On Wednesday, MLB.com Rangers beat reporter Kennedi Landry held an Ask Me Anything on Reddit with Rangers fans at r/TexasRangers. This mailbag features questions and answers from there. The full AMA can be read here.
Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
What is the current feeling in the locker room, and do you think more coaching changes are on the horizon?
There was definitely a sentiment of disappointment regarding the Donnie Ecker dismissal. More so that the players weren't performing and it forced the higher-ups to make a change. Josh Smith noted that it's obviously a performance-based game and the offense didn't perform as well as they could or should have to start this season.
I doubt there are more coaching changes coming, mostly because if they were going to do that, it would have made more sense to do it in one sweep (especially with regard to the hitting coaches). The pitching staff is doing amazing, so that's out of the question obviously.
Biggest surprise of the season? One good, one bad?
In my opinion, the biggest surprise (bad) has been Jake Burger and Joc Pederson's persistent struggles at the plate. I thought those were two really good additions this offseason -- especially Burger, who perfectly fit in the Rangers lineup and filled the holes they struggled with offensively in 2024 (i.e. hitting fastballs, slugging from the right side, etc.). Pederson has had good and bad years in his career, but going through that brutal 0-fer was not something that I think anybody saw coming. It just hasn't quite played out how anybody would want just yet.
Biggest surprise (good) has been the rotation! Obviously, the potential was always there for the Rangers to have a quality rotation with the likes of Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom (injury concerns notwithstanding), but the resurgence of a pair of veterans like Tyler Mahle and Patrick Corbin has been pretty stunning and Jack Leiter was one of the best rookies in baseball before his IL stint. This is all happening with Cody Bradford and Jon Gray on the injured list too. It's been fun to watch, even with the offensive struggles.
Hi, Kennedi, do you think Chris Young has any more shake-ups coming? What might they be?
If there are any more shake-ups coming, it will definitely be on the player side. With Burger being optioned to Round Rock and Leody Taveras being placed on waivers, it's clear that the Rangers aren't going to wait around this year. There are a few guys performing well in Triple-A, including Justin Foscue (who also had a brutal stretch in the big leagues in 2024), Cody Freeman, Sam Haggerty, etc. There is also Rangers No. 7 prospect Alejandro Osuna, who is in Double-A right now, but could be promoted to Round Rock soon.
A lot of guys are asking fluff questions…
What's the rumor for the rotation when Bradford, Rocker, and Grey get back? Have you heard any mention about looking for a closer? How is Seager feeling? He still doesn't look to be running full speed on the basepaths.
A lot of the rotation questions will likely be answered based on the needs of the team when those injured players return. We're obviously still a ways off from those three returning, and the five in the rotation are holding it down nicely at the moment. Rocker and Gray have both thrived in their short stints in relief, so that could definitely be on the table when the time comes.
Nothing on a closer yet (we all know David Robertson is still out there un-signed), but Chris Young has obviously shown he'll go out and make changes/additions if and when it's necessary. Bochy has liked the high leverage trio of Robert Garcia/Chris Martin/Luke Jackson early this season and despite some of Jackon's hiccups, they've pretty consistently kept the Rangers in games. Things could change as we get closer to the Deadline, but CY will always try to improve the club.
Seager said his hamstring is fine after that 10-day stint on the injured list. I think his speed on the basepaths is more about limiting any other strains at this point of the season. He can turn it on when he needs to, but he's not the guy to try to do too much right now.