With 35 games left in the season and the Rangers out of the playoff picture, it’s time to start turning attention to how the Rangers will look next season.

There’s a good chance four of the Rangers starters will not be with them in 2026: Josh Jung, Adolis García, Jonah Heim, and Jake Burger. Sadly, Rangers fans have to start preparing for a season without Bruce Bochy. His contract expires at the end of the season and unless Rangers ownership suddenly changes course and invests in what’s needed to make the dramatic improvements to this roster—which they were unwilling to do this past offseason and at the trade deadline—it’s hard to imagine Bochy signing up for more.

He was, you will recall, retired, living in Nashville, fishing, sitting in a rocking chair, enjoying the fruits of his career, when Chris Young talked him out of all of that. He did that with the promise the Rangers were going to build a perennial winner. That happened the first year. Years two and three, no. Chris Young’s hands were tied trying to build a roster for 2025 by the luxury tax handcuffs.

There is nothing to suggest that won’t happen again. So, why would Bochy stay?

The Rangers need a massive offensive overhaul, though. To do it right—meaning trying to win—will require getting some offensive pieces (and a closer) that are difference makers. That usually requires money, little more of which Rangers ownership is willing to spend. And it requires the ability to build a winning roster within budget constraints, which Chris Young has shown an inability to do in his last two losing seasons.

But it’s pretty apparent Josh Jung isn’t part of the Rangers future plans. Since that productive start to the 2023 season, he has been just an average major league hitter. This series against the Royals is the most important series of the year. Where was Jung? On the bench. Not injured. He’s simply not playing because his manager feels he has better options. Nothing says you are non-essential quite like that.

Chris Young explained it pretty clearly: “There are times when Josh is dialed in and his performance is strong, but when it hasn’t been dialed in, it’s been a little more undisciplined. And just inconsistent.” He added: “You can only tolerate so much volatility.” When Jung is going well, all is good. Good, not great. And that is the issue. If he had flashes of greatness, they could overshadow all else. But he doesn’t. And when he isn’t, all the wheels come off. He strikes out at will, has no plate discipline, and offers zero threat. His last ten games? Yikes. He’s hitting .143, with a pitiful .189 on-base, and a hard to stomach OPS of .329.

It’s not fair to suggest that this team’s offensive malaise is Jung’s fault. It’s not. But he has done nothing to get the team out of it. And this will wind up being two-and-a-half seasons of mediocre offense. The Rangers can go with a defensive-only third baseman if they were getting big numbers from, say, the other guy at the corner. But they’re not.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Jung is back for 2026. Unless, of course, ownership’s refusal to invest in someone better, and the front office’s inability to upgrade, forces them to keep him.

All the while, Bruce Bochy will be sitting on his porch in Nashville on opening day with his four World Series trophies and recent memories of two frustrating, losing seasons.

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