This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ARLINGTON -- Welcome to the Rangers Beat Newsletter. We have a new format this week, one in which I implored you all to do my job for me. That’s a joke; I really did want to hear from the fans about how y’all are feeling at this point in the season, during this pivotal stretch of baseball.
As already noted, for full disclosure, I stole this idea from friend of the beat Tim Cato, who covers the Dallas Mavericks and has done this exit survey for years after the end of the NBA season. I received more than 230 responses over the weekend. I appreciate that you were all mostly kind and respectful.
That being said, welcome to the Rangers Trade Deadline Anonymous Fan Survey.
I started with a couple of questions just to get a baseline of the survey base before getting into the nitty gritty of Trade Deadline thoughts and details. I couldn’t publish all the answers due to length, but I hope you all enjoy.
When did you become a Rangers fan? This was more for my personal curiosity.
How many games would you say you watch per year? I guess if you’re taking this survey, you’re likely to be pretty tapped into what is going on with the team.
How would you grade the Rangers’ season to this point? Most of you said it’s been perfectly average. That’s what a .500 record gets you.
Here are a few of my favorite answers:
- They’re in first place, which I thought we were capable of. Just not the way I expected to be there. And it’s hard to be confident in our postseason ability
- Could be worse, probably not as bad as it’s sometimes felt, still in the division race, but certainly can’t say it’s been outright good
- Truthfully, I’d rate this season a B so far. Why? No season is the same and this one requires context as well. Firstly, I think from a personnel and payroll standpoint, this team was not going to be a World Series contender. …I know fans like to take shots at [manager] Skip [Schumaker] but in his first season as manager, he has kept the ship afloat without the contributions of our franchise player [Corey Seager] and not much contribution (although he is turning it around) from [Wyatt] Langford. And while our relative success is largely due to the lackluster performance of the AL West and the AL as a whole, staying above .500 is something to be proud of. With Langford starting to catch fire and Seager’s eventual return, this team certainly has upside to be a playoff team.
What has surprised you most about the team to this point, positively or negatively?
Jacob Latz, All-Star closer, was by far the most popular positive answer. A lot of you also pointed out the resurgence of hitters like Josh Jung, Joc Pederson and Ezequiel Duran.
The biggest negative for you guys was the starting pitching, which led the Majors with a 3.41 ERA in 2025, but has regressed to a 4.33 ERA this season. A lot of comments on Jung’s defensive regression as well.
If you had to pick one thing, which is the biggest reason for the Rangers' struggles this season? I was expecting more emphasis on health. But this is all fair.
Which player do you feel has contributed the most to the Rangers' success this season? More Duran than I expected. But I think this is all relative to what you expect from certain players as well. Many of you also told me I should’ve listed Jacob Latz as an option.
Here are a few of my favorite answers:
- Honestly this is the hardest question to answer. Wyatt has been nails when healthy and it feels like he lifts the team up when healthy. [Brandon] Nimmo has been such a breath of fresh air as he is just a different type of player than I felt like Texas is used to. Jung has not felt like a hole in the lineup at times and that is a massive improvement. Duran has felt like 2023 Duran and we all know how that went.
- Duran has been the glue that has kept the season from coming off the rails. He’s been disappointing since the World Series year, but it’s been his versatility and All-Star worthy play that has been a major contributor to the success of the team. His defensive play combined with his hitting has helped mitigate the losses of Seager, Josh Smith, and even the outfielders and Jung! A regression to the mean is likely but his contributions have been huge!
- Jung has been underwhelming since his awesome rookie season. Oftentimes, guys like that will continue to live in their own head and can’t get out of their own way. This year looks like Josh has moved past that and can be a cornerstone piece of this franchise for years to come.
On a scale of 1-5, how concerned are you with the health of the Rangers’ veterans during the home stretch? You guys are very concerned. I cannot blame you for that. Self explanatory.
What do you think the Rangers should do at the Trade Deadline?
I expected more sellers. Twitter is an echo chamber, but it’s definitely felt like the majority of folks have been screaming sell. Regardless of option, many of you begged the club to not move Sebastian Walcott.
Here are a few of my favorite answers:
- They gotta make one more push in the deGrom/Seager/Eovaldi era. They're aging, and so are guys like Nimmo and Pederson. Buy, let’s try to win with this group and the talent we already have in place, and if it’s time for a change after the season, then let’s blow it up and start building for the Langford/Leiter/Rocker/Walcott era.
- A retooling of this roster is desperately needed. If they can do some of it midseason and go for it, do it. Buy one reliever on top of it. If you can’t retool, spend little on a reliever and hope your IL returns act as trade pickups.
- Hate this because it's the toughest spot they've been in for a while. They aren't good enough to win in the playoffs, but I don't want them giving up more prospects. On the other hand, they have pieces that could net them decent returns from a real contender, load up for years to come. On the other hand, we know they aren't selling with a chance at first in the division.
Assuming availability, what player(s) would you most want the Rangers to trade for at the Deadline?
I got a lot of catcher responses, including, but not limited to: Shea Langeliers, Adley Rutschman, Hunter Goodman, Dalton Rushing and more. A lot of requests for a reunion with Aroldis Chapman or Kirby Yates as well. Luis Arraez is the most consistent answer that wasn’t a pitcher or catcher.
Other random names thrown out more than once: Luke Weaver, Mason Miller, Dylan Cease, Adrian Morejon, Mickey Moniak, Clay Holmes.