According to the Rangers, 2019 was an evaluation period. It was about learning. Rangers fans hope Jon Daniels didn’t like the lessons. 

The team finished twenty games out. Of second. This team would have to take a dramatic and monumental leap forward just to have a shot at a wild card. And that’s not taking into account Oakland, who finished second, twenty games ahead of Texas, will be seeking to improve so it finishes more than twenty-games ahead of Texas next year. Or, that Los Angeles is likely to improve and could leap frog over Texas. 

Seattle is not in the conversation because, Seattle.

So, since a postseason starts in the division, let’s take a position-by-position look at where the Rangers stack up in key offensive categories at each position, as opposed to the other four teams in the A.L. West. This will give some indication of how much they have to improve.

Start with the catcher position, ranked by OPS. This is ugly. Ruining-breakfast-ugly. But, you knew that already.

In 2019, Rangers catchers were abysmal. Even Pepto-abysmal. So bad they made you sick to your stomach. 

Jeff Mathis, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tim Federowicz, and Jose Trevino made up what, surprisingly, wasn’t the worst catching corps in baseball. That “honor” went to 114-loss Detroit. Barely.

The only hope here is Jose Trevino. He came up at the end of the season and brought a ray of hope. Slight. Or maybe, mediocre looks elite compared to the rest of the bunch. But then reality sets back in when one realizes the black cloud that is Jeff Mathis has one more year to rain on the parade.

The Rangers catching won’t improve much unless they clean house and start over. Catcher is one position this front office administration has had a hard time drafting and developing.

Top free agent catchers available:

Yasmani Grandal
Robinson Chirinos

*****

Tomorrow, a look at first base.