Will Rangers Be in Playoff Position by End of July?
Here’s a bold prediction — the Texas Rangers will be in a playoff spot at month’s end.
That’s one of 10 such educated guesses from MLB.com for the month of July.
The Rangers are at the New York Mets and have split the first two games. New York claimed series opener on Friday 4-3 and Texas answered with a 7-3 win Saturday. After the series ends on Sunday, the Rangers are at the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game series.
Texas (37-39) entered Saturday four games out of the American League Wild Card race. The Rangers have been trying to get back to .500 since they last hit the mark on May 31.
MLB.com thinks the Rangers have a good chance to get into a playoff spot by the end of July for this reason:
That can happen this month, if only because a schedule featuring 21 games against other sub-.500 squads affords them the opportunity to hang around the AL playoff race (not the AL West race, mind you … that’s over) longer than anybody anticipated. Meanwhile, the Rays, Red Sox and Blue Jays have a healthy dose of games against … each other this month, potentially diluting their win totals and allowing a team like Texas to sneak into the mathematical mix. The Rangers could be an interesting team at the Trade Deadline, having already tried to accelerate their route to contention in free agency last offseason.
The Rangers will hit the actual midpoint of the season — 81 games — at the end of the road trip. After winning just 60 games last season, the Rangers are on track to easily surpass that total.
The Rangers were active at last year’s trade deadline, giving up Joey Gallo for a collection of prospects, three of which have played for the Rangers this season — pitcher Glenn Otto, third baseman Josh H. Smith and infielder Ezequiel Duran, who is now at Triple-A Round Rock.
This year’s trade deadline is at 5 p.m. on Aug. 2.
If this prediction is right, the Rangers might be in line to make a move to stay in the race.
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