3 Rangers goals for a dream second half of the 2026 season

It might seem hard to believe, but the second half of the 2026 season is upon us. The Texas Rangers have positioned themselves nicely for a successful stretch run, coming out of the All-Star break sitting at 49-47, good for first place in the highly competitive AL West.

The Rangers have a big test awaiting them, with the second half opening up in Atlanta against the NL East-leading Braves. Texas will be behind the eight ball to start as Cal Quantrill matches up against 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale. Saturday features a matchup of MacKenzie Gore taking on rookie Owen Murphy, and finally, the series concludes with Grant Holmes toeing the rubber for Atlanta, and the Rangers' starter still undetermined as the club evaluates Jacob deGrom's injury.

With that, there are some clear goals that the Rangers need to achieve in order to have a successful second half and secure their playoff future.

The Rangers need to figure out the back end of their starting rotation

There might not be a more crucial conundrum that the Rangers need to solve than their starting rotation. Cal Quantrill has been surprisingly good as a stopgap following Jack Leiter's injury, with a 2.12 ERA working out of the rotation. His recent track record, which includes a 6.04 ERA last season, makes betting on that performance to continue questionable. Can he be an answer going forward?

Then there's MacKenzie Gore, who has been mostly disappointing but has also stepped up big, pitching well on short rest when the rotation has been short. Can he be the pitcher that Texas envisioned when the club parted with five top prospects for him over the winter? Can he come close?

Inconsistency also applies to Kumar Rocker, who has at times looked like the phenom he was once expected to be and at other times looked unplayable.

Finally, what can Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bradford provide as they work their way back from UCL injuries? Montgomery is a good bit ahead of Bradford in his rehab assignment and could return before the trade deadline.

Finding some clarity here soon is paramount. If the Rangers find that they can trust enough of these guys to be consistently good performers, they can focus on other needs at the trade deadline. If not, getting a reliable starter to slot behind Jacob deGrom (who has his own injury questions to answer) and Nathan Eovaldi, at minimum, will be the team's biggest trade priority.

The Rangers need to find a high-leverage right-handed reliever they can rely on

We all know that Jacob Latz is both unique and phenomenal, and Tyler Alexander has been great in a variety of roles, but both of these bullpen stalwarts throw left-handed. Jakob Junis has been solid as a right-handed leverage option, but he's hurt, and his absence has raised many red flags.

That's left five rookies in the bullpen, including four right-handers: Peyton Gray, Gavin Collyer, Ben Peoples, and Emiliano Teodo. The lone active right-handed veteran is Cole Winn, who has been awful with a 5.94 ERA through 33 1/3 innings. We're getting to a code-red kind of situation here, and fixing the right-handed side of the bullpen has to be a top trade deadline priority.

This all goes hand in hand with the rotation. The better the starters are, the easier it will be to manage the bullpen. Still, even if MacKenzie Gore turns into an ace and Kumar Rocker straightens himself out, trading for at least one more effective right-handed reliever is a must.

The Rangers need to come up with a plan to keep Corey Seager healthy and productive

Consistent offensive production has been a real problem this season. Texas ranks 23rd with 399 runs scored, which isn't enough to get the job done come October. If the Rangers have to add a starter and a bullpen arm, their thin farm system won't allow them to add an impact bat as well. On top of that, the market is very thin on offensive difference makers.

That brings us to Corey Seager, who has been a nonfactor all season. Hitting just .182/.292/.374, Seager hasn't gotten the job done in between his three IL stints. Now, the Rangers tried to manage his workload between his time on the IL with a concussion and his second IL stint with lower back inflammation. Obviously, it didn't work.

A vintage performance from Seager down the stretch will be significantly more impactful than any hitter they can acquire; they just need to figure out how to coax it out of him. Easier said than done.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow