In the winter of 2021, the Texas Rangers went out and signed some high-impact bats for their ambitious project.
They spent $500 million on Corey Seager and Marcus Semien alone, while also signing Jon Gray.
In the last offseason, however, they prioritized pitching and signed Jacob deGrom, Nate Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney while also bringing back Martin Perez.
If that wasn’t enough, the team traded for deGrom’s former teammate and three-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer on Saturday.
They are so invested in winning with their current core that they gave up top prospect Luisangel Acuna to the New York Mets in order to get Scherzer.
The Rangers’ farm is a bit decimated after the trades for Scherzer and Aroldis Chapman, but they are in a good position to win within the next three years.
Part of that stems from their excellent rotation.
CBS’ Danny Vietti highlighted the talent available for manager Bruce Bochy.
“Potential 2024 Texas Rangers rotation • Max Scherzer • Jacob deGrom • Nathan Eovaldi • Jon Gray • Andrew Heaney/Dane Dunning,” he tweeted.
Potential 2024 Texas Rangers rotation
• Max Scherzer
• Jacob deGrom
• Nathan Eovaldi
• Jon Gray
• Andrew Heaney/Dane Dunning— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) July 30, 2023
That’s a really talented staff, even if it’s obvious that it’s also injury-prone.
There is an important asterisk to add, though: deGrom might return in the latter part of the 2024 campaign, but the most likely scenario has him returning at full strength in 2025 after he is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery performed just a few weeks ago.
Still, even if deGrom can’t return next year, Texas has a rock-solid staff.
Will it be enough to win the first World Series in franchise history?
NEXT: Max Scherzer Joins Elite Company After Rangers Trade