Dream Texas Rangers starting rotation for the 2024 season

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Even though the Texas Rangers are still celebrating the franchise's first ever World Series title, it is time to start looking ahead at what the 2024 roster could look like. Michael Sanders wrote about what a dream lineup might look like late last week, and Jacob Stubbs will be looking at a possible dream bullpen later this week, but this piece will tackle the subject of a potential dream rotation. The premise is that while this rotation is a dream of sorts, it is also one that could actually become a reality.

The dream 2024 Texas Rangers starting rotation

If Chris Young showed us anything last season, it is his commitment to pitching and lots of it. It would be easy to slot the current pitchers on the roster into the rotation and roll with it, but that is highly unlikely what will happen. With injuries that can, and usually do, occur throughout a 162 game season to pitchers, the more quality arms that are available the better. With that in mind, Dane Dunning, Andrew Heaney, and Cody Bradford will not be in this dream rotation. That isn't to say that they will not play a huge role for the team in 2024. The reality is that they will all more than likely find themselves starting games at some point in the season.

There is also the outside chance that Jacob deGrom gets to pitch at the very end of next season. After coming back from Tommy John surgery if he is able to take the mound it will be in a limited capacity, but it would be awesome to have him out there some in September and a potential playoff run. But if deGrom does pitch next season, it might be out of the pen or as an opener of sorts. With that in mind, let's take a look at the dream (yet realistic) rotation for 2024.

Jon Gray

When a team gets to slot Jon Gray into the fifth spot in the rotation, that means that they have some strong arms. Gray is a tough competitor, that has had to fight through some injuries over his first two seasons in Arlington. He didn't miss significant time this year but did miss some starts in both the regular season as well as the playoffs. Even with the time on the IL and missed starts, Gray still managed to start 29 games this season and pitched the third highest innings total of his career, at 157 1/3.

One of the keys to a fifth starter is having someone that is dependable and can eat innings. He isn't a top of the rotation guy, but he is a very good pitcher and gives the Rangers a chance to win every time that he toes the rubber. Gray also proved his worth in this year's playoff run as he came out of the pen on three different occasions and performed wonderfully. He is under contract for the next two seasons. The name appeal might not be that of the next guy on this list, but Jon Gray is a solid pitcher that has, and will continue to help the Rangers win games.

Max Scherzer

Perhaps the biggest wild card in this dream rotation, is Max Scherzer. He is a future Hall of Famer, and a guy that historically was at the top of any rotation that he was a part of. Father time, and some untimely injuries, have the veteran Scherzer slotting in the fourth spot. I wouldn't be surprised if Bruce Bochy tells Scherzer that the best pitcher on each team is actually pitching fourth next season, just so he doesn't get twisted. Not really, but you get it. He has always been an ace, but now finds himself slotted further down the rotation.

Keeping Scherzer healthy and on the mound and off the injured list will be the key to a successful 2024 for him. He is one of the main reasons that having the likes of Dunnings, Heaney, and Bradford on the team can come in handy. Scherzer is under contract for 2024 and then will either retire or become a free agent. He will turn 40 next July 27th.

I have heard from plenty of people that Scherzer is done, and that he is no good anymore. That simply isn't the case. He isn't the dominate force that he once was, but he is still a very good MLB pitcher. This season he pitched 152 2/3 innings, had a record of 13-6, struck out 174, had a 3.77 ERA, and a 1.120 WHIP. Having Max Scherzer in the Rangers rotation makes it much better.

Dylan Cease

The first new piece to the 2024 Rangers dream rotation is Dylan Cease. You might be thinking that you missed his name on the list of free agents, but you didn't. The soon to be (Dec 28) 28-year-old righty for the Chicago White Sox still has two years of control left on his initial MLB contract. With the White Sox starting a rebuild and not appearing to be playoff contenders anytime real soon, they have made it clear that they are willing to listen to offers for the controllable Cease. The price to trade for him will be somewhat high, but after keeping most of the farm system intact at the trade deadline, the Rangers have numerous pieces that could be packaged together to make the deal come to fruition.

Even though Cease would cost the Rangers in prospect capital, he wouldn't escalate the payroll in the way many of the other pitchers out there would. His estimated arbitration number this season is $8.3M which is about $20M less than many of the top free agent pitchers. Cease had an off year in 2023 and will be looking to regain his dominance that he previously showed.

Cease was good in 2021, but then was great in 2022 as he finished second in the AL Cy Young race behind only Justin Verlander. There appeared to be some mechanical issues that were hindering Cease this season but started to get better over his last four starts of the year. Getting out of Chicago and having a change in scenery is bound to help the ultra-talented Cease. There is a chance that one of the long guys has to go back to Chicago in this deal, but if that is the case, getting two years of control of Cease in the middle of our window could work out very nicely.

Jordan Montgomery

With the playoff run that Jordan Montgomery had for the Rangers, many believe that he has priced himself out of the team's ability to resign him. While that might be true, let us remember that this is a dream rotation. It has also been interesting that the Rangers have been linked to the likes of Blake Snell and Aaron Nola, and yet those guys are predicted to make roughly the same as Monty ($28M per, for 5 years). For my money, if given the choice between the three of those guys, I am taking the known commodity. Their stuff is all well known, but Monty was not only a key part of the World Series title but is well known and respected within the Rangers club house.

When looking at Montgomery, Snell, and Nola, the knock on Monty is that he doesn't overpower people. Well, the Rangers just so happen to have one of the best defenses in MLB and have a manager that loves pitchers that throw strikes. That is what Monty does. He induces weak contact and lets his defense work. The big lefty would be a great addition to the Rangers team for 2024 and into the future. He already knows how to pitch, and won't have to reinvent himself as he continues to age.

Another huge advantage of signing Montgomery over Snell or Nola is that he comes with no qualifying offer attached to him. Both Snell and Nola received qualifying offers and will require the Rangers to forfeit a top draft pick if they sign them. If Monty is signed, there are no additional ramifications to the team.

Nathan Eovaldi

Leading the charge for the Rangers in 2024 from the mound will be Nathan Eovaldi. This part of the rotation is not a dream at all, but very much a reality. Eovaldi is under contract for 2024 with a vesting option for 2025. The Alvin, TX native was a work horse for the team last season before going down after the All-Start break with an injury. By coming back too soon to try and help the Rangers get back to winning, Eovaldi struggled for a while, but boy did he get it going late and into the playoffs.

Big game Nate, was nails in the postseason, pitching 36 2/3 innings, he had a 5-0 record, the Rangers won all six games that he started, he struck out 41, and had a 2.95 ERA. The guy was clutch and if it wasn't for Adolis Garcia in the ALCS and Corey Seager in the World Series, he would have probably been the MVP of each series.

With Eovaldi heading up the rotation in 2024, the Rangers will be positioned to make yet another push to the playoffs and see if they can make another special run. The better off the starting rotation the better the Rangers bullpen will be next year also. This rotation is a dream rotation for sure, but not one that is so out around that there is no way that it plays out as presented. Now it's time to sit back and let CY do his thing and see what he can come up with.

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