Bouncing back from disappointing year a primary target at Rangers camp

ARLINGTON, Texas — The fresh spring air is crisp with the flavor of optimism as all 30 teams are fully entrenched in their training regimen ahead of Opening Day later this month. For the Texas Rangers, coming off a very disappointing follow-up to their 2023 World Series Championship, the goal is simple – get back to playing for the Commissioner’s Trophy in October.

After a very productive offseason, in which they managed to overhaul their bullpen and reconfigure their lineup, Texas’ main objective during their time in Surprise, AZ appears to be getting their key players back in the groove they were in during 2023.

The offense didn’t hit nearly as well as projected last season and the pitching staff was riddled with injuries, forcing their depth into overuse and in uncommon roles. The Rangers aim to return to past effectiveness, get healthy, and make the needed adjustments along the way to get back to the postseason. That all begins at Surprise.

Here’s a look at three early stories to follow from spring training:

Texas re-signed Nathan Eovaldi over the winter, re-adding an arm at the top of the rotation and deepening a staff that is expecting a lot out of pitchers who didn’t pitch much last season.

Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle will be entering their first full seasons after each went under the knife for Tommy John surgeries in 2023, while Jon Gray made just 19 starts last season. Cody Bradford, who lost more than half of the season to a back and rib injury, is also looking to break camp as a rotation member after a season that had him on track for a breakout season.

Dane Dunning will also be vying for that fifth open spot in the rotation after a season that saw him get demoted for the first time in his career after he failed to find success in numerous roles for Texas even after being named the club’s Pitcher of the Year for his work in 2023.

With Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker also shooting for regular playing time at the Major League level, the competition is fierce for the pitchers, and especially for the starting rotation. Ultimately, the Rangers will likely need all of their arms as they try to piece together a full season’s worth of innings for a staff prone to injury.

Still, who makes the Opening Day staff has been an early battle to watch. So far, Dunning has pitched four scoreless innings over two games and has turned the heads of the coaching staff. Rocker, meanwhile, has been roughed up in his first two outings.

Gray tossed two scoreless innings in his first game action, Bradford has pitched five innings without allowing a run in two starts while Mahle and Eovaldi each have a spring ERA with Mahle allowing a couple of runs in his first two outings and likely Opening Day starter Eovaldi tossing five innings and allowing three runs in his first two starts of the spring.

DeGrom, meanwhile, has yet to pitch in game action as he ramps up to making his spring debut.

It’s not that Josh Smith won’t have a spot on this team; after a .258/.337/.394 campaign with 13 homers and 62 RBI after beginning the 2024 season as the last man on the bench before nearly making the All-Star team, Smith has earned playing time.

However, with the Rangers signing Jake Burger and Joc Pederson to add power to the lineup and Josh Jung expected to go through a fully healthy season at third base, the path for Smith to take the field every day isn’t apparent.

Last season, Smith played 83 of his 149 games at third base while Jung was out injured for most of the first half of the season. Smith also played 49 games at shortstop, covering for Corey Seager when the 2023 World Series MVP’s season was cut short.

Smith has played all over the infield, and some in the outfield as well during his brief career. Last year, that flexibility earned him the AL Silver Slugger award for utility players. To work his way into the lineup, he’ll have to use that adeptness to fill in where needed once again, and Smith has said that his goal is to earn the Gold Glove for utility players as he settles into his bench role again.

Perhaps more than any other everyday players, the Rangers need to get catcher Jonah Heim and outfielder Adolis Garcia back to where they were during their 2023 championship season.

Both veterans earned All-Star nods during that year en route to putting the Rangers at the top of several key offensive categories while becoming key contributors in Texas’ run to October glory. Heim, a Gold Glove winner in 2023, started every game during the postseason and Garcia went turbo nuclear throughout the playoffs – especially on his way to ALCS MVP honors in the grudge match against Houston. 

Both followed their superlative seasons with a dismal 2024 campaign. Coming into camp, both have revamped their swings in an attempt to get shorter to the ball. Heim came out of 2024 feeling like there was a lot to work on with his swing nearly every game, leading to inconsistencies; that’s no longer the case and Heim has also bulked up in the offseason to help with his durability.

Garcia, meanwhile, has worked to reduce a lot of the motion in his swing and is reportedly feeling fully healthy during camp for the first time in two years.

A lighter workload might also be on the horizon for Heim, with the Rangers signing one of the league’s premium backup backstops after inking Kyle Higashioka to a two-year deal over the winter.

The former New York Yankees and San Diego Padres catcher has been performing well so far this spring which could eventually lead to playing time designed to help keep Heim fresh throughout the season.

Key Injuries

• Wyatt Langford, OF, oblique strain – Perhaps the early injury that impacts the Major League club the most, Langford has been restricted to light throwing and running until at least the second full week of March. Right now, Opening Day is not expected to be in doubt.
• Sebastian Walcott, SS, arm soreness – The Rangers’ 18-year-old top prospect has hit in big league games, including a home run, but has been limited in the field early in camp.
• Alejandro Rosario, RHP, elbow – The biggest blow for the organization so far, Rosario, one of the top pitching prospects across baseball, is now facing Tommy John surgery that will put him on a timeline to return in 2026.

  Which player do you think most needs a good camp for the Rangers this spring? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.