'We Need To Start Seeing Some Results.' Texas Rangers GM Shakes Up Roster With Offense Scuffling

Texas Rangers general manager shakes up the roster, says "we've dug a little hole" but believes club can climb out of offensive doldrums.

Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young addressed multiple moves the club made before Wednesday's game in Milwaukee, including Ezequiel Duran being optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. / Stefan Stevenson/Inside the Rangers

The Texas Rangers offense has underperformed for much of the season, and the club's brass is ready to shake things up.

A day after another flat performance from the Rangers' bats, the club made a slew a moves.

Outfielder Derek Hill, who was designated for assignment on June 7 and re-signed a minor league deal a week later, has been recalled from Triple-A Round Rock and is in the starting lineup for the series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers at 1:10 p.m. Wednesday.

Infielder Ezequiel Duran was optioned to Round Rock. Duran last played in the minors in 2022. He was batting .256 with two homers and 13 RBI in 58 games this season and has struggled the past month, batting .225 with a homer in his past 30 games.

“Zeke’s performance has not been on par with what we think he’s capable of,” Young told the Dallas Morning News. “We need him to go down, work on some things mechanically, get hot.”

Other moves include infielder Justin Foscue coming off the injured list and returning to Round Rock. Foscue, who was called up in April, has been sidelined with a left oblique strain.

Right-hander Cole Winn was moved to the 60-day IL from the 15-day IL with a right shoulder sprain. Right-hander Yerry Rodríguez was designated for assignment.

After winning four consecutive games, including a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals over the weekend at Globe Life Field, the Rangers have lost twice in Milwaukee. Four games against the 49-30 Orioles in Baltimore linger this weekend.

“We need to start seeing some results. We’re going to try and inject some life into this offense," Young told reporters, including MLB.com. “It's time for us offensively to perform like the team that we know we can be. We just haven't performed to the level that we were expecting, and the reality is that we need to get going here."

The Rangers offense, which led the American League in nearly every major offensive category in 2023, has scuffled for much of the first three months of 2024.

The Rangers rank ninth of 15 AL teams with a .236 batting average, eighth with 333 runs, last with 106 doubles, 11th with 76 home runs, 12th in slugging, and 11th in OPS.

Rangers GM Chris Young on today’s moves: “We need to start seeing some results. We’re going to try and inject some life into this offense.

“It's time for us offensively to perform like the team that we know we can be.”

— kennedi landry (@kennlandry) June 26, 2024

“We've dug a little bit of a hole. We can come back from it. I have a lot of confidence that we will, but it's time for us to get going," Young said, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Young said anyone producing at the Triple-A is an option to help instigate more consistent offense, including Foscue.

“It’ll be performance-driven," Young told reporters. "The reality is that anybody who is performing in Triple-A is going to get an opportunity here.”

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