Defending a championship is hard. Perhaps that rings true the most in such an unpredictable sport like baseball and a more than two-decade-long trend helps prove that point. Barring an unbelievable turnaround that would border on a miracle, the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers will not defend their title this year. That would make the Rangers the 24th consecutive champion to fail at repeating as kings of the MLB. The 1998-2000 New York Yankees are the last to do so.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way for Texas. The Rangers brought back virtually their entire roster from their 2023 title-winning campaign. They added reinforcements who were expected to increase their odds of returning to the playoffs and the Fall Classic.
Instead, with six weeks left in the MLB regular season, the Rangers find themselves 10 games under .500 with six teams separating them from a Wild Card berth. They are 11 games out of first place in the AL West and own the worst winning percentage for a third-place team.
As much as they want to believe they can still make a run in September, the Rangers should look toward the future. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Texas place a few notable players with expiring contracts on waivers in the next two weeks. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal mentioned such a possibility last week.
It would be a hard pill for the Rangers and their fans to swallow, but being prudent is in the franchise’s best interest. Texas still has a core that can contend as soon as next season. Shedding even the slightest bit of salary to free up money for the offseason shouldn’t be scoffed at, even if it comes from the champs.
Lefty starter with postseason experience bids farewell to Texas
The Rangers have rolled through a carousel of pitchers over the last few seasons with injury luck not going their way. 12 pitchers have started a game for Texas this year and that number will increase with the impending return of Jacob deGrom.
Jon Gray is expected back this week too, which will make for a crowded rotation with Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle, Dane Dunning, Cody Bradford and Andrew Heaney currently occupying. Mahle, Dunning and Bradford are all under contract next season, while Eovaldi needs to pitch 29 more innings to trigger a $20 million player option for 2025.
That brings us to Heaney, the veteran lefty who is closing out a two-year, $25 million contract with the Rangers. Heaney hasn’t pitched much differently this season than he has throughout his 11-year MLB career. He carries a 4.20 ERA and a 3.51 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2024, not far from his career marks of 4.45 and 3.53 in those respective stats.
Heaney has never been an ace and his numbers are not all that impressive, but he has been very unlucky this year. Look no further than his 4-13 record to justify that. The Rangers are 5-1 in Heaney’s six quality starts this season, yet the lefty earned wins in only two. He allowed three or fewer earned runs across at least five innings in seven more starts, only to nab a victory in one. His only other win came in relief.
This is not to say that Heaney is a game-changer or a must-have for a contending team, but there is reason to believe he’d be more reliable given increased run production. The Rangers averaged 5.1 runs per game in the eight they won when Heaney pitched. That number plummets to 2.7 across his other 17 appearances.
Heaney had only one MLB playoff appearance before last October but pitched very well for Texas. Outside of a start in which he allowed three runs and failed to make it out of the first inning, the southpaw allowed two runs across 10 1/3 innings last postseason. He secured a win in the World Series after allowing one run in five innings of Game 4.
The adage of “pitching wins championships” hasn’t gotten lost in the age of analytics. Even if they’re barely used or not used at all, the 13th or 14th pitcher on a postseason roster is important. It makes sense for the Rangers to decide Heaney is the odd man out with Gray and deGrom nearing returns. It makes even more sense for a contender to snag the services of a quality veteran arm.
Rangers All-Star closer eyes return to playoffs
The revival of Kirby Yates has been fun to watch as the two-time All-Star reliever proved he still has the stuff of an elite bullpen arm. After tossing just 11 1/3 innings from 2020 through 2022, Yates posted a 3.28 ERA in 61 games with the Atlanta Braves in 2023. This year he has 22 saves in 23 opportunities while sporting a 1.33 ERA and 0.89 WHIP for Texas.
Yates has flown under the radar based on the state of the Rangers, but he was recognized with an All-Star nod and tossed a scoreless inning in his first Midsummer Classic appearance. Another atmosphere he hasn’t pitched often is the postseason.
Yates made his MLB debut in 2014 but did not appear in a playoff game until last year. He surrendered one unearned run in an inning of work. Despite his best efforts throughout the 2023 season, the Braves declined his contract option for 2024.
His one-year prove-it deal with the Rangers worked. Although he might not get a multi-year offer in free agency this winter because of his age – he’ll turn 38 shortly before Opening Day next year – he should be a hot commodity on the reliever market.
Yates will probably opt to sign with a proven contender at this point in his career. Even if he has enjoyed his time in Texas, maybe this season was enough to convince him the Rangers aren’t the franchise that gives him the best opportunity to capture a ring.
There were rumors that Texas would move Yates before the trade deadline, but they believed in their bouncebackability enough to hang onto him. Three weeks later, they’ve fallen further down the standings and don’t have much use for a reliever of his caliber. Placing Kirby Yates on waivers wouldn’t be a head-scratching move for the Rangers. Contending teams would pounce on the opportunity to claim or sign him.
Veteran speedster provides intrigue
While Kirby Yates is the most well-known player the Rangers could let go before September, Travis Jankowski is a name that only diehard baseball fans will know. The 33-year-old journeyman carved out a role with Texas last season, appearing in 100 games for the first time since 2018. He finished with a .357 OBP in 287 plate appearances, adding 19 steals.
Jankowski has regressed in 2024 and hasn’t found consistency in his play. He’s hitting .200 with a .499 OPS in 79 games, with only four of his 30 hits going for extra bases. His appearances have decreased every month since May. Jankowski’s seen the field for seven games in August, five of them as a pinch runner or defensive replacement.
That’s about the extent of playing time he’d get in the postseason, if that, but Jankowski has shown up in the clutch before and could provide decent speed and defensive ability for a contending team. He has eight steals in nine attempts in his limited role and plays average defense with three outs above average and four defensive runs saved according to FanGraphs.
Jankowski came up big in his first playoff start in Game 4 of the 2023 World Series. He went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs as the Rangers took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, eventually winning it the next day with Jankowski perched in right field.
Travis Jankowski won’t move the needle for a contending team, but he could make a playoff roster as a bench piece given his experience and ability on the basepaths. The veteran outfielder hasn’t done enough to convince the Rangers he deserves a roster spot next season, but perhaps a team on the fringe looking for speed on the bench could use him.
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