Chris Young, the Rangers president of baseball operations, said Friday that the Rangers are “likely set” on the position player side of their roster, and are now just looking for arms to fill out their bullpen and rotation.

Let’s hope “likely” is GM-speak. Otherwise, it’s going to be another long season of offensive futility. Not likely, definitely. 

Sorry, but Brandon Nimmo and Danny Jansen cannot be the only answers to an offense that has been woefully anemic the past two seasons. Yes, Nimmo’s bat is an upgrade over Semien’s. And, yes, Jansen’s bat is an upgrade over Heim’s. But these were just baby steps toward a destination needing giants leaps to reach. 

The Ranger offensive futility goes much deeper. Of all position players with enough at-bats to qualify, Josh Smith had the lowest batting average with runners in scoring position in all of baseball at .173. Meaning, he doesn’t hit when it matters. Meaning, his bat is exactly the kind of bat the Rangers need to replace.

In 2025, Josh Smith drove in thirty-five runs. Just thirty-five. For the entire season. That seems almost unimaginable. Jonah Heim drove in more runs. Joc Pederson, who had an absolutely abysmal season at the plate, drove in just nine fewer runs. He also played in fifty fewer games.

Let’s break down Smith’s ineptness. Thirty-five RBIs means he drove in fewer than six runs per month. Ten of those RBIs were the result of driving himself in with a home run. So, that means, other than himself, he drove in just twenty-five other teammates all season. 

Of the 144 hitters with enough plate appearance to qualify, Josh Smith was 143rd in RBIs. Only the White Sox Chase Meidroth had fewer, knocking in just twenty-three.

If the Rangers are, indeed, “set” with their offense as Chris Young stated, one can painstakingly predict that the Rangers are “set” for missing the playoffs again, in what will be their ninth miss in ten seasons.