Texas Rangers: 3 players who need to play better in the last two months

The Texas Rangers emerged from the trade deadline with four new pitchers and a new backup catcher. These moves energized the team and help power them to an 8-game winning streak and helped them increase their lead on the Houston Astros to 2.5 games. The team continues to win and play good baseball, but they also have three players that have been really struggling since the All-Star break. Texas will need Ezequiel Duran, Leody Taveras, and Jon Gray to figure it out soon as Texas is trying to hold off the Houston Astros.

Ezequiel Duran comes back down to earth

Duran had a surprisingly good first half of the season. He went from not playing at all to being the starting shortstop when Seager went down with a hamstring injury. He rode that increased responsibility to an everyday job even after Seager returned. He went into the break with a .308 batting average, a .870 OPS, 12 home runs, 35 RBIS, and 29 extra-base hits. Some fans were even calling for him to supplant Corey Seager as the starting shortstop this season. He went from someone that might have been traded at the deadline to an untouchable piece.

That has not continued post All-Star break. Duran's bat has completely disappeared in the 24 games since the break. Duran has a .156 batting average, a .526 OPS, two home runs, five RBIs, and 24 strikeouts to eight walks. He also has just three extra base hits in the 21 games he has played in. Duran was a vital cog in the Rangers' lineup and now he is almost an automatic out anytime he steps up to the plate.

Josh Jung will be out for much of the rest of the regular season. In his absence, they need Duran to really step up not only defensively for Jung, but offensively as well. He has to have better at-bats and force pitchers to throw strikes. Right now he is getting himself out by swinging at balls and not working counts. If he can make the adjustments necessary Texas will be able to survive the loss of Jung to the broken thumb.

The second half swoon of Leody Taveras

Taveras was one of the massive success stories in the first half. He was playing so well that people stopped talking about Evan Carter taking his job. He had his first multi home run game in Tampa. He was playing good defense in center, was stealing bases, and hitting the ball with force. He looked like a more complete version of the Taveras that fans have been looking to see for the last five years going back to his time in the minors. Tavares went into the break with a .295 batting average, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, nine stolen bases, and 15 doubles, and two triples.

Taveras had a hot stretch prior to the All-Star break in 2022 and did not follow it up with a productive post-All-Star break. He is doing that once again post-All-Star break. Taveras has a .191 batting average, a .536 OPS, with one home run, and 12 RBIs. He also has 28 strikeouts to just four walks in the 24 games he has played since the break.

The lack of production from both Taveras and Duran is hurtful as Bochy normally hits them back-to-back at eight and nine in the lineup. One thing about Taveras is that when he is struggling he rarely makes contact and tends to strike out more. That has continued as he strikes out nearly every game and has three games this month with multiple strikeouts.

Bochy continues to insert him into the lineup and so he will have plenty of opportunities. There is word that J.P. Martinez, the Round Rock center fielder, is reportedly being called up on Friday. That could be to both get Taveras some rest and maybe some competition for the center field job.