American League West Wide Open for Texas Rangers To Make Playoff Return

The American League West will not be as one-sided this year as it has been for the better part of the last decade.

Sep 29, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) and center fielder Leody Taveras (3) and third baseman Ezequiel Duran (20) and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (30) celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Angels 8-0 at Angel Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers shocked the world when they went all the way in 2023, winning the first World Series championship in franchise history.

They once again shocked the world in 2024 when they missed out on the playoffs entirely, finishing with a 78-84 record and third in the American League West.

It could be the every-other-year magic of Bruce Bochy, but the upcoming 2025 season feels much different than last year.

While the Seattle Mariners have remained mostly stagnant to this point in the offseason, the Houston Astros have taken a massive step back, leaving the division wide open for the taking for the first time since 2016.

The Astros have won the American League West in every 162-game campaign since 2017, but after trading superstar Kyle Tucker and high-leverage reliever Ryan Pressly to the Chicago Cubs (in two separate trades) they have potentially initiated the close of their window of dominance.

Meanwhile, the Rangers have added slugger Joc Pederson, re-signed Nathan Eovaldi to front the rotation, and traded for Jake Burger to replace Nathaniel Lowe, who was shipped to the Washington Nationals early in the offseason.

On paper, the American League West is Texas's to lose, but they will have to stay healthy more than they did in 2024, which proved to be their downfall.

Corey Seager played in only 123 games at shortstop, Wyatt Langford led the way in left field with 134 games, and Robbie Grossman carried the weight as the predominant designated hitter, though only for 46 games.

The additions of Burger and Pederson should prove beneficial to their durability, with the former playing in 135 or more games in each of the last two years and the latter doing so in five of his 11 Major League seasons.

Burger and Pederson will also add some much-needed power to a lineup that was surprisingly lacking in that department in 2024, with only three players crossing the 20-home run plateau, while both newcomers did so with ease. Burger fell just one shy of 30 while playing the majority of his games at loanDepot Park, one of the hardest places in MLB to hit home runs.

2025 is gearing up to be an exciting year for Texas, and the American League West is wide open for the club's triumphant return to the postseason.