DeTatched

So...not much left to fantasize about the 2018 Texas Rangers, then. Cole Hamels is gone, and their top starter is now 45-year-old Bartolo Colon. How wonderful.

The Rangers didn't exactly clean house this trade deadline, but they tried- Keone Kela is gone, Jesse Chavez is gone, and while Eddie Butler has impressed in his first few relief appearances, the bullpen is definitely not what it used to be. The lineup was unaltered, although talks to move Shin-Soo Choo and Adrian Beltre definitely happened, and have at least been curtailed until the waiver deadline later this month (so fret not, Braves fans, Beltre to ATL might still happen soon?)

The real trick of this Rangers team is developing a young core, as a lot of the team's standouts (Beltre, Choo, Minor, Andrus, [sigh] COLON) are much older. Yes, Rougned Odor is doing better, but he still strikes out too much. Yes, Delino DeShields as a great hitter, but his average is too low. Yes, Joey Gallo can hit home runs, but...that's ALL he can do. Nomar Mazara is the sole well-rounded youngster on the team, and he's injured. At least they have defensive flexibility with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and at least we've seen more from Jurickson Profar than we have since 2014, but overall this is a pretty unfocused lineup. Wins happen, but I don't think there's unity.

It's even worse that the Astros are looking at a dynasty, and the A's and Mariners are looking to expand on their 2018 season, so I don't know what's left for the Rangers to do. They may have to shed some of this team's better young players in order to be great again.

Coming Tonight: He literally just went on the DL...but I've been saving this custom for 3 months, and dammit, it's getting posted.