What we learned from the Rangers' 2024 season

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.

ANAHEIM -- It’s hard to win a championship. It’s even harder to claim back-to-back titles. The 2024 Rangers are just another championship team this century that was unable to repeat the next year, something that still hasn’t been done since the Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000.

It’s not fun to go from being on top of the baseball world to sitting at home during October the following year. But the Rangers are confident in their ability to get back to the postseason in 2025.

“We're not that far away,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “No, I don't think it's an overhaul. We’ve got a great core here. We just had to deal with some things this year that we couldn't quite overcome. Every season takes on a life of its own, and this one did. Not just the injuries we had and all that, but our play, too. It wasn't quite as good.

“We have to be honest about that. The offense, these guys will bounce back. Hopefully, this is going to make them all hungrier and [we] realize as we're watching postseason games that it was us last year. That's where we want to be next year again.”

Let’s take a look back at what went right and what went wrong for the Rangers this season.

Defining moment

It’s not exactly a particular moment, but an entire road trip. The Rangers had an off-day in Philadelphia on May 20. Their record was 24-24 at the time. They then proceeded to get swept by the Phillies and drop two of three in Minnesota, dropping the club to 25-29 by the time it returned to Arlington.

That week marked the first time Texas fell under .500 in the Bochy era. The Rangers were never able to climb back above .500 and a postseason run slipped further and further out of reach throughout the summer.

What we learned

The Rangers had the best offense in the American League in 2023, one that carried them to the World Series. This year, they were in the bottom third of the Majors in many categories, as a number of their core position players struggled with injuries (Josh Jung) or regression (Adolis García and Jonah Heim).

Corey Seager was Corey Seager (more on him later) and Marcus Semien had a down year. Josh Smith, filling in for Jung most of the season, is the only Ranger who showed real improvement from 2023 to '24.

So what we learned is that the Rangers probably weren't quite as good of an offensive team as they were in 2023, but they were not as bad as they had been at times throughout this season. The reality is that they fall somewhere in between.

Best development: LHP Cody Bradford

First-round picks Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker get all the hype, but Bradford is the biggest shining example of the Rangers’ progress in pitching development.

Bradford missed approximately three months this season with a nagging back/rib injury that never quite healed. He had a 1.40 ERA when he landed on the injured list, but had one rough relief outing against the Cardinals upon his return. Otherwise, Bradford was Texas’ most consistent pitcher. He finished the season with a 3.54 ERA in 76 1/3 innings and he should -- without a doubt -- be in the thick of the rotation come 2025.

Area for improvement: Catchers

Heim was an All-Star starter behind the plate and won his first Gold Glove Award last season. Though he faded in the second half, Heim caught every game of the Rangers’ postseason run and seemed primed to build off of his 2023.

Instead, the Rangers’ catching core was one of the worst in the big leagues. Backup Andrew Knizner was signed to replace Mitch Garver, but Knizner was designated for assignment on Aug. 6 after Texas acquired Carson Kelly at the Trade Deadline to beef up the position. Kelly was a quality addition, but he’s a free agent this offseason. Former Top 100 prospect Sam Huff hasn’t gotten much leash over the past two seasons to prove himself at the big league level.

The Rangers have continuously praised Heim’s work with the pitchers and his handling of a staff mixed with veterans and rookies. But it’s everything else with the catcher position that needs to get better for 2025.

On the rise: RHP Kumar Rocker

It was a banner year for Texas’ pitching development throughout the farm, but one player stood out above the rest. The Rangers’ first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Rocker was sidelined after just six starts in his ‘23 professional debut due to Tommy John surgery. But he came back better than ever, cruising through Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock before making his MLB debut on Sept. 12. Rocker ultimately made three big league starts, posting a 3.86 ERA across 11 2/3 innings. Bochy said Rocker will enter Spring Training fully primed to compete for a spot in the rotation.

Team MVP: SS Corey Seager

Seager didn’t play much of the final month of the season due to his second sports hernia surgery of the year, but he was the Rangers’ best player whenever he was on the field. Even throughout the final weeks of the season, it was clear that Seager was the team MVP. He led the Rangers in bWAR (4.9), fWAR (4.5) and homers (30), while playing just 123 games.