Rangers Need Two Key Turnarounds After MLB All-Star Break to Make Playoffs

The Texas Rangers just can't quite seem to get out of the purgatory-like state in which they have spent most of the 2025 season so far.

A pivotal week leading up to the MLB all-star break yielded a 4-3 record on the road against division rivals Los Angeles and Houston.

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Now 48-49 and three-and-a-half games back of the third and final wild card spot in the American League. That closing stretch was neither bad enough to move them firmly into the sellers' camp ahead of the MLB trade deadline nor good enough to fully serve as a springboard to a second half run.

It was closer to the latter than the former, though, and so it seems like with just one team between the Rangers and the Seattle Mariners, the faltering Tampa Bay Rays, the club will more likely than not see if they can get hot and make the playoffs.

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With a plus-47 run differential, that's probably the right move, as the team is unlucky to have a losing record and should expect to get better results moving forward.

But what specifically needs to change if that's going to happen? It's going to come down to an offense that sputtered all season so far.

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First, young outfielders Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter need to complete the process of taking the team over as their own.

Carter (119) and Langford (111) are second and fourth on the team in wRC+, with Corey Seager leading the way and Josh Smith in third.

The team's duo of youngsters has lived up to the hype, and at 22 and 23 years of age, they're already quality Big Leaguers.

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In a season like this, it's time for them to prove that they have star potential by elevating an offense that has been let down by most of its veterans.

That brings us to those underperformers, and the other key to rattling off a big streak will be one of those players to really kick things into gear.

Marcus Semien got hot in June, but he cooled back off a bit in July. Adolis Garcia is showing some positive signs with a .283 batting average this month, but he has more to give in terms of power as well.

Beyond them, Jonah Heim and Jake Burger have both had subpar campaigns to this point. But if Seager stays where he is, and Langford and Carter take some modest leaps, it just takes one veteran to create a fearsome top four in a lineup that has been backed by excellent pitching all year.

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