Texas Rangers clinch first playoff berth since 2016
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Texas Rangers have clinched a spot in the playoffs, marking a return to the postseason after a six-season absence.
The team’s last time in the playoffs was in 2016, when they lost to the Blue Jays in the AL Divisional Round.
Since their last playoff trip, the team has not had a winning record, with the Rangers recording 102 losses two seasons ago.
That’s when the owners, particularly Ray Davis, said they were tired of losing and made some big free agent signings.
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They brought in Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to shore up the middle infield before last season and let everyone know they were ready to spend big.
That spending continued this past offseason, when they focused on the starting rotation, bringing in Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, and Nathan Eovaldi.
They also made some changes in the front office and managerial position last season, by firing Jon Daniels and having Chris Young replace him.
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"But the bottom line is we have not had a winning record since 2016 and for much of that time, have not been competitive in the A.L. West Division." said Rangers owner Ray Davis. "I feel a change in the leadership of the baseball operations department will be beneficial going forward."
That came about the same time they fired Chris Woodward. In the offseason, they hired World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy to fill the open manager position.
With their big signings over the past two offseasons and their new manager, the team had new expectations of fighting for a playoff heading into this season.
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Bochy signed a three-year deal with the Rangers.
The expectations grew even more when the Rangers got off to best start in franchise, and at one point had the best record in the American League.
There was some bad news early in the season, when the team lost deGrom for the rest of the season to Tommy John Surgery.
But the team overcame that bump in the road to have a record of 52-39 heading into the All-Star break. They were leading the AL West and had five starters in the All-Star Game.
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Texas will become the first team in 47 years to have five position players start in the All-Star Game after the Rangers’ Adolis García was picked to join the American League lineup as an injury replacement.
Even with that great start, the bullpen was having some issues, so the Rangers traded for Aroldis Chapman to help close some games out.
Towards the end of July, the team started to have a slide, losing Corey Seager to the Injury List for the second time of the season, along with All-Star catcher Jonah Heim and Eovaldi, who had been having a great season.
Seeing their team needed a boost, the Rangers made a couple more trades, including Max Scherzer, who would help fill the hole left by deGrom’s injury.
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The Texas Rangers acquired three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer in a blockbuster trade with the New York Mets, an all-in move for the AL West leaders.
Things in August didn’t get much better for the Rangers. Even though they got Seager and Heim back from injuries, they saw rookie sensation Josh Jung head to the IL, and the bullpen continued to have issues.
The team gave up their AL West lead to the Astros, but continued to be in the fight for a playoff spot.
The start of September looked like the slide would continue, with the team seeing Adolis Garcia go to the IL and Scherzer miss the rest of the season with an injury, but top prospect Evan Carter was called up and helped bring some optimism for fans.
After being swept by the Astros, the Rangers were three games back for the AL West, but responded with a strong rest of the month, which included big four-game sweeps of the Blue Jays and Mariners.
It wasn’t a perfect season, but the team has shown fight and that they can overcome adversity when times get tough.
With a spot in the playoffs now clinched, Bochy and his team head into the postseason, hoping they can replicate the Rangers teams of 2010 and 2011 to win some series and make it to the World Series.