Expectations were high for the Texas Rangers this season. Yes, they had a down year in 2024, but with Jacob deGrom fully healthy and their offense locked and loaded, it felt as if this team could seriously compete for their second AL Pennant in three years. Well, deGrom has looked great, but their offense is the reason why they're just 25-26 after getting swept in a four-game series at Yankee Stadium. They fired their hitting coach, but things haven't really changed. Marcus Semien, in particular, is a huge reason why their offense has been so putrid.
After getting shut out on Thursday, the Rangers now rank 27th in the majors in runs scored and 27th in OPS. The only teams below them are the Chicago White Sox, the Colorado Rockies, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, the three worst teams in baseball.
At this point, it's getting harder and harder to justify giving Semien regular playing time on this team with how this season has gone.
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It's getting harder to defend playing Marcus Semien regularly
After going 1-for-4 in Thursday's game, Semien is now slashing .178/.271/.236 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 49 games. He's still a good defender and offers above-average speed, but his bat has simply been one of the worst in the sport.
In fact, Semien's .507 OPS is the third-worst among qualified position players, which is impossible to fathom. This is a three-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger winner who was leading off in their World Series run just two years ago. Again, he looks like a shell of the player he once was.
And this is fresh off the heels of what was a down year for him in 2024. Semien had a sub-.700 OPS for the first time in a season in which he played more than 65 games in his career, and his 100 OPS+ was exactly league average. This season, though, he's gone from merely average to rock bottom. His OPS+ was at 49 entering the day, which is 51 points below the league average.
Slow starts happen, but it's almost June. We've played nearly one-third of the season. It's go-time, and it's hard for the Rangers to go with Semien playing like this.
I get why the Rangers are so hellbent on playing him. He's in the fourth year of a massive seven-year, $175 million deal, and his track record is outstanding. Bruce Bochy hopes that one day something will click, but frankly, it's been a couple of years now since we've seen Semien at his best. Now, at 34 years old, it feels safe to wonder whether we'll ever see Semien play close to an All-Star level again.
He's already been bumped from the leadoff spot to fifth in the order, and if these struggles continue, the Rangers will have to move him to the lower third of the lineup, if not the bench.