery in May of 2023, but has been unhittable in 10 minor league appearances.
Despite all of these guys joining the Rangers rotation, it is perhaps too little too late for Texas in 2024. In fact, at BetMGM, the Rangers are off the board in the “To Make The Playoffs” futures section. They have already eliminated them before they have been officially eliminated, which should tell you something.
While they may not make any noise this season, this is a very intriguing rotation for the 2025 MLB season. deGrom, Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Rocker and Jack Leiter could be a very tough starting five if the young guys develop.
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