Watching the Texas Rangers mosey along with some sub-par play in the past two seasons hasn't made the Rangers faithful too confident.

The team won its first World Series championship, then followed that up with a couple of stinkers in the 2024 and 2025 MLB seasons. It proved to be the final straw as the team separated from Bruce Bochy and decided to move Skip Schumaker out of the front office and back into the dugout.

If Texas fans wanted to know what the mindset of the ballclub is going into next season, then Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young offered some clarity.

Young spoke with media members who were gathered for the General Managers meetings in Las Vegas this week. Just listening to Young talk, though, gives Rangers fans some hope that things are going to change.

"My main thought is that we're going to have a payroll that's high enough for us to win," Young said on Wednesday, according to MLB.com. "We've got a great core group in place. We are in a great position.

"We don't have to make any moves to accommodate payroll or to buy payroll flexibility, so to speak," Young said. "But we're expecting to win with whatever number we have. I’m very confident we'll be able to put together a very good team, whatever the payroll number is."

Look for the Rangers to continue making players like Corey Seager, Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford as a main nucleus on offense. But Adolis García and Jonah Heim remain question marks due to their probable entries into arbitration at some point.

The Rangers bullpen needs a hard look, too. At this point, what area doesn't need an upgrade for the Rangers to get into contention for an American League West Division title? Don't forget (how can you, Rangers fans?) that the Seattle Mariners, who won the division in 2025, and perennial challengers the Houston Astros are still there, too.

"We love the position-player group we have, and we'll have to evaluate if there are ways to improve that group," Young said. "Our obligation is to put the best team together that we possibly can. Unfortunately, as is the nature of baseball, sometimes you have to make tough decisions on players that you love, that have been part of the core group."

Young will have to make those tough decisions now and heading into the 2026 MLB season. 

There are some assets on the squad should Young want to make a trade or two. Look for Young to hold some big-time meetings with others at the Winter Meetings, which get underway in early December.

Schumaker spent last season as a senior adviser to Young, so he had a front-row seat to observe the pluses and minuses of this ballclub.

Let's see what Young can do to help Schumaker win, and win now, in 2026.