Mathias embracing the wild ride of summer

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The last month has been rather chaotic for the Rangers' organization, but for one utilityman in particular, the chaos has reached a new level.

A month ago, Mark Mathias wasn’t even a member of the Rangers, instead bouncing back and forth between the Brewers’ big league squad and their Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. In late July, Mathias and his wife welcomed their first son, Jackson, and on Aug. 2, Milwaukee traded him to Texas along with pitching prospect Antoine Kelly for veteran righty Matt Bush, just one day after mom and baby were discharged from the hospital.

Mathias started his time with the Rangers' organization in Triple-A Round Rock, but quickly earned a callup on Aug. 16. One problem was that it was just a day after Texas dismissed manager Chris Woodward. Mathias entered the eye of the hurricane as he looked to find himself within a new organization.

Despite the hectic circumstances, Mathias has very quickly made an impact on the field in a short amount of time. In Friday’s win over the Tigers, he notched his first career three-hit game, with a two-run homer and a pair of singles.

He's provided a spark that’s been much needed in the bottom third of the Rangers lineup this season. Alongside a number of utility bench players, including veterans Charlie Culberson and Brad Miller, Mathias has been forcing his way onto the staff’s radar early on.

“It’s very difficult to keep him out of the lineup,” said interim manager Tony Beasley. “He’s having quality at-bat after quality at-bat and coming up with clutch hits. He's kind of given us a little spark since he came up. Wherever you put him, he seems to come through. Every opportunity to get to play him ... well, it’s hard not to write his name in there. That's what you want players to do, make it difficult to not write their name in the lineup and he's done that. He's done his job.”

When he learned of the trade, Mathias approached it as a new opportunity to thrive in a new environment.

In just seven games for the Rangers, Mathias has gone 11-for-21 with two home runs and eight RBIs. After hitting just .125 in six games with the Brewers this season, he credits Texas’ hitting coaches, as well as the rest of the staff, with his uptick in offensive production.

"It’s big time,” Mathias said. “Beasley has been great from the second I got in. He pulled me into the office and gave me a good talk and he made me feel at home and very comfortable. He instilled a lot of confidence in me. ... As cliché as it sounds, I’m sticking to the process. Every single time I'm in the lineup, I want to try to make the best of that opportunity because it's the big leagues at the end of the day and if you're not performing, someone else is going to take your job.”