Welcome back to Top of the Order
Every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be starting your baseball day with some news, notes, and thoughts about the game we love.
It’s not uncommon for league champions to struggle in the following year. The Marlins, for example, sold off most of their good players after winning the World Series in 1997 and again in 2003. The Nationals have also struggled since their World Series title in 2019. However, usually, at least one of the two teams to play in the previous World Series has a strong follow-up season. Over the first 29 seasons of the Wild Card Era, only twice have both league champs from the same year missed the playoffs the next season. Interestingly, those two years were in 2006 (White Sox and Astros) and 2007 (Cardinals and Tigers).
Currently, it’s quite surprising to see both the Rangers and Diamondbacks under .500 entering play this weekend. Both teams won on Thursday but are not in a great position right now. The Diamondbacks are 8.5 games out of first place with a 33-36 record and just a game out of the final NL Wild Card spot. The Rangers, with a 33-35 record, are five games behind the first-place Mariners and 3.5 games away from a wild card berth.
The injury bug has hit the Rangers hard this season. Max Scherzer, Cody Bradford, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, and Michael Lorenzen have all missed time at various points. Top prospect Wyatt Langford and left fielder Evan Carter are also dealing with injuries. This has left the Rangers with a depleted roster compared to last year when they made several key acquisitions before the trade deadline.
On the other hand, the Diamondbacks have had a mixed bag of results with their offseason additions. While some players like Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk have performed well, others like Eugenio Suárez and Jordan Montgomery have struggled. Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno, two important hitters for the Diamondbacks, have also not met expectations.
Both teams are in need of roster improvements to turn their seasons around and potentially make a playoff push. While the Rangers may not make significant moves, the Diamondbacks could benefit from some tough decisions and potential trades to strengthen their roster. Only time will tell if these changes can help the teams avoid becoming the third pair of league champions in three decades to fall short of returning to the postseason in their follow-up campaigns.
