Monday, August 04

SEATTLE -- As Thursday’s Trade Deadline neared, it became more and more clear that the Rangers would not be adding another bat to the mix.

The Rangers added Merrill Kelly to their Major League-best rotation, as well as Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe to their American League-best bullpen, but nothing was added to an offense that has struggled all season long -- despite a hot July that got them back into the AL Wild Card mix. 

“We do a lot of analysis in terms of what are the best ways to make this team even stronger,” president of baseball operations Chris Young said on Thursday. “Sometimes, that's adding to a strength, and sometimes,  that's improving a weakness.”

“So much of this is dictated by what's out there and available in the market and ways in which we can upgrade the club,” added general manager Ross Fenstermaker. “We were fortifying what has been a strength for us this year, and just continuing to build upon that as we try to complete this roster. We feel good with what we were able to accomplish here and how we were able to round out this group.”

The Rangers' front office clearly bet on a few things.

First was that pitching wins championships. It’s a philosophy that plays when you remember that the president of baseball operations was a longtime big league pitcher. 

But the thing they bet on was the continued improvement of the offense. 

The Rangers dismissed offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker on May 5 and replaced him with Bret Boone, who had no coaching history prior.

Through the end of June, the club was slashing .226/.293/.363, ranking 29th in average, 29th in on-base percentage and 28th in slugging percentage.

But when the calendar flipped to July, the offense turned a corner. Despite being held scoreless in the final game of the month on Thursday in Seattle, the Rangers slashed .252/.325/.423 with 31 home runs and 5.52 runs per game over 25 games in July, by far the best month of the season for the club.

“We have immense confidence in our guys and our position player core,” Young said. “I've said this all along. I said this going back to last offseason. The best upgrades that we can have to our team is just the standard performance from our 13 position players.

“We really believe in these guys. Since June 1 and into July, these guys have been very, very good, and the run production has increased immensely. Our hitting group has done a great job of getting these guys on the same page. I really am happy with what we've seen. Now, it's about continuing that.”

Though this current road trip clearly hasn’t gone according to plan (2-4 against the Angels and Mariners entering Sunday), the front office saw enough signs of improvement across the board to invest in the club at the Deadline. 

This was a team that was built to produce offensively, despite 2024’s decline.

“We have some internal additions coming, both on the position player side and the pitching side, that I think can make this team even stronger,” Fenstermaker said. “We believe in our hitting group tremendously, and that was a big factor in our focus this Deadline.”

The Rangers (58-54) will return to Arlington on Monday to begin another 10-day, nine-game homestand against the Yankees (Monday-Wednesday), Phillies (Friday-Sunday) and Diamondbacks (Aug. 11-13).

Homestand highlights

• Wednesday: Ceremonial first pitch thrown by NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Pato O’Ward

• Saturday: Rangers to honor former outfielder Josh Hamilton at Globe Life Field

• Monday, Aug. 11: Corey Seager bobblehead giveaway 

On Saturday, former Texas outfielder Hamilton will be presented with his Rangers Hall of Fame jacket in an on-field ceremony prior to the game. The 2019 Rangers Hall of Fame inductee, five-time American League All-Star and 2010 AL Most Valuable Player Award winner will also throw a ceremonial first pitch that evening.

Additionally, prior to Saturday’s ceremony, Hamilton is expected to sign autographs for fans from 4:15-5:15 p.m. in the New Era Alumni Alley, in the Northwest corner of the ballpark behind Section 101.

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