3 adjustments Rangers need to make to fix scuffling offense

The Rangers are in the middle of a mad dash to claim a playoff spot with just under 30 games to play in the 2026 season. With the exception of Jacob deGrom's bad-luck start on Tuesday, the starting rotation has looked better in recent weeks, as MacKenzie Gore and Cal Quantrill are doing their best work of the season.

Now, the Rangers need to establish some consistency in the starting lineup that has eluded them all year long. Skip Schumaker needs to treat each contest from here on out as a playoff game, as they are neck and neck with the Astros and several other teams for both the AL East title and the final AL wild-card spot.

It's time for the Rangers' skipper to implement some serious changes if the club wants to hit enough to support the pitching staff. Here are three changes he can make immediately to ensure that the team has a fighting chance come mid-to-late September.

3 offensive adjustments the Rangers have to make to kickstart the Rangers' bats down the stretch

1. Give Justin Foscue more of Nicky Lopez's at-bats

Nicky "Knocks" was a fantastic midseason addition, but his offensive production has dropped off a cliff in the last month. Skip Schumaker seems dead-set on playing Lopez every day. Still, he is mired in a 7-for-55 slump that has dropped his average from .309 to .262 since late July. He is best suited as a utility guy who you can use against righties and as a late-inning defensive replacement.

Justin Foscue has been pigeonholed as a guy who can only hit against lefties, but why not let him play every day and see what he can do against right-handers? He hasn't been great against them in spot duty yet as a big-leaguer, but he has a career minor-league slash of .227/.314/.340. Sure, it's nothing to write home about, but it's an improvement over what Lopez is giving you - and he hits for more power.

2. Move Evan Carter to the 9-hole and be done with it

If there is a mandate coming down from the upper reaches of the Rangers' front office to keep playing Evan Carter no matter what he does or doesn't do, then you can at least move him from the 6-hole to the bottom of the lineup card.

Few of us are buying that his defensive metrics make up for the woeful offense, but it appears as if Shumaker has no choice in the matter. If he is going to pitch a tent down below the Mendoza Line for the entire 2026 season, then don't let him kill rallies as the 6th-place hitter. Too often, guys are getting on base in the 3-5 slots, only to have Carter step up to the plate and throw water on the fire.

3. Make Logan O'Hoppe your main right-handed hitting catcher

Logan O'Hoppe was the most talented hitting catcher in the clubhouse the minute they traded for him. He got right, both physically and mentally, at Triple-A Round Rock, hitting .292/.386/.556 over 84 plate appearances. We would love to see the Rangers give the new 26-year-old catcher a vote of confidence by elevating him above the underwhelming right-handed trio of Danny Jansen, Elias Diaz, and Kyle Higashioka.

He is the future at the backstop position right now, and there is no time like the present to go ahead and acknowledge that by allowing him to continue to right the ship that was wandering in the doldrums of Anaheim with the lowly LA Angels for three years. The catcher position is giving you next to nothing at the plate right now, and O'Hoppe appears to be in a good place mentally. Let him get settled in at Globe Life Field and assume the mantle of the 2027 Opening Day catcher.

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