Former Three-Time All-Star Says Texas Rangers Can Dethrone Yankees in American League

The Texas Rangers have a loaded roster, which is why a former star first baseman believes they have a chance to win the American League.

Aug 16, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey in the dugout before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Preseason speculation is one of the best things about professional sports, especially for teams like the Texas Rangers.

Injuries derailed the Rangers last year, resulting in them finishing with a disappointing 78-84 record.

Texas won the 2023 World Series, going 90-72 in the regular season. They accomplished that despite their newly-signed ace Jacob deGrom missing all but six games.

Will the Rangers have a bounce back year after their injury-riddled 2024 or was 2023 an outlier?

Predictions are beginning to circulate, and former All-Star first baseman Sean Casey did a rapid fire questions episode on his "The Mayor's Office with Sean Casey" podcast.

When asked about a World Series prediction, his initial reaction was that the New York Yankees would once again come out of the American League.

"I don't think there is a team that really matches up," he said, before he added, "You know what, it could be the Rangers again. The Rangers have done a lot. If deGrom can stay healthy, you know [Marcus] Semien is going to have a better year, [Wyatt] Langford is coming into his second year. They signed Joc Pederson. [Adolis] Garcia, no way he's going to be that bad, Jake Burger is in the mix. They got some thump in that lineup."

Casey mentioned five Texas hitters who could be a factor this season, without even bringing up their centerpiece in shortstop Corey Seager.

The Rangers signed Seager ahead of the 2022 season. The star shortstop has hit 96 home runs since joining Texas. Adding the productive campaigns from players Casey discussed with Seager's numbers just goes to show how high the ceiling is for the Rangers' offense in 2025.

The former All-Star then discussed the pitching situation for Texas.

"They brought back [Nathan] Eovaldi, you got Gray sitting there at three, deGrom one, they have some decent pitching," he said.

It's no secret that deGrom's health is, in many ways, the key to how far the Rangers will go in 2025.

The best-case scenario is he returns to form and contends for his third Cy Young award.

The worst-case scenario is injuries continue to derail his career since he has pitched in only nine games over two years since joining Texas.

As Opening Day gets closer to arriving, Casey believes the Rangers have the American League's best shot of dethroning the Yankees.