For the opening month or so, the Texas Rangers were a cute story. But it’s deep enough into the season now to promote the theme. They’re not going anywhere.
The Rangers were unlucky — or perhaps overly optimistic — with the Jacob deGrom signing. But Nathan Eovaldi has stepped in as a staff ace, the starters behind him are reliable, and everyone is backed by the best lineup in baseball. Texas ranks first in runs, batting average and OBP, and the Rangers slot third in slugging and OPS. They haven’t stepped into the running revolution of 2023 — just 40 steals, ranking 24th — but it hasn’t held them back much.