'We fell short': Rangers leaders discuss offseason changes after missing postseason for third-straight season

DALLAS - One day after the Rangers' season came to an end, the team's top front office executive discussed what went wrong in 2026 while pointing to ways he wants to improve the team in 2027.

Rangers season ends

The backstory:

The Texas Rangers lost to the Minnesota Twins 6-4 on Sunday, officially ending their season with an 80-82 record.

The team finished second in the AL West behind the Houston Astros, who won the division with an 81-81 record.

It's the third straight year the Rangers have failed to qualify for the postseason. The last time the Rangers made the playoffs, they won the World Series in 2023.

"We fell short"

What they're saying:

At a season-ending press conference on Monday, Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young quantified the 2026 season as a missed opportunity.

"Our expectation was to compete and have a team that was capable of being in the playoffs, and we fell short of that goal," Young said. 

Young took accountability for the team's record, while pointing to his desire to make the team more dynamic next season.

"We need to get younger. We need to get more athletic. We need to get more dynamic. And those are gonna be off-season goals of our that we are going to explore and find out. How we can improve this roster from that standpoint and put a team together that our fans deserve."

When asked about undergoing a rebuild, Young emphatically denied the team was considering that. He said the team would "reshuffle the cards" this offseason. 

He also said he wants to see more from younger players like Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, Kumar Rocker, and Jack Leiter, who did not take the steps forward many were expecting them to in 2026.

"Our expectation and hope moving forward is that these guys do take that step. We drafted each of those players. We believe in these players, and they are important pieces to our team moving forward. And so we do need them to really take the lessons from this year and some of the challenges that each of those guys had respectively."

One thing Young pointed out is he wants to see the team play better on the road next season, and to show more "toughness" when playing in road environments.

"I think when you went on the road, it takes a grit, the toughness to go into an opposing city and have that mindset. And just frankly, I don't think we've exuded enough of it the last several seasons when we have not been a good road team."

"You can't be as under .500 on the road as we were and say that we were as tough as we needed to be," Young continued. "There were times where we did and there were time where the team showed great fight and great resilience, but the consistency of it wasn't to the levels that was needed for us to be a playoff team.

Young said he doesn't know what the team's payroll will be next season, and that he'll have more clarity in the next month before MLB free agency begins.

"It's our job to go back to work and figure out what the right path forward is. Who the players are that fit moving forward and to go acquire or sign the players that we feel like will help us reach our goals. But I can't speak to that, what the payroll will be or what the decisions will be. Those are conversations that will come in the coming weeks."

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