If you're one of those who thinks the Texas Rangers are going to go out and trade for a big-named starting pitcher like David Price any time soon, you need to come to your senses.
First off, teams don't deal big-time players at this time of year — we're still a couple of months away from that. Secondly, every team in the majors knows how desperate the Rangers are at the moment after losing Martin Perez and Matt Harrison for the season and already playing without Derek Holland, so they're going to hike the price up in a big way.
So what's all this mean for the Rangers and their chances at a good season this year with four and a half months still to play? Well, it just means the Rangers' lifeless offense is going to have to wake up.
Sure, they're going to get Jurickson Profar back within the month, and Geovany Soto will probably follow a few weeks after that. But what kind of offensive uptick do you really expect there, especially from Soto over Robinson Chirinos? It's going to be a mild one, not a season-changing one.
That leaves the task up to guys like Prince Fielder, Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre — all of whom struggled out of the gates but are starting to turn things around.
Other than Alex Rios and Shin-Soo Choo, no Rangers hitter has gone without an extended slump this year, and that's not what they expected. Entering the year, we thought the top five of the order — Choo, Andrus, Beltre, Fielder and Rios — would be among the top murderers' rows in all of baseball.
So far, they've been far from it. But there's still a chance for them to be that. Add in a good year from Leonys Martin and a hopeful good year from Profar once he is healthy, and the offense might be able to carry this thing.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Sure, things look bleak right now, but there's still time. They just need their guys to perform up to their standards.
