Why The Texas Rangers Continue To Struggle Despite A New Hitting Coach and Personnel

When the season began, the Texas Rangers, the winners of the 2023 World Series, were the sexy pick to win the American League West. Just over a month in, the team as a whole is hitting .228, and over the weekend general manager Chris Young fired offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker. In his place they have hired former Seattle Mariner Bret Boone.

Coming into the year, the AL West still had the ever-dangerous Houston Astros as well as the Mariners, who might be able to find the offense to match their terrific pitching. But the Rangers, with their pedigree, stacked lineup, and Jacob deGrom back on the hill after his second Tommy John surgery, definitely had what it would take to win this division.

In the off-season, Young added to the potent offense by acquiring Jake Burger and Joc Pederson. And although the club lost hitting coach Tim Hyers to the Atlanta Braves, they hired Justin Viele in his place. Viele had previously worked with Ecker with the San Francisco Giants, and, as of now, will remain with the club after Ecker’s dismissal.

Here is a quick look at where the offense – currently 27th in MLB in OPS – has gone wrong.

The Slumpers

Second baseman Marcus Semien was coming off a bad 2024 (.237/.308/.391, all of which are below his career averages) and stood to progress to his mean. Unfortunately, he cannot find his groove. He is currently slashing .182/.268/.240, with two home runs and only three total extra base hits. He is in the middle of a 7-year, $175 million contract, that still has what may be three more long years ahead.

Adolis García, who showed out in the 2023 post-season, was penciled in for another 25-30 homers and to provide protection in the heart of the lineup. García is currently hitting .217, with just four homers. His 85 OPS+ has him well below league average. He has struck out 32 times against only 6 walks.

Burger was slashing .190/.231/.330 with three home runs when Young sent the struggling first baseman down to Triple-A Round Rock to try to find the swing that slugged 29 homers last season, and caused Texas to trade for him over the off-season.

Pederson is a whole other story. Signed to a two-year, $37 million contract, Pederson went through an 0-for-41 slump, and is currently 8-for-85 on the season, giving him a robust .094 batting average. But at least he has yet to hit a home run. His seven walks have pushed his on-base percentage to a paltry .181.

And the cherry on top may be Leody Taveras, who the Rangers placed on outright waivers over the weekend. Any team can claim him for the balance of his $4.75 million salary. If he is not claimed, he will either become a free agent (and forego the remaining balance) or will be taken off Texas’ 40-man roster and head to the minors. At the time of his release, Taveras had a 74 OPS+ and provided exactly 0.0 bWAR. Shockingly, his .601 OPS and single dinger have provided considerably more offense than Pederson, who is too expensive to release (at this point).

The Bright Spots

A few bright spots are Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford. Seager is the calming presence at shortstop and in the middle of the lineup. A career .290 hitter, he hit 33 homers in 2023 while playing in only 119 games, and then hit 30 last season while playing in only 123. This season, Seager is hitting slightly below is career 162-game averages, but is still batting .291 with a .453 slugging percentage. His 131 OPS+ is right in line with his standard.

Langford is building on his 2024 rookie campaign, where he accumulated 3.9 bWAR in just 134 games. He currently has a 165 OPS+ while playing in 25 of the team’s 35 games.

The Fallout

Because this offensive swoon can’t all be the batters’ faults, Ecker took the fall. The Rangers released the following statement: “After lengthy discussions and deliberations, we feel now is the appropriate time to provide our hitters with a new voice as we pursue goals of winning the division and reaching the postseason.” Young then told the Dallas Morning News: “I’m edgy. And rightfully so.”

Yet, despite all of their troubles, as of this writing, Texas is only one game under .500, and just four games back of the division-leading Mariners. They can easily regroup, right the ship, and make a run over the next 125 games. Maybe a new voice – maybe Boone’s voice – is what Semien and Pederson and García need to hear to figure out how to replicate their past results. Maybe an 8-1 win over those Mariners is the jump-start the club needs to get into gear. Those eight runs were tied second for their biggest offensive output of the season (they scored eight against the Athletics on April 22^nd and then 15 against them a week later). Maybe all is not yet lost.

For now, however, things are not so great deep in the heart of Texas.