DALLAS — Last season, it took 156 games for the Rangers to be eliminated from postseason contention. This season, the Rangers were eliminated far sooner than that, but official musings about Jeff Banister’s future with the club lasted until game 152.
Coming off of a four-game losing streak during a stretch of games which started so promisingly, questions about the direction of the club once a 2018 World Champion is crowned started surfacing in Arlington.
Was it something that happened in the month of September? Perhaps – that’s likely a story for mid-to-late October. It’s probably a culmination of things compounded by the fact that a new clubhouse voice going into a shiny new stadium should be expected.
One thing that won’t be a factor in the decision is the 2018 win/loss record. If you’re going to acknowledge that the chances for the team to be in the hunt for a playoff spot is a long shot at the outset of the season, you can’t hold your manager to that standard when your team does exactly what you ultimately thought it would.
- September 14-19
- Opponents: @San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays
- 6-Game Record: 2-4
- Overall Record: 64-88, Eliminated from Playoff Contention
- Tragic Number: 0.
- 2019 Draft Order: 7th Overall – Protected
- Injury Report: Doug Fister (60, Strained Knee – OUT FOR SEASON), Matt Bush (60, right elbow strain, UCL Surgery – OUT FOR SEASON), Tony Barnette (60, Strained Lat Muscle – OUT FOR SEASON)
- Notable Stats: Runs Scored vs. Runs Allowed During Stretch (16-26), Elvis Andrus in September (.169/.222/.271), Jurickson Profar During Stretch (.300/.333/.650), Martin Perez as a reliever (2.45 ERA, .179 batting average against, 1.40 K/BB)
At the Plate
The Captain, Adrian Beltre, had to come out and say it after the team suffered it’s second straight shutout on Tuesday night. He actually had to clarify and verify that the Texas Rangers were still making attempts to win baseball games. He mentioned that the club was trying to develop younger players along the way, but nobody is quitting.
On the offense, though, there are really only two players that they’re worrying about developing – Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ronald Guzman. The other seven hitters in the lineup are relatively veterans. You don’t want to think that Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor, Shin-Soo Choo and the others are merely tired, but a .202/.274/.352 team slash line seems to suggest otherwise.
In the case of Elvis Andrus, who, at times, has looked completely lost at the plate this month, he may not have had the games played workload of his peers, but maybe he came back from elbow surgery a little too soon.
Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered when he came back from that fateful hit-by-pitch back in April; having never been on the disabled list in his career, Andrus never properly developed a solid rhythm at the plate. That is probably a major factor in whether he opts out of his contract or not.
Shin-Soo Choo has cooled off entirely since his absurd hot streak in the first half. That’s to be expected, but when everyone else in the lineup is ice cold, that doesn’t look great. Over this stretch of games, Choo has been at his coldest, tallying just two hits in fifteen at-bats. With a long winter ahead, and an uncertain uniform for Choo for 2019, we could see the Rangers let him play through the final homestand and get him off of his feet as the team head off to the West Coast to finish the season.
The Captain himself, though is doing his best to lead by example. Overall, it hasn’t been the best September for Beltre, but during these series in San Diego and against Tampa Bay, he’s put up a .316/.381/.737 slash. He crunched his 475th career home run on Wednesday afternoon and tied Stan Musial and Willie Stargell. He might never voluntarily take the rest of the season off, but after these final three games at home against Seattle, maybe his appearances become limited, as well.
On the Mound
The idea, coming into the season, was to develop young players. Yohander Mendez, despite a poor start against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, has pitched well since his return from exile. Jose Leclerc, de facto closer since Keone Kela was traded away, has turned this year’s closer transition into a smooth one.
Even Mike Minor, who isn’t a rookie, but is easing back into the starter role after several years as a reliever, has emerged as a solid option for the rotation - although, that may not have much to do with the coaching staff's development ability.
The “opener” concept has worked its way into Banister’s strategy, with mixed results. After a couple of less-hopeful combinations, featuring Jeffrey Springs and Ariel Jurado to start September, the Rangers saw more positive results come out of their back-to-back “opener” games against San Diego.
On Friday, flamethrower Connor Sadzeck, who had started previously in his Minor League tenure, paved the way for Mendez, teaming up to throw six shutout innings. The next night, Alex Claudio, who had made one emergency start last year, set the stage for Jurado who…was Ariel Jurado, and that’s not necessarily a good thing at this stage. He gave up three runs, but was still able to put up four additional innings.
Jurado gave way to Martin Perez, the reliever, and what a revelation that’s been. Perez has a 3.38 ERA in the last two weeks spanning eight innings in four relief appearance. That may not sound like much but keep in mind that Perez had most recently come off an August where 20 runs in 25 innings before he was moved from the rotation.
Maybe it’s that he’s pitching with more of a chip on his shoulders. Maybe it’s the realization that there isn’t as much room for error or meltdown as a reliever. Whatever it is, Perez is perhaps opening up some other eyes, both inside and outside the organization.
Perez may not have expected or accepted his demotion to the bullpen with open arms, but he has certainly adapted to it. That may be a little surprising, given how difficult it had been for Perez to adapt to situations during his starts.
Banister, to his credit, has been putting his new acquisitions and younger pitchers in positions to succeed. But pitchers like Zac Curtis and Eddie Butler simply haven’t been up to task. C.D. Pelham, after a rough initial outing, has come on strong as a one-out or full-inning reliever. Springs, the aforementioned opener, had one unfortunate outing in San Diego, but otherwise has been one of the more reliable arms out of the pen during the second half.
As Texas enters the final week of the 2018 Regular Season, we can watch for how players respond to news that their manager might be in the hot seat. We can watch to see how Banister now manages players like Willie Calhoun and employs the “opener” strategy. If and when Banister does deploy his younger crew, how are they going to respond to playing time?
I won’t be coming back to you until after these ten games, when we can impart a proper eulogy for the 2018 Texas Rangers. Enjoy what you can of the last three home games and then…seven straight days of West Coast baseball.
- Up Next
- September 21-23: Seattle Mariners
- September 24-26: @Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- September 27-30: @Seattle Mariners
Do you think Jeff Banister will survive the winter and open the 2019 season as manager of the Rangers or is his time in Texas coming to an end? Make your prediction with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
