Texas Rangers fail to rattle opposition after sharing image of their pitching corps on Twitter: "Starting to scare the Angels for 3rd place"
Unfortunately, for Texas Rangers fans, their team failed to do much in the AL West, one of the toughest divisions in the MLB last season. The Rangers finished with a record of 68-94, 38 games behind first place.
In an effort to assure fans and onlookers that the team has turned a corner, the Rangers released an image of their top three starters: Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney.
"Talkin' Baseball," a popular online baseball outlet, reposted the image with the caption "A warning to the West." This has drawn ridicule from a significant number of online fans.
A warning to the West. https://t.co/rL1xwrXJXx
"A warning to the West." - Talkin' Baseball
Although the image was shared in an effort by the Texas Rangers to showcase some of their new talent, fans are not so convinced.
@TalkinBaseball_ A warning to have all of the nearby MRI machines on standby.
Many are hesitant about Jacob deGrom, who will be appearing for a team other than the New York Mets for the first time in his career. A two-time Cy Young Award winner, deGrom has only made 26 starts since 2020 on account of injury. He was signed to a five-year deal worth $185 million by the Texas Rangers this offseason.
@TalkinBaseball_ they aren’t pitching 200 innings combined
Nathan Eovaldi had a strong season with the Boston Red Sox last season, posting a 3.87 ERA in 20 starts. Andrew Heaney, the third pitcher in the image, signed a one-year deal worth $12.5 million after posting an ERA of 3.10 over 72 innings pitched.
@TalkinBaseball_ This face doesn’t incite fear https://t.co/D5FzO7zCEH
@TalkinBaseball_ Nobody fears Heandawg bro
@TalkinBaseball_ Not a good look for the rangers when Heaney is prob going to pitch the most innings out of the 3
All three pitchers are set to headline the Rangers' rotation. Last year, the Texas Rangers had a team ERA of 4.22, placing them 22nd out of 30 MLB teams.
Given the competition, fans do not see the Rangers as contenders in their division. The 110-win Houston Astros are expected to carry the division for the eighth time in seven years. The last time the Rangers won the AL West came back in 2016.
@TalkinBaseball_ They’ll take 4th place in their division this year. Astros, Mariners, Angels finish better.
@TalkinBaseball_ A lot of big IFs here based off injury. Also Heaney isn’t really a consistent force to be feared
Some have even claimed that they expect the Texas Rangers to finish in third place. However, they will have to contend with Shohei Ohtani and his teammates on the Los Angeles Angels.
@TalkinBaseball_ They are starting to scare the Angels for 3rd place🥶
Despite what fans may think, the Texas Rangers could surprise this season
Although the new starters may be somewhat risky, the Rangers have made a multi-year, multi-million investment in their pitching rotation.
Whether or not it works out the way fans and the organization intended remains to be seen, but the team deserves some credit. They've identified the problem and put up the requisite cash to acquire some key pitching options.
With this in mind, there is cause for optimism in Texas and they may be turning a corner.