A team that could have used a bat at the trade deadline instead decided to get a bullpen arm and two minor leaguers— a catcher and minor league reliever. Now, to be fair, the Rangers didn’t have the capital to get much more. They don’t have a farm system, meaning they didn’t have the prosepcts needed to make a decent trade, and they don’t have an owner willing to spend money. 

Instead, they relied on the tried and true argument all cheapskate teams use: We’re getting back players from the I.L, so it’s like getting players at the deadline.

Seems like “acquiring” Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford at the trade deadline wasn’t enough. With last night’s anemic loss to the last-place, worst-record-in-baseball Angels, the Rangers are now 11-14 since the All-Star break, and 5-6 since getting Seager and Langford back. 

The Acquiring Without Spending Effect didn’t work. The frustration is, Seager is starting to heat up just as Wyatt Langford is doing his usual disappearing act. Langford is batting .063 in the last seven days, and .119 in the last two weeks. He came off the I.L. crushing it. But has cooled off considerably since Seager returned.

It’s not to put the blame for this offense on just one or two players. With bases loaded, the Texas Rangers are horrible. They’re 27th in batting at just .218, and dead last in slugging at .276. By comparison, the Brewers are hitting .372 with bases loaded and the White Sox are slugging at .619. That’s a Grand Canyon deep chasm between best and where the Rangers are.

In the prime situation where they have the opponents on the ropes, they fold. Last night, they did manage to score one run with the bases loaded. From a walk. 

The Rangers seem to be doomed to bad offense the rest of the year. Maybe it squeaks them into the playoffs. It’s doubtful. Other teams are heating up and nipping at Texas’s heels. It doesn’t look good for the Rangers. All the other team has to do is load the bases full of Rangers, and they have Texas right where they want them. 

Flailing.

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