Back in the Jon Daniels era—the forgettable part which was his last six years as general manager—he used to explain the teams shortcomings by saying he left them exposed.
He didn’t have enough pitching; he left them exposed. He didn’t have enough offense; he left them exposed.
If that was exposed, what’s happening to the Rangers is just bare-butt naked.
Texas went into the season with six pitchers in their entire organization who they could count on to start a major league game. One of them became their dominating closer.
So, they were down to five: Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore, Kumar Rocker, and Jack Leiter.
Now, they’re down to four. It’s pretty amazing it took this long in the season to feel the thinness of the Rangers starting depth. The season is nearly at the half-way point and the Rangers have gotten by with their five starters.
Until now.
Jack Leiter underwent arthroscopic ankle surgery yesterday and will miss months. He wasn’t great but he was all they had in the number five spot of the rotation (technically, Gore, Rocker, and Leiter are fives, but that’s splitting hairs).
So, now the Rangers need to find a fifth starter. And cross their fingers and make a pledge to the pitching gods that nothing bad befalls the others.
Their farm system is bare.
Jordan Montgomery is working his way back from Tommy John, but won’t be ready for another month. Cody Bradford is a few weeks behind him.
In the meantime, the Rangers signed Marco Gonzalez to a minor league deal. He was a starter for the Cardinals for three seasons and for the Mariners for seven, with unremarkable results. He started this year in the Padres farm system until they DFAed him and his 7.99 Triple-A ERA.
Suddenly, after the highest of highs in 2023. which followed the lowest of lows, the Rangers are back to the lowest of lows. Back to the Jon Daniels era of an exposed roster. Back to barebones pitching. Back to another long stretch of missing the playoffs.
You never thought you’d miss Jack Leiter until he’s not available.
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