The Texas Rangers can look at the trade deadline and wonder whether Chris Young should have done more. Chase Silseth has had some moments, but his 4.50 ERA in Arlington says plenty.
Adam Macko has been little more than a shuttle arm. And Logan O'Hoppe, as the source puts it, might as well have his face on every milk carton in North Texas.
Even so, the team across the state has managed to make the Rangers’ deadline regrets look a lot smaller.
Houston made only one move, bringing in Daulton Varsho from the Toronto Blue Jays for starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti. It was another swing in former Astros general manager Dana Brown’s push to find an impact left-handed-hitting outfielder, and Houston moved on from Brown just three weeks later.
Varsho’s time in Houston has been rough: a .172/.224/.311 line with -0.3 fWAR over 41 games. Now he’s headed to the IL with cysts in his wrist, an issue that has bothered him for three months and, embarrassingly, was not picked up on - or possibly ignored - in a pre-trade physical.
Surgery is now a possibility. As Chandler Rome reported: “Surgery is on the table for Daulton Varsho, who tried for three months to play through two bothersome cysts in his left wrist. He will seek a second opinion on Monday to determine whether he'll undergo an operation - https://t.co/YmCl6vGjZl”
The Astros’ rotation is in even worse shape. Over their last three games, Christian Javier left after two innings with a strained right groin, Ethan Pecko gave them just 2 2/3 innings and three runs, and Peter Lambert lasted 2 2/3 innings while allowing four earned runs. That’s the kind of stretch that can burn through a bullpen in a hurry.
Arrighetti has not helped Toronto, either, posting a 6.35 ERA that got him pushed to the bullpen. Still, Houston could use him right now just for the chance at a few more innings and a little relief for a battered staff. He showed earlier this year that he could still piece together a run of effective starts.
All of that leaves the Rangers in a strange spot: the Astros are unraveling, but Texas is not safely through the door.
The Seattle Mariners briefly re-entered the AL West picture before being eliminated from the division race, but that does not mean the Rangers suddenly control their own fate. FanGraphs still gives Texas just a 29.3% chance to make the playoffs, while Houston sits at 70.7%. Both clubs are 79-80, but the Astros own the tiebreaker.
With three games left, Texas needs to win out and needs Houston to lose at least once in its three-game set against the Athletics. The Rangers can only absorb a loss if the Astros also lose, and even then they would merely stay level before dropping behind because of the tiebreaker.
The pitching matchup tonight only adds to the tension. Houston is sending Hunter Brown to the mound, with the hope that he can work deep and spare an overtaxed bullpen.
He’s still issuing too many walks, but the results have improved since his midseason slump. The Rangers, meanwhile, open their series against the Minnesota Twins with Jacob deGrom on the hill.
Those two arms could end up shaping the division race without ever facing each other directly.
Houston is hanging on by a thread, but it is still alive. And if the Astros end up finishing ahead of the Rangers, that July 31-August 2 sweep in Houston may wind up being the difference. It was a key stretch in the head-to-head race, and it also helped shape Chris Young’s decision not to chase deadline upgrades more aggressively.
If the Rangers had handled business then, this conversation would look a lot different now.
In Other News...
Rangers Finally Have A Little Life In The Playoff Race
A badly needed win gave the Rangers a little breathing room in a playoff race that had started to feel like it was slipping away. Kumar Rocker steadied the game with five innings of one-run ball, Jordan Montgomery finished it off for a save, and Josh Jung and Corey Seager supplied the power with home runs that gave Texas enough offense to stop the bleeding.
There is still a long road ahead, but at least the math has not gone completely stale. Fangraphs still gives the Rangers a 28.7% shot at the postseason, which means this is less about comfort than survival, and every clean outing or timely swing matters a whole lot more now than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Rotation Mystery Shows How Far Texas Is Pushing This Race
Jacob deGrom is lined up to start Fridays series opener against the Twins, a sign the Rangers are still leaning on their biggest arm as the division race tightens and the calendar starts dictating more of the conversation than usual. With Texas trying to squeeze every edge out of a crowded schedule, the club is managing its rotation carefully and keeping an eye on who can take the ball when the margin for error keeps shrinking.
The final two games of the series are still unsettled, which says plenty about where this race stands and how much the Rangers are willing to juggle to stay in it. Several pitchers availability is still shaping what comes next, and until those decisions are finalized, the rotation remains part strategy, part chess match, with Texas trying to protect both the present and what comes after. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Enter Final Weekend With Almost No Margin For Error
The American League playoff picture has tightened to the point where the final weekend is doing almost all the heavy lifting. The Yankees and Red Sox have already locked up the first two wild-card spots, but the last opening is still there for the taking, and so is the AL Central title, with Cleveland and Chicago separated by one game and three games left to sort it out.
For Texas, the stakes are just as clear in the West, where the division comes down to the Rangers and Astros. Houston has the tiebreaker edge, which means the Rangers are chasing from behind and need help as much as they need results of their own. In a race this tight, there is no room for anything but scoreboard watching and perfect timing. [Read more 🡒]