Chris Young was adamant, he said, “We will not be defined by one bad season.” After the struggles of last year, many fans and even media feared that from here on out it would be the “same old Rangers.” Young is much more inclined to believe this organization can be defined by what happened in one great season. He has spent this off-season proving it.
He bristled at the suggestion of being defined by 2024 on the same day the Rangers “introduced” or should I say reintroduced Nathan Eovaldi at a press conference.
As he handed Evo a jersey, Young said, “Welcome Back!” My first question to Nathan was, “Did it feel like you left?” He chuckled and admitted that it did not. However, he was a free agent and he could have gone anywhere. In fact, the Boston Red Sox made a very strong pitch to reclaim their former pitcher, and remember he won a World Series with them too. But he was impressed with the fact that the Rangers were “all in” from day one and never wavered on wanting him back.
We heard similar things from another free agent the Rangers have signed.
Kyle Higashioka said, “The Rangers reached out to me on the first day of free agency and made me feel like a priority.”
Kyle was, arguably, the best catcher available on the free agent market this year, and the Rangers were determined to get some help for Jonah Heim. In Higashioka they have found someone who is good enough to split time with Heim thus lessening the load on the most demanding position in the game.
The reality is that the Rangers have been operating this way since at least 2021. That year they set their sights on getting one of the best shortstops in the game. When we heard that they had agreed to terms with Marcus Semien we were happy and satisfied. Hours later the news broke that they had signed Corey Seager too and Rangers fans were giddy. Texas had signed the two best shortstops available. These two guys could have gone anywhere in baseball but Young, Jon Daniels, and Ray Davis had a vision of these two being the cornerstones of a team that would win a World Series.
The next year the focus shifted. The Rangers needed a manager and an ace. They got both, signing two-time Cy Young award-winning pitcher Jacob deGrom and talking three-time World Series-winning manager, Bruce Bochy out of retirement. Neither signing seemed likely after the Seager-Semien-led Rangers won only 68 games in 2022. But Young set his sights on both and shared his vision with both and less than a year later that vision became a reality.
The vision hasn’t changed. It has been tweaked slightly. Young has said repeatedly that his goal when he became General Manager was to help his hometown team win a World Series. Now, he says the goal is to win multiple championships with the team he grew up watching.
The off-season needs were many: more starting pitching, bullpen help, and a big bat. The Rangers have addressed all of them in an off-season of financial uncertainty. The television deal, or lack of one, has plagued this team since Diamond Sports declared bankruptcy in 2022. I was on the front lines of that battle; it was not fun for anyone, and there were casualties. However, the Rangers had their best season ever right in the middle of that fight. Now, since the team has its own broadcast group, that uncertainty will be no more. The Rangers won’t be paid rights fees, but they will keep all the money that is made on the television broadcast.
So there will be financial certainty and Chris Young has certainly made his vision clear to everyone. There is one more thing of which we can be certain. The Texas Rangers “will not be defined by one bad season.”
Sports columnist John Rhadigan is the host of
The Rangers Podcast on DLLS Sports.
