The Biggest Mistake the Rangers Can't Repeat in the Second Half of the Season

A first-place standing masks the Texas Rangers' biggest weakness, one that could become impossible to overcome during the stretch run.

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jacob Latz. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The first half of the 2026 season for the Texas Rangers was a roller coaster. There were moments when everything was quite bleak and nothing appeared to be going right. But then the sun came back out again, and the Rangers managed to head into the All-Star break in first place in the American League West. It was a minor miracle.

Just because the end result was positive doesn’t mean there aren’t aspects of the team that need to be changed heading into the second half of the season. The Rangers are quite fortunate to be in the position they are right now. Some truly tumultuous baseball was skirted around in the process of climbing to the top of the AL West. That will need to be curbed as soon as possible the rest of the way.

But what specifically do the Rangers need to rid themselves of? What is prohibiting them from making the postseason and making another run toward a World Series title?

It's Time to Get Some Relief

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Cole Winn. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The biggest mistake the Rangers made during the first half has its genesis this past winter. President of baseball operations Chris Young and the rest of the front office knew heading into the season that the team was going to need to revamp its bullpen — again.

As such, one would think there would be some sort of concrete plan to sign some high-leverage arms that could help this team, which has overachieved in the bullpen over the last several seasons, continue to light it up in relief. Instead, the Rangers opted to sign a hodgepodge of relievers that brought question marks with them. It appeared that the organization was gambling that it would be able to work the same magic it did the past couple of years.

That strategy has panned out to some degree. The most consistent performer who has been able to establish himself in a high-leverage role out of the bullpen has been Jacob Latz, and that wasn’t in the cards at all during the offseason. Latz was in line to be one of the team’s starters but was beaten out in spring training by Kumar Rocker. While Rocker has had an up-and-down season in the rotation, Latz has emerged as a standout and an All-Star.

The Rangers can’t afford to go through the rest of the year with this crop of bullpen arms. Yes, that means cutting bait with Chris Martin, an aging reliever who has had one of the worst seasons a Texas pitcher has had in recent memory. Yes, that also means that — should the team be in position to compete at the trade deadline — the Rangers need to go out and acquire an arm that could give them quality innings in big-time moments down the stretch. Who that arm is doesn’t really matter right now. Texas just needs to make it a priority.

It’s been awesome that Latz has been able to perform at the level he has so far. He’ll need to keep that up if the Rangers want to win a World Series in 2026. But he can’t do it alone. While Tyler Alexander, Cole Winn and several other pitchers have been nice, more depth is needed as soon as possible.

It was a mistake to enter this season in this position. The team can remedy that. The only question is whether it has the guts — or the ammunition — to accomplish the task.