Of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball, six have never won a World Series.
The oldest of those teams is the Texas Rangers. Founded in 1961 as a member of the American League (AL), Texas reached the postseason for the first time in 1996, 36 years after its founding, and enjoyed a golden era of its own, finishing as World Series runners-up for the second straight season in 2010 and 2011. The mainstays of that offense were Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, and current Texas manager Michael Young. On the mound, CJ Wilson, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland, and Neftali Perez dominated. This was during the Ron Washington era.
Texas’ golden era came to an end in 2016 when they won the district title. There has been no fall baseball in Texas since the team was swept in three games by the Toronto Blue Jays in the Division Series, but Texas fans have their postseason hopes alive this year for the first time in seven years.
As of Aug. 31, Texas is in first place in the AL West with a 60-46 record. They trail the second-place Houston Astros by one game. After losing three straight games, including a 3-5 loss to the analog San Diego Padres, Texas is 2-7 in its last nine games.
As a result, the team is in the midst of a trade deadline push. After acquiring Max Scherzer in a trade with the New York Mets on March 30, Texas traded for St. Louis Cardinals left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery on Monday.
“Acquired Jordan Montgomery and right-handed reliever Chris Stratton in a trade with St. Louis, sending prospect right-hander Tekoa Roby, infielder Thomas Suzuki, and left-hander John King in return,” Texas announced.
Robbie is ranked 11th in the Texas farm system and Suzuki is 14th in MLB Pipeline prospect rankings.
Texas placed ace Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day disabled list today with a right arm injury. Ivaldi stopped pitching on April 19 with arm soreness after throwing six innings of two-hit shutout ball against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Texas’ rotation will be thin without Ivaldi, who is 11-3 with a 2.69 ERA this season. The addition of Scherzer and Montgomery is not just about minimizing the void, it’s about preparing for the postseason.
“We added a veteran starter and a reliever to help our team,” Young said. “Montgomery is having a tremendous season this year. He’s the best starting pitcher available in this trade market. Our rotation has been upgraded. Stratton is a bullpen arm that will help ease the burden on our young pitchers.”카지노
Montgomery has started 21 games and thrown 121 innings this season, posting a 6-9 record with a 3.42 ERA, 108 strikeouts and a 1.248 WHIP. His ERA+ is at a career-high 126. He is eligible for free agency after this season.
In 42 games, Stratton is 1-1 with a 4.36 ERA, four shutouts, one save, and one complete game.
When Ivaldi returns, Texas will be down to seven starters. Eventually, two of them – Dane Dunning, Andrew Heaney and Martin Perez – will move to the bullpen.