Texas Rangers trying to become the Kansas City Chiefs of MLB
The 2023 MLB campaign was literally a banner year for the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers won their first World Series in franchise history, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.
It was a win 63 years in the making for Texas, but don’t expect this team to coast heading into 2024. In fact, on the very day spring training opened, Rangers general manager Chris Young told the media that all of the franchise’s goals are in the future.
As good as it was, the World Series win is in the past. Sustained success is the goal for any organization in any sport, but as far as the Rangers are concerned — they actually have a great shot. They’ve got an active payroll of $241 million — which is the highest it’s been in team history — and some real stars to work with.
Ace Jacob deGrom could be back in the rotation by August as he returns from Tommy John surgery. He’s a two-time Cy Young Award winner. Max Scherzer should return from back surgery in June. He’s a three-time Cy Young Award winner.
Shortstop Corey Seager is coming off a season that saw him notch a batting average of .327 (fifth in MLB) with an OPS of 1.013 (second best in MLB behind only Shohei Ohtani). Rookie center fielder Evan Carter batted .306 with five home runs and 12 RBI in just 22 games played. The Rangers will have him for the whole season, and outfielder Wyatt Langford — Texas’ No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft — could be right on his heels.
Ultimately, the Rangers have the pieces to make a Chiefs-like run in MLB. Now, they just have to try to run it back.
“It’s so hard to win a championship, and it’s so hard to get back to even the World Series. A lot of things have to go our way,” Young said.
