For the first time in years, the Texas Rangers are facing the decision whether they will be buyers or sellers at the MLB Trade Deadline. Recent seasons, the answer was obvious. Being an overwhelmingly poor team has a way of simplifying things like that.
In 2022, the Texas Rangers are walking in fairly unfamiliar territory. They are standing 36-39, flirting with .500, and in second place in the AL West. Smart money says they aren’t ready to challenge in the postseason quite yet. They’re promising, but they can’t seem to get over the hump.
If the Texas Rangers want to signal a culture change, they should be buyers at the MLB Trade Deadline
But smart money isn’t always the best way to go when you’re trying to change the culture of a club. The Texas Rangers are losers until proven otherwise. They lost over 100 games last season and even after ramping up payroll and adding roughly a half-billion to the books, they still have a losing record today.
If we’re all being realistic, the Rangers are probably one or two seasons away from legitimately challenging in the postseason. But before they can, they must learn to win. Winning is much more nuanced than just running out the better roster. It’s a mental hurdle. It’s a culture shift. It’s something that takes time, effort, and the full cooperation of the front office.
The Texas Rangers are trying to change the culture in 2022. They put previous seasons behind them (seasons they essentially tried to lose) and are trying to establish a winning culture going forward.
That puts them at a crossroads today.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Texas Rangers must decide if they are going to commit to this change in culture or if they want to kick the can to next year when the roster supports the decision a little better.
As stated earlier, the smart move is to sell off tradable assets and gear up for a push in 2023. That’s always been the timeline and there’s nothing wrong with taking baby steps in this culture shift.
The Texas Rangers may want to speed the metal development of this club up, though. They may want to signal change even if tangible results are a long-shot. What will the Rangers do at the deadline will all come down to the message the front office wants to send.