Texas Rangers Weekly Report 12: Elvis Andrus’ return steals the show

The Texas Rangers got to welcome home a fan favorite this past week as Elvis Andrus made his return trip to Arlington for the first time since being traded to the visiting Athletics. Andrus got a huge ovation when he made his first plate appearance in Texas since the trade.

It was a bittersweet night, as Rangers fans remembered the good times (and got a win!) but had to finally cope with the reality that Elvis isn’t a Ranger anymore.

More from Nolan Writin'

• Framework for a potential Max Fried trade to the Texas Rangers
• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Where do Texas Rangers prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker stand after the DeGrom signing?

In other good news from this week, David Dahl is almost ready to return from a rehab assignment after suffering a rib injury.  Andy Ibanez was also called up from Round Rock to put a “jolt” in the lineup and boy did Ibanez do that in his first game back in the show.

Texas Rangers Weekly Report: Who’s Hot

Andy Ibanez

Andy Ibanez made it clear to the Rangers front office that he did not want to be sent back down to the minor leagues. In his first game back, he hit his first career MLB home run to left field to give the Rangers an offensive boost against the Athletics Tuesday night.

Let’s just say we hope the front office got his message.

Adolis Garcia

Adolis Garcia came through in a big way on Wednesday night, hitting two clutch home runs to help the Rangers snap a losing streak and ensure a split of a four game series with Oakland. The bombs were his 19th and 20th of the year, figures which lead the team and have him placed firmly among the AL home run leaders once again.

If Garcia doesn’t make the All Star game this July, I’ll be writing a letter to the MLB about overhauling the fan voting system.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Isiah Kiner-Falefa is also showing why he should be at the All Star game this July. If he doesn’t make it to Colorado, there will be a lot of angry Texas Rangers fans, including me. He’s demonstrated multiple times this season he belongs at the game with his bat and his glove. Not to mention, he’s a winner.

Texas Rangers Weekly Report: Who’s Not

Taylor Hearn

I was shocked this week when on Tuesday night Chris Woodward pulled Taylor Hearn in the first inning, but he struggled to make the most of a starting chance. Usually, Hearn is better than this and I hope he uses the bad outing as a lesson and continues to develop as a pitcher.

Brett De Geus 

Brett De Geus was DFA’d this past week and since he’s a rule 5 draft pick, De Geus could be returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers. I thank him for his time in the Rangers organization and wish him the best moving forward.

Thoughts on this week

Right now, the AA Frisco RoughRiders are killing it in their league with a commanding hold on first place. At the same time, I know the last thing the Rangers want to do is stop the momentum they have in Frisco.

If the Rangers are out of the playoffs by a mile, I would call some of those prospects up to see what they can do in Arlington since the commute is close. It also can’t hurt to try and bring some winning mojo to Texas and start building the foundation for the future.

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals are coming to town this coming week. If you remember Opening Day against them in Kansas City, you should expect to see the bats come alive. If the Rangers have issues hitting against them, there should be some cause for concern for fans, especially given how well they saw Royals’ pitching in the opening series.

Texas Rangers Weekly Schedule:

June 25th-27 home vs Kansas City Royals

June 29th-July 1st at Oakland Athletics