'Welcoming' Rangers Changed Approach for Mark Mathias

It's early, but the other player acquired in the Matt Bush trade has put up impressive numbers in his first week with Texas.

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

When the Texas Rangers traded Matt Bush to the Milwaukee Brewers, the centerpiece of what the Rangers got in return was supposed to be minor-league pitcher Antoine Kelly, who immediately popped into the Rangers’ Top 30 prospects.

But infielder Mark Mathias is proving that he wasn’t just a "throw-in" to balance the deal for the veteran reliever.

Mathias, who has struggled to get any sort of traction in the Majors since Milwaukee called him up in 2020, seems to have finally found a groove with the Rangers.

He’s already played as many games with Texas (six) has he did with Milwaukee this season. He also has two more official at-bats.

With Milwaukee, he hit .125 with a home run and 4 RBI.

With Texas, he’s hit .500 with two home runs and 8 RBI.

So what changed?

Mathias told Bally Sports Southwest after Friday’s 7-6 win over Detroit that the Rangers have a different philosophy when it comes to coaching hitting. Not that Milwaukee’s was wrong and Texas is right, mind you. But it’s different. And Mathias is definitely getting more out of it.

From video study and research, in-cage coaching and overall preparation, the Rangers have put him in a better mindset when he steps in the batter’s box.

"(It’s about) the pitches we should look for to do damage on,” Mathias said. “I was always looking for pitches down the middle and you don’t get that here. You have to have a plan. The coaching staff has really helped me with that a lot the last two weeks.”

When the Bush trade was official on Aug. 2, the Rangers sent Mathias to Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers called him up on Aug. 16, right around the time the team fired manager Chris Woodward and team president of baseball operations Jon Daniels.

When he arrived, the Rangers played him four straight games. His first plate appearance was a pinch-hit single against Oakland on Aug. 17. The next game, he started and went 2-for-4 with his first home run with Texas.

He’s played the last two games. In Wednesday’s 16-4 slugfest win over Colorado, he made his first start at first base and went 2-for-5 with three RBI, which came on a bases-clearing triple.

On Friday, he was the designated hitter and went 3-for-4 with a home run. It was the first three-hit game of Mathias’ big-league career.

It coincides with the Cal Poly product, a third-round selection by Cleveland in the 2015 MLB Draft, finally feeling more comfortable in the Rangers clubhouse.

“Coming in for my second homestand and knowing where everything is was nice,” Mathias said. “Everyone was saying, ‘What’s up?’ Everyone knows my name. It’s welcoming.”

Rangers interim manager Tony Beasley knows his name, too. Mathias called Beasley “chill” and that he “instills a sense of confidence in players.”

Beasley said he likes what he sees from Mathias.

“He has a good swing and a good approach,” Beasley said. “It’s a small sample size for us, but in this time period he seems to have a good idea of the strike zone, a good swing, a good path and he can hit to all parts of the field. He has some confidence now.”

And, thanks to the Rangers, an opportunity he didn’t have a month ago.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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