The 2014 Texas Rangers were one of the unluckiest squads in the history of Major League Baseball, losing a staggering 1,809 man games due to injury -- almost 70% more than any other team. It's no surprise the Rangers finished an AL-worst 67-95 with an MLB-worst -136 run differential.
Now, with Yu Darvish sidelined for 2015 and a host of health questions to answer, can the Rangers find some way to put their injury woes behind them and win some baseball games?
Here's our 3 Bold Predictions For The 2015 Texas Rangers.
1. Adrian Beltre has one more BIG power surge in him
While the veteran third baseman's production dipped in 2014 (19 HRs, 77 RBIs), he still posted a very impressive .324/.388/.492 despite a revolving door of protection around him in the starting lineup. Some think Beltre's due for a natural power dropoff heading into his age-36 season. We think he has one more 32 home run, 105 RBI year left in him.
2. Yovani Gallardo will have his best MLB season
Gallardo's comes into his age-29 campaign, his first away from the Milwaukee Brewers, as one of the most durable starting pitchers of this decade. He has made 30 or more starts in every season between 2009-14 and appears to only be getting craftier with his arsenal as he gets older. He will be a huge help with Darvish on the shelf, eclipsing 30 starts again and posting a career-best 3.35 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.
3. Texas will finish with the worst record in the AL...again
Aside from the bright spots mentioned above, there are way too many on-roster questions for Texas heading in 2014-15. Is Prince Fielder on the decline? Can the team piece together a functional back end of the rotation? Is the back half of the batting order good enough? Do the Rangers have the (healthy) horses to compete in a loaded AL West? There's a lot of problems here, even with new manager Jeff Banister drawing solid early reviews -- enough to project another 96-100 loss season for the Rangers. There will be room for optimism in 2016, however, after Texas' young core gets another year of experience under its belt.
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