The Texas Rangers looked like a rejuvenated team once the trade deadline came and went. However, the club lost again on Sunday by a score of 6-3, as they were swept out of Oakland, losing their sixth straight game.
The Rangers now fall to 39-73, and have a .348 win percentage through 112 games this season. The last time Texas had a full season with a win percentage under .400 — excluding 2020's 60-game season — was in 1985, when they finished 62-99, a .385 percentage. The '85 Rangers were 42-70 through 112 games.
As they club flirts with having the worst season since the club moved to Arlington in 1972, they need answers for who can be a part of their future. For the first couple months of the season, Isiah Kiner-Falefa sure looked like someone who could be a starter on a championship team. He was consistently among league leaders in bWAR and has provided superb defense in his first full season at shortstop throughout the campaign.
Through his first 66 games in 2021, Kiner-Falefa owned a respectable .745 OPS. But for the next 40 games, he slashed .184/.218/.228/.446 with one home run and nine RBI.
But over the past five games, Kiner-Falefa has done a much better job of "surrendering to the outcome", as manager Chris Woodward likes to put it. He's gone 8-for-22 with only two strikeouts. On Sunday, he had two of the team's four hits — a triple and his first home run since June 19.
"It's critical for any player, but especially for younger players," Woodward said of surrendering. "They can get caught up in what's gonna happen if they don't have a good game or rest of the year. Then it starts snowballing in their minds instead of focusing on what the task is right now.
"[Kiner-Falefa] has been staying present. His swings look a lot better. He told me the other day, 'I'm trying really hard to surrender, Woody. I'm trying hard.' You can tell he's trying really hard to do that and just finish strong."
Adolis García has had a much bigger impact at the plate this season, and rightfully earned a spot on the American League's All-Star team last month. But after owning an OPS north of .900 through the first two months of the season, the league adjusted to García. He's made some adjustments in the cat and mouse game, but has struggled unlike any other point this season over the last month or so.
But there have been signs of life in García's bat over the past few games. He hit a 450-foot bomb and had 3 RBI in Saturday's game, and followed that with a double and a walk on Sunday.
"We need him," Woodward said. "We need him to step up, have quality at-bats and set the tone for the rest of the guys. I know Kiner has [also] been doing a good job of that at the top for the last three or four games. We need those guys to continue that."
The Rangers are off on Monday, then play a three-game series in Seattle before coming back home on Friday to face Oakland once again.
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