Chris Young: Texas Rangers should be ‘equally embarrassed as I am’ in disappointing 2024

After peaking in 2023, the World Series-defending 2024 season for the Texas Rangers has been less than ideal. To say the least.

Injuries, ineffectiveness and a whole heap of other issues have the Rangers’ deficit in the AL West up to the double-digits with just six weeks remaining in the season.

How does the general manager respond?

In a recent appearance on GBag Nation on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM), Rangers GM Chris Young addressed the disappointing season and the looming fallout. According to Young, however, there’s still plenty to watch despite the “embarrassing” season so far, and he’ll spend the final 30-40 games of the regular season evaluating what changes need to be made to get back to the postseason.

Read Young’s full comments below.

Question: Bruce Bochy recently said that things are looking bleak. What would your words be, for the standings right now?

Chris Young: “You know, I can’t get caught up in it. The standings are the standings, it is what it is. What I want to see is us [do] is go out and play winning baseball from here on out. I want us to go play with passion and energy and grit and fight and determination and F-you behind them, because this season’s been embarrassing for us. This is not what we expected, and I expect our players to be as equally embarrassed as I am about how we’ve played. So I want to see us come out and fight to the finish line, whatever that means in terms of the standings or the record, that’ll happen naturally if we just go out and play good baseball. And I wanna see some improvement as we go here, I know this team is capable of more than they’ve shown and my expectation is that we do that in these last six weeks.”

Question: How difficult is it, and the season’s not over, you guys could turn things around, but how difficult is it to make decisions on personnel of guys that helped you win a championship? Will that be maybe the most difficult thing you have to deal with?

CY: “Well it’s part of the job. It’s part of the business. Naturally, those decisions happen, they happen whether you’ve won a championship or not. You become emotionally attached to some degree, I care about all these players. But it is a performance-based game, and we have to make decisions to find the best team and the best group of guys that we feel is gonna give us a chance to win the next championship. We’re very grateful for the contributions that all these guys have made, especially the ones that were on the 2023 team. However, we’re looking ahead to the next championship, and that’ll be factored in in terms of who helps us win that. That’s the goal for us.”

Question: Being on the field, being around the team, how important is that to you and what’s your philosophy on that?

CY: “It is very important for me, because I’ve been in those shoes. I see them working on a daily basis, I see the energy they pour in. And sometimes it really does, it breaks my heart to see them come off the field dejected or feeling like they’ve let the organization down. I know how much they care, and I certainly appreciate the work they put in and the care factor. It is high, I know we’ve got a great group of guys. So I want them to know they have my support, I also want them to know that I’m watching and, you know, there’s an accountability that comes with this, and I wanna see who’s working on a daily basis. If I can offer words of encouragement or words of wisdom, I’m here to do that. But at the same time I’m also interested in helping these guys stay motivated and knowing that we have a lot to play for and a lot left to accomplish. And I’m watching to see who’s willing to try and strive for that and who’s gonna go get it these last six weeks and who’s not.”

When you look ahead to the offseason, do you know any of the clarity when it comes to the financial resources and how aggressive you’ll be able to be?

CY: “No, those conversations will begin soon. We don’t have really an idea, we haven’t gotten that far along yet. But we will get there in the coming weeks or months, at which point we’ll get to work. I can tell you that from a front office standpoint we’re extremely motivated, we’re gonna do everything we can to make this roster better, to improve and to make sure our fans can come out and see a winning, playoff-caliber team, and a team that’s capable of winning a World Series next year. That’s where our focus is gonna be and we’re not gonna stop until we make that happen.”

To listen to the full interview, click here.

Twitter: @dmn_rangers

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