What's wrong with the 2024 Texas Rangers?

The Texas Rangers came into last weekend trailing the Seattle Mariners by 5.5 games. They left Seattle trailing by 8.5 games, and that remains the deficit in the division.

It's safe to say after a big series win against the billion-dollar Dodgers that this (and the series loss to the Mets) was incredibly disappointing. The Rangers obviously had high expectations coming into 2024 after what was an unbelievable run to a World Series championship just last season.

Instead they sit at 34-40, out of a playoff spot, and running out of time to turn things around. The trade deadline will help, but if the foundation of this roster isn't figuring it out then the campaign will get exceedingly more difficult.

What's wrong with the 2024 Texas Rangers?

Injuries

Entering the season, Texas knew they would have to navigate around injuries in the starting rotation for at least a large portion of the year. With Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle all starting the season on the IL, it was going to be difficult to steer things in the right direction early on.

Additionally, injuries the Rangers pitching staff has dealt with since the start of the season with Nathan Eovaldi, Josh Sborz, Jon Gray, and Cody Bradford all spending significant time on the shelf. But that still doesn't fully encapsulate what this team has gone through.

Infielders Josh Jung and Justin Foscue have both been out since the first couple weeks of the season. Young promising outfielders Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter have both missed significant time and have failed to catch on. Not to mention, other minor injuries to players like Josh Smith, Corey Seager, and Nathaniel Lowe have left them absent for important games.

The injury bug has not been kind to the Rangers, but most of these players should return soon. Their play will determine Texas' fate.

Struggling Offense

Despite all of the injuries this team has been cursed with, there are healthy players who are definitely not living up to expectations. The clearest reason for the Rangers struggles on offense after a season where they were second in all of baseball in runs per game is the decrease in slugging percentage. They currently rank 22nd in team slugging behind lowly teams such as the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, and Colorado Rockies. That is absurd for a team that was so elite offensively last season. Not a single player from last year's starting nine has improved their OPS from 2023 to 2024

A season ago, the Rangers team OPS stood at .789. It looked like Texas had a young, highly talented offensive core to compete with for years. To add to this chaos, since their May 8 contest against the Athletics in which they put up 12 runs, the Rangers are averaging just 3.16 runs per game.

World Series Hangover?

Ah, yes, the superstitious "Championship Hangover": the idea that after a team wins it all on the big stage, they simply crumble up and get tired after a long season, resulting a poor showing the following year.

Believe it or not, we can at least ponder that maybe the Rangers are simply just tired after what was a treacherous road to a World Series title. It was the first time many of these guys played that deep into a season and exerted that much energy. Not to mention numerous others played a career high in games during the 2023 regular season. Marcus Semien even set the record for most plate appearances in a single campaign.

All of this being said, there are still a lot of games to be played and certainly enough time for the Rangers to rebound and clinch a playoff spot once again. It won't be easy considering the spot they are in right now, but once the injuries even out it is entirely possible that the Rangers make a run and get out of these tough times.