Inside The Rangers

Texas Rangers Take Tumble in MLB Power Rankings

The Texas Rangers took a fall in the latest ESPN MLB Power Rankings thanks to their struggles with injuries and in the bullpen.
Art Garcia|
May 2, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy (15) walks to the pitchers
May 2, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy (15) walks to the pitchers | Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

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Texas Rangers

The week hasn’t been kind to the Texas Rangers, who snapped a season-high five-game losing streak with Wednesday’s shutout win over the Cleveland Guardians.

The victory kept the defending World Series champions from dipping below .500 for the first time in Bruce Bochy’s tenure. But it has caused a drop in the latest MLB Power Rankings from ESPN’s panel of baseball experts.

Texas is down five spots to No. 12, with the issues on the mound being the main culprit.

May has been a struggle for Rangers pitching, recalling the late-summer fade by the staff in 2023 that threatened to sink their breakout season. It worked out, obviously, but it wasn't a pattern they necessarily want to replicate. What is concerning is that the problem hasn't been the Rangers' injury-riddled rotation but a bullpen that has fallen into disarray despite a depth chart long on proven options.

This trend might have reached its apex on May 13. After seven shutout, one-hit innings from Michael Lorenzen, the Rangers lost 7-0 to the Guardians, who scored all of their runs in the eighth and ninth against the Texas bullpen. That brought the Rangers' bullpen ERA in May to an eye-jabbing 9.16. It's too early to panic, but some kind of stable pecking order needs to be found or else it might not matter when their recovering rotation stars begin to return to active duty.
ESPN.com

The American League West-leading Seattle Mariners are No. 11 in the power rankings. The rest of the division: Houston Astros (21), Oakland Athletics (25) and Los Angeles Angels (27).

The Rangers start a three-game series against the Angels on Friday at Globe Life Field with Andrew Heaney (0-4, 4.39) looking for his first win of the season.

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Art Garcia
ART GARCIA

Art Garcia (@ArtGarcia92) has watched, wondered and written about those fortunate few to play games since the 1990s. Award-winning stops at NBA.com, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and San Antonio Express-News dot a career that includes extensive writing for such outlets as ESPN.com, FOXSports.com, CBSSports.com, The Sporting News, among others. He is a former professor of sports reporting at UT Arlington and continues to work in the communications field. Garcia began covering the Dallas Mavericks right around Mark Cuban purchasing the club in 2000. The Texas A&M grad has also covered the Cowboys, Rangers, TCU, Big 12, Final Fours, countless bowl games, including the National Championship, and just about everything involving a ball in Texas.

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