Rougned Odor’s departure signals end of an era for the Texas Rangers

Rougned Odor’s DFA closes the door on one of the most successful runs in Texas Rangers’ history while also beginning a new chapter. 

As of Monday afternoon, the sole member of the last Texas Rangers‘ playoff team in 2016 on the active roster is Matt Bush.

With the designation of Rougned Odor imminent, the Elvis Andrus trade and Shin-Soo Choo leaving for South Korea, the end of arguably the greatest era of Texas Rangers baseball comes to a close.

This chapter has come to an end, but in even better news, a new chapter will begin.

Is it surprising that the beginning and end of the Jon Daniels-era saw the Texas Rangers come from the cellar into playoff greatness, then fall back into a decline?

Yes and no.

Ironically, the new age of Texas Rangers baseball began with the hiring of a new general manager, who will work in tandem with Jon Daniels to lead the Rangers back to the Promised Land.

Chris Young’s arrival is almost a mirror image of the 2005 promotion of Jon Daniels.

The Texas Rangers have opened and closed many chapters in their franchise history.

When Daniels arrived, the Texas Rangers had a team of quality athletes, led by Michael Young, Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock, but were still far off from postseason baseball.

He inherited farm system riddled with future below-average major league talent, with Ian Kinsler and Adrian Gonzalez being the two exceptions.

He even dealt his new-GM, and then-No. 6 overall prospect, to the Padres in his second ever deal at the helm of the Texas Rangers.

Knowing he had an uphill battle ahead of him, Daniels took a 79-83 Texas Rangers team and turned them into an A.L. Champion just five years later.

As fans, we look back at the infancy of the franchise’s playoff success in the mid-90s to the maturation of the team, front office and everyone involved.

We dealt with the growing pains, we saw the stars get traded away. It seemed so distant, maybe impossible.

We saw the first World Series runs in franchise history, where the Texas Rangers were on top of the baseball world for a short period of time.

Then, the injuries piled up and the team was never the same.

Dealing from one of the deepest farm systems in the game to players not panning out, they couldn’t seem to find any sort of luck. Being bat-flipped out of the playoffs is arguably worse than any Bactine on an open-wound.

But now, we see the same signs. We are witnessing history repeat itself for the Texas Rangers.

They are a team with great talent in the minors, a few stars in the making, but still a ways to go before being playoff contenders again.

The future is now for the Texas Rangers.

Joey Gallo, David Dahl, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Leody Taveras. These are today’s Michael Youngs, Hank Blalocks and Mark Texieiras.

This is our new core.

Josh Jung, Davis Wendzel, Cole Winn, Hans Crouse and others wait for their opportunities to crack the big league club. They are the future, and are much deeper than 2005 farm system.

There is new leadership at the top of the Texas Rangers’ pyramid. Chris Young, a fresh face in the front office, is looking at an uphill climb ahead of him.

Much like the 2005 Rangers, the 2021 Texas Rangers are good, but not great. A decent, but underrated and unproven farm system is waiting in the wings.

In fact, Chris Young has a better overall squad than the 2005 team, but maybe a further and steeper hill to climb.

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The pieces are there, but it will take time.

One thing reigns true with this new group, though. The future is now.

In 2005, the future was in the near future, but at least three years down the line. Now, we get a front row seat to the next generation of great Texas Rangers.

These guys are more driven, more talented and far deeper than the Rangers’ teams of old. This is also a team that is looking to rewrite the past, and change the tone of their future.

The new chapter of Texas Rangers baseball is beginning to open, and it starts now.

Yes, it has been hard seeing our favorite players move on or retire or get cut, but just wait until the future arrives.

We miss the likes of Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Shin-Soo Choo and Elvis Andrus, but be comforted by the fact that they have made their mark on the franchise’s history.

With Rougned Odor’s departure becoming official soon, the new beginning will officially be off and running like a runner off of the starting line.

The past is in the past, and the future of the Texas Rangers lies in the hands of Chris Young and the farm system.

A driven group of young talent looks to take the reigns, rewrite the story and become the first Texas Rangers roster to bring the Commissioner’s Trophy to Arlington.

Let the new chapter begin.