Rangers Boss Says AL Parity, Healthy Team Adds Up to Playoff Potential

The Texas Rangers are one game under .500 and still in a playoff race that is developing into one of the strangest in recent memory.

Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — The American League West, for a while, was giving off 1994 vibes.

That season, which ended with a players’ strike and the cancellation of the campaign, ended with every team in the American League West division under .500. The Texas Rangers led the division. But they were 10 games under 500.

For most of May, this year's edition of the AL West felt the same way. At times, all five teams were under .500. Now, in early June, the Seattle Mariners are 33-31 and have a 1.5 game lead over the Rangers (31-32), who can get back to .500 with a win on Saturday over Cleveland.

It’s one reason Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young feels optimistic about the weeks ahead. The team’s struggles didn’t play it out of the postseason.

I think it's a function of where the league is at,” he said on Friday. “There's been a lot of parity. There's no team that has truly kind of run away with things, at least in our division and it is wide open.”

The Rangers and the Playoff Hunt

Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford. | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Along with being just 1.5 games behind Seattle, the Rangers would be an AL Wild Card team if the playoffs started on Saturday. Entering Saturday's action, the Rangers are one of 10 teams in the American League with at least 30 victories. The division leads are small. Tampa Bay leads the AL East by 1.5 games and Cleveland leads the AL Central by two games.

Compare to the National League all three division leaders have at least a five-game lead — Atlanta (43-21, 8.5), Milwaukee (38-23, 5.0) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (41-23, 7.5).

Parity has helped keep the Rangers in this race. But now, Young acknowledges, the Rangers need to take control of their own destiny.

Texas activated both Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford to the active roster on Friday and both had an impact in Friday's 3-2 win over Cleveland. Langford doubled in the sixth inning and Seager homered, giving the Rangers a one-run lead. Josh Smith is now the only position player on the injured list. Texas is as healthy as it has been since opening day.

Young knows what that could mean for his team. And it's a big reason why he sees success ahead.

I think independent of [the parity] I would just say we have not played our best baseball, and I believe there's a very good brand of baseball that's still ahead of us,” Young said. “We're healthy for the first time in a while and we have our team together and we play our best baseball I really believe this group is talented enough to be a playoff contending team and that's my expectation moving forward.”