3 Rangers Offseason Regrets That Could Prevent Repeating as World Series Champions
By Evan Starr
#2: Failing to Address Injury Woes in the Starting Rotation
The biggest problem with the starting rotation as it currently stands is not the names on the back of the jerseys. It is that these names are not going to be ready for Opening Day.
Coming off surgery Max Scherzer will not be available until June at the earliest, and Jacob DeGrom will be on the shelf for maybe the entirety of 2024.
So how did Texas fill in these holes? So far, they didn't.
They went and got Tyler Mahle, who underwent Tommy John surgery last May and won't be available until after the All-Star break. This signing made it three starting arms who are on the shelf until June at the earliest.
And it is not like the rest of the rotation have the best injury history as well. Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray both had extensive periods on the IR last season. The one guy who would have answered the question of availability within the rotation is currently not on a MLB roster waiting to be signed in Jordan Montgomery.
It just feels like the Rangers are looking at the current rotation and hoping Eovaldi, Gray, Heaney, and maybe Dunning are enough to limp though the first half on the back of the line-up until Scherzer and Mahle provide reinforcements.
This is a mistake. The Rangers are not currently suited to withstand any further of any kind especially to Eovaldi and Gray. They also just assume that Scherzer, who turns 40 in July, will just be his old self once healthy. The same goes for Mahle and DeGrom who we know is only ever available in a theoretical sense. (For what it's worth, I don't expect to see DeGrom until 2025.)
Even coming off of a World Series title, the starting rotation was not in a good spot entering into the offseason and Texas has done nothing to address these issues.