ARLINGTON, Texas — 52 years after the second Washington Senators franchise brought years of misery with them down to Arlington, and 12 years after the heartache of 2011, the 2023 Texas Rangers saw a 94-loss team in 2022 turn into a road warrior October juggernaut that, while presenting some improbable yet remarkable moments, ended an unforgettable campaign with the first World Series championship in franchise history.
While former general manager Jon Daniels and current GM Chris Young concentrated on fortifying the offense with the winter splurge heard ‘round the world in December 2021, Young and the Rangers’ ownership decided to supplement that first wave by rebuilding the pitching staff ahead of the 2023 season. In doing so, they brought the caliber of arms rarely seen in Arlington.
The final ingredient proved to be Young’s biggest call in his young career as the GM. By convincing manager Bruce Bochy to return to the dugout and manage the Rangers, Texas was able to pair their free agent superstars with young standout rookies all guided by one of the modern era’s greatest October tacticians.
Here’s are some takeaways from the season that ended with the Texas Rangers as 2023 world champs:
The offense ignites
A year after signing Marcus Semien and Corey Seager to mega-contracts, the Rangers effectively set their offensive and defensive core for the next several years. Going into the season, the following was already established:
- Jonah Heim - An undersung, starting-caliber catcher who took a big step forward in 2023 after a breakout 2022.
- Nathaniel Lowe - The 2022 Silver Slugger winner at first base after being one of the holdovers from the rebuilding era.
- Marcus Semien - An ironman second baseman who was twice voted in the top three in the MVP voting
- Corey Seager - An all-world shortstop who would put together a MVP-caliber season after a subdued first year in Texas.
- Adolis Garcia - A talented and toolsy corner outfielder who proved in 2022 that his breakout with Texas wasn’t a fluke.
Still, Texas was not considered a top offensive team heading into the season, as young players such as third baseman Josh Jung, center fielder Leody Taveras, and utility player Ezequiel Duran were considered question marks as far as if they could establish themselves as contributors; but the core above would be entering their second year playing together, and the cohesiveness showed.
Through the first two months of the season, the Rangers posted league highs in runs scored, hits, slugging percentage with runners in scoring position, batting average with runners in scoring positions, five+-run innings, and games with double-digit runs scored. The questions were answered.
Even though there were moments where the offense slumped, as a whole, the Semien and Seager-led offense was a triumphant success, one befitting of a franchise that has been known to slug. Taveras established himself. Duran had a great first half to pick up for Seager when he was injured early. Jung more than proved his worth at the plate and in the field, posting a .266/.315/.467 slash line as a rookie and cementing himself as the regular 5th place hitter.
The core was there and the Rangers only added to it.
Good depth goes a long way
When Seager hit the injured list on April 12th, many assumed that the Rangers’ offensive potency would dip to a point of no return, especially early in the season. After all, you can’t win a division in April, but you certainly can lose it, as the saying goes, and the Rangers were assumed to need Seager to continue their hot start.
However, Duran, while he tailed off at the end of the season, proved invaluable in helping the Rangers continue their early-season run, as he more than adequately filled in for Seager. While the All-Star shortstop was out with a hamstring injury, Duran put up a .305/.342/.533 slash line with six homers and 20 RBI.
Leody Taveras would eventually enjoy his first full season in the big leagues but he opened the season injured which provided an opportunity for Travis Jankowski. The former Padres castoff also had a case for best bench player in the first half.
Jankowski had a knack for finding his way on base and getting some key hits. In the first half, the journeyman who was originally going to be left off the opening day roster slashed .321/.415/.420 with a homer, 18 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He even stuck around long enough to become the Halloween night World Series Game 4 hero in Garcia’s stead.
You can never have enough pitching
Dane Dunning, specifically, has an argument for most valuable pitcher on the Rangers’ staff in 2023. Who would have guessed that? When big ticket signee Jacob deGrom left his end-of-April start against the Yankees after 3 ⅔ innings, it was Dunning who stepped in to pitch 3 ⅓ innings of two-run ball in the win.
