With preseason Power Rankings out from The Athletic, Texas Rangers are currently in middle of MLB pack.
Will the Texas Rangers have a winning season in 2026?
It's time for MacKenzie Gore to have a bounce-back season for the Texas Rangers. But the same thing can be said for the ballclub itself.
The Rangers are coming into the 2026 MLB season, which officially starts on Thursday, with some expectations. One of the biggest is to have a winning season, while also getting back into the American League postseason picture.
When The Athletic put together its preseason Power Rankings, the Rangers found themselves right smack-dab in the middle of all 30 MLB clubs. The outlet has Texas in the No. 15 slot for now.
The Athletic's Andy McCullough had some thoughts on what the Rangers have going for them at this time.
"The 2023 season feels like a lifetime ago," McCullough wrote, harkening back to the Rangers' 2023 World Series-winning season. "Texas swapped Marcus Semien for outfielder Brandon Nimmo this winter and non-tendered catcher Jonah Heim.
"But the Rangers will still be relying on their injury-prone stars (Corey Seager, Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom) to stay on the field and for their young core (Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, Jack Leiter) to keep improving," McCullough continued.
"The rest of the industry will be interested to see what Texas can get out of new addition MacKenzie Gore, who fell apart in the second half pitching for Washington last season," McCullough wrote.
Gore opened his major-league career pitching for the San Diego Padres. He then spent the last three seasons with the Washington Nationals.
Looking at Gore's record last season with the Nationals might scare some Rangers fans. He finished 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA. Gore worked 159 2/3 innings in 30 starts, none of which were complete games.
He struck out 185 batters, but surrendered 64 walks. Gore, a left-hander, has five pitches in his arsenal, according to Baseball Savant: A four-seamer, curveball, slider, changeup, and cutter. That four-seamer was used 49.3% of the time against opposing batters.
Last Game Before Regular Season Starts
On Tuesday afternoon at Globe Life Field, the Rangers will wrap up Spring Training and exhibition game activity.
Texas squares off against the Kansas City Royals at 1:05 p.m. ET.
Then, the Rangers take Wednesday off before Opening Day finally arrives.
This season, Texas starts the 2026 MLB season on the road at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia where they'll face the Philadelphia Phillies.
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