Each MLB team’s most important offseason decision

Texas Rangers - Finding a guarantee in the pitching staff

There’s a difference between targeting a starting pitcher and targeting a “guarantee” in starting pitching. There are few guarantees in baseball, but a great starting pitcher is as close as one could come to it. The Texas Rangers thought they did a great job in finding those guarantees, but it was clear that “guarantee” it was not.

The Rangers won the 2023 World Series, but they lost a lot in the rotation in the meantime. Max Scherzer needed back surgery. Jacob deGrom had to miss the run for Tommy John surgery. They lost Jordan Montgomery to a big deal from the Arizona Diamondbacks (and thank goodness they did), and they went into the season with Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, and Jon Gray as their top three pitchers. 

Eovaldi was fine, but the rest of the staff was pretty dreadful. Michael Lorenzen was decent, but they traded him at the deadline. The Rangers need someone who is going to come in and solidify this rotation. 

The Rangers have deGrom returning at full health, Tyler Mahle making a full-season return, Gray hoping to take a rotation spot, and Cory Bradford. It makes all the sense in the world to go big for another starter, and we see them as a wild card for Corbin Burnes.