From there, Dunning was called on to fill a very sizable void left by baseball’s most impressive pitcher, as deGrom went under the knife and saw his season end. The rest of the way, as a starter, Dunning posted a 10-7 record with a 3.55 ERA. For a pitcher who started the season in the bullpen, and had very low expectations of being a starter, Dunning proved to be a pitching savior. And indeed, Dunning ended the year leading the team with 172 ⅔ innings pitched.
And then there’s Nathan Eovaldi. In the absence of an ace, Eovaldi, an ace once upon a time himself, stepped up and became everything that the Rangers needed when deGrom went down. Beginning with his start the same weekend that deGrom exited – in which he pitched a complete game shutout against the Yankees – up until he got injured in mid-July, Eovaldi was 9-5 with a 1.97 ERA and pitching like the AL’s best every time he took the mound.
Eovaldi wore down after the All-Star break and hit the injured list himself. By the time he returned in September, he opted to not go on a rehab assignment and his effectiveness faltered as he built up his pitch count during starts down the stretch. By October, Eovaldi would go back to dominating as he rose to the occasion and finished the postseason 5-0 and was on the mound throwing six shutout innings in the Game 5 clincher for Texas.
The performances of Dunning and Eovaldi went a long way toward ensuring that the Rangers would even have an appearance in the postseason at all.
The bullpen from hell
The Rangers addressed their starting rotation after it cratered the 2022 season, but they opted to roll the dice with in-house pitchers for the bullpen. The decision almost sank the 2023 season. Even though veteran arms Will Smith and Ian Kennedy were added during spring training, it became clear within the first two months of the season that Texas didn’t have enough good options out of the ‘pen.
To address these shortages, GM Young made an early move to acquire Aroldis Chapman for Kansas City to get a jump on the trading period. And though Chapman acquitted himself well early in his tenure to help right the ship, as the season wore on, his effectiveness dwindled more and more. The fact that Smith – who led the team in saves while acting as co-closer with Chapman – appeared to tire down the stretch, left the Rangers without an anchor in the bullpen through the pennant race until Josh Sborz and Jose Leclerc stepped up in October.
Overall, with 33 Blown Saves, the 2023 Rangers became the only team in history to make the postseason with more blown saves than converted saves (30). If there was one aspect of the team that caused the most consternation for their seemingly endless ability to take wins off the board, it was definitely the bullpen.
Luckily for Texas, managing bullpens in October is Bruce Bochy’s specialty and he handled the run in the 2023 postseason masterfully.
Corey Seager hits the stratosphere
Despite a torrid start to his year, when Seager went on the injured list early in the season, many assumed that he would ease back into the lineup, that the production would be low from the $325 million shortstop. After all, he had had a disappointing first year in Texas, hitting just .245/.317/.455 in 2022.
When Seager returned, he was hitting .359/.469/.539, and for the rest of the year, he just never stopped mashing. The eventual World Series MVP played like he had a lot of time to make up for regardless. From the time he returned up until he was put back on the injured list with a thumb sprain in late July, Seager slashed .348/.402/.647 with 14 homers and 54 RBI on his way to being named the starting shortstop in the All-Star Game despite missing five weeks.
Seager ended the season as the league leader in doubles and he finished just shy of being the league’s batting champion with a .327/.390/.623 line for the season while tying his career high with 33 home runs.
Going into the postseason, the machine known as Seager didn’t stop. The shortstop slashed .306/.442/.694 through the playoffs and had several key hits. He hit the game-tying 9th inning home run in Game 1 of the World Series and broke up Zac Gallen’s no-hitter and scored the eventual game-winning run in the World Series-clincher in Game 5.
In short, Seager was worth every penny of his contract for his superhuman 2023 season alone as he lifted the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player trophy for the second time in his career.
Ultimately, the Rangers’ season was a rousing success. No one could say otherwise as they lifted the Commissioner's Trophy. And although the road was far more bumpy than it seemed like it needed to be, those bumps forged a championship team. Indeed, the very first championship team in franchise history.
What were your favorite moments from the 2023 Texas Rangers season? Share ‘em with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.