Texas Rangers: Playing the “what if” game with the 2021 season

You know what they say about hindsight, right? It’s 20/20. So why not leverage this incredible ability we have and apply it to the 2021 Texas Rangers?

We can always ask ourselves “what if” when it comes to so many scenarios that could’ve been for the Texas Rangers this season. We’re not saying that if every one of these played out another way, the season would be dramatically different. 2021 was always going to be a tough year for this team due to, well… undergoing a full-scale rebuild.

It’s fair to wonder, though, what other narratives might we have been talking about with this team if things differently than they did. Let’s look at a few examples.

Texas Rangers “What If” 1: What if Josh Jung had stayed healthy?

Would he be a big leaguer by now? It’s a real possibility.

Jung, the organization’s second-ranked prospect, was slated for a 2021 MLB debut. Unfortunately, that’s not how things have worked out.

The 23-year-old suffered a foot injury in the spring that sidelined him for a good portion of the season, limiting him to a couple months of game action. That included a ramp up at AA Frisco before settling in at AAA Round Rock.

Now, even if Jung had stayed healthy in spring, he wouldn’t have won a big league job outright. He still would’ve started the year in the minors, but a mid-season or at minimum, second half promotion would not have been out of the question.

The 2019 first round selection has a 1.000 OPS at Round Rock, so he’s clearly ready for the big leagues. But the Rangers want to take it slow, and rightly so, with their prized prospects.

It’s fun to wonder what a healthy Josh Jung would’ve done with his first big league opportunity, though. Guess we’ll just have to find out in 2022!

Texas Rangers “What if” 3: What if Joey Gallo wasn’t traded to the Yankees?

Of course we’re thinking about this.

In reality, we know the Rangers did in fact trade Joey Gallo to the Yankees for four prospects, all of whom greatly improved the farm system and are setting a nice foundation for Texas to build on.

One of the prospects, Glenn Otto, is already making an impact at the big league level. Overall, while the trade stung initially, I believe the package was solid and the Rangers got good value. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the future betterment of the team.

It also doesn’t help that the Rangers and Gallo were pretty far apart on a contract extension, with Gallo believing he was worthy of a huge payday, while the team saw him more as a Nick Castellanos-type.

Ultimately, if an extension wasn’t in the cards, it was right to trade him. And he can return to Arlington as a free agent in 2023.

Maybe the Rangers didn’t have to trade Gallo to the Yankees per se, but keeping him wouldn’t have added much value to an already lost season. Better to get the prospects. You’ll thank Texas later.