Rangers most to blame for missing 2024 postseason

Although it was revealed shortly after the season that he dealt with a patella tendon strain, Adolis Garcia’s struggles at the plate in 2024 are not because of his body’s ailments. He and Chris Young would be among the first to tell you that’s the case, which makes Garcia’s season a disappointment.

The 31-year-old posted an OPS below .700 with a .224 batting average in 154 games. He still managed to hit 25 home runs, but Garcia scored 40 fewer runs than he did in 2023 as many of his other counting numbers dropped too. He had a measly 0.4 bWAR.

It was consistently bad for Garcia whose best month came in April before hitting below .200 across the next three months. He had a better second half than the first but only slightly. Garcia finished the year strong, recording a .293 average in his last 15 games.

Next season is big for Garcia, who will be 32 years old with two years of team control. He’s heading for an arbitration year in 2026 but might find his way to an extension before it gets there.

The Rangers will want to see Adolis Garcia revert to his All-Star self. Another season like 2024 would put the franchise in a tough spot, potentially forcing them to move on. For now, Garcia is still firmly in the fold.

Injury bug bites Rangers again

It’s hard to control injuries at times, especially throughout the grueling Major League Baseball season, but the Rangers have to be thinking “What the heck did we do to deserve this?”

Again the Rangers had to deal with injuries throughout the year on both sides of the ball. Josh Jung and Evan Carter were the biggest absences on offense, while Max Scherzer was on and off the field, making only nine starts. 15 different pitchers started a game for Texas, only two with more than 20 starts.

Garcia, Jung and Carter are among a group of Rangers rehabbing injuries in the early portion of the offseason. Corey Seager is part of it too after being diagnosed with a sports hernia during the season’s final month.

There is a bright side to all the Rangers injuries. Jacob deGrom rehabbed his way to three starts in September and pitched exceptionally well. A healthy offseason where he can ramp up his pitching program could have him in line for a monster 2025. Getting deGrom back atop the rotation would fill a need for the Rangers.

However the offseason shakes out for Texas, one thing is abundantly clear, the Rangers have to figure out how to stay relatively healthy and keep their stars on the field. Winning every month and maintaining a high standard is difficult and running into injury trouble can amplify the worries.

There’s only so much a team can do, but maybe there are new training and preparation methods the Rangers can implement or offer their players to ensure their health throughout a full season.