Texas Rangers Front Office Tough To Evaluate With Lows Outweighing the Highs

The Texas Rangers front office has been solid, but results on the field make them tough to evaluate.

Jun 21, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young (left) and Kansas City Royals general manager J.J. Picollo (right) talk before the game against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field. / Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers reached the highest of highs when they won the World Series in 2023.

But, outside of that championship, success has been far and few between for the franchise for most of the last decade.

Other than that impressive run, the Rangers haven’t made the playoffs since 2016. 2011 was the last time before 2023 that the team won a playoff series, as they have missed the postseason in seven out of the last eight years coming into the 2025 campaign.

Texas certainly looks capable of snapping that streak, as they are off to an 11-7 start and currently in first place in the American League West.

That start is stronger than the record even indicates, given how many key contributors are currently sidelined because of injuries.

Starting pitchers Jon Gray, Cody Bradford and Jack Leiter are all on the injured list. As is stellar young outfielder Wyatt Langford.

Despite that, and some truly underwhelming performances from a few of their established stars, the team is winning games with regularity on the back of some truly dominant performances from their pitching staff.

The front office, led by former Major Leaguer Chris Young, did a great job of reinforcing the roster for their championship run two years ago. But the rest of their results have been a mixed bag, to put it nicely.

However, there is still a lot of confidence in Young finding the right formula and getting the franchise on track from his peers around the league.

“Even so, a rival GM said that Young – a 13-year big leaguer with a Princeton degree – has created an enviable front-office dynamic. “Texas has a great blend of baseball people and data guys,” said a rival general manager, “and CY is a great leader,’” shared Tyler Kepner of The Athletic (subscription required) in their front office power rankings.

In last year’s edition of the rankings, the Rangers were in a tie for eighth place with 20 points and zero first-place votes. This year, they dropped down to a tie for No. 13, with the Houston Astros, coming off an incredibly disappointing 2024 campaign.

Young took over in 2020 and the team has a losing record in three out of four years thus far. That World Series holds a lot of cache, but eventually, there are going to have to be sustained results on the field.

He was lauded for the work done this past winter, acquiring Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins and signing Joc Pederson in free agency to add power to the lineup.

The bullpen was entirely remade with veterans Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Andrew Chafin all hitting free agency.

The results have been mixed from the additions thus far, but the team is winning despite the obstacles they are facing. They look to be heading in the right direction under Young’s leadership and are a team to keep an eye on.

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