Hope has returned. Baseball is back. The Texas Rangers 2026 season starts today.

The team that has missed the playoff altogether in eight of the last nine years, but won it all in that one glorious year, is back to try it all again.

This is an important year for Chris Young. He came in and won it all in his first year in charge. Then, most his footing. He needs to get it back. Three playoff misses in a row would be a huge stain on his resumé that will almost obscure the World Series championship in 2023.

The Rangers seem better offensively this year. Gone is the ballast. Marcus Semien has been upgraded with Brandon Nimmo. Jonah Heim has been upgraded with Danny Jansen. And Adolis Garcia has been upgraded just by not weighing down the lineup any longer. Those are three very hard sentences to write and read. All three players were instrumental in the Rangers championship run. Truth is, they ran out of gas. 

Speaking of resumés, Andrew McCutchen’s is full of accolades, including an MVP and a slew of All-Star Game appearances. He was brought on to be Joc Pederson insurance. Let’s hope he has one more glorious season in the sun. 

And while we’re hoping, let’s wish that Wyatt Langford takes that next step everyone thinks he will. His first two seasons have been more hype than substance. Flashes. Now it’s time for illumination.

It’s make-or-break time for Josh Jung and Evan Carter as well. Both had stretches of brilliance in 2023, both have been mostly disappointing since. Carter due to injury. Jung due to swinging at everything.

The two aces in the Rangers rotation are back: Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom. The other three are question marks. As is the bullpen.

But there seems to be a sense of optimism with new manager Skip Schumaker. Let’s see how that translates over the next 162 games.

Baseball is back. Those three words make everything okay. 

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