One last Hail Mary: The Rangers need to call up Sebastian Walcott

Sitting down to write this after Friday night's loss, I honestly did not know which approach to take. Go through how doomed these 2026 Texas Rangers are? Or piece together one final Hail Mary Chris Young can throw, leaving the tiniest sliver of hope alive. Turns out, Option A was the primary answer. There is still room for Option B, though.

Watching the last place Los Angeles Angels take three of four is about as bad as it gets. No hyperbole. Considering the circumstances and opponent, anything other than a series win of your own was a failure. The Rangers failed and then multiplied the level of horrificness.

Seeing the exact same story play out against the A's (who entered the day in last place because of the Angels' wins) one night later meant the wheels were officially off the track. In all reality, this thing is over. Even when you take how bad the American League is into account, the Rangers are not going to make the playoffs via the Wild Card or division.

That's an outside perspective, one I have to believe plenty of fans share. Likely a whole lot earlier than this past week.

Internally, it's tough to believe Young or Skip Schumaker is going to throw in the towel and accept the season as lost. Unfortunately for them, there is not much they can do from a roster perspective. The trade deadline has passed. Key players are getting hurt and there is no depth in the organization to replace them. Except for one name, who might be the final Hail Mary attempt.

Sebastian Walcott needs to be called up to make his Major League debut on Tuesday vs. the Washington Nationals.

Now, Walcott might not exactly be replacing anybody. What he brings is a potential offensive jolt to the lineup when one is required at this point. Outside of Josh Jung, who is a big part, this is pretty much a healthy offensive group. There is zero excuse to be putting up 11 total runs in four games against the Angels and A's. Emphasis on zero.

Literally any kind of change is needed. There is no better option right now than Walcott, who is absolutely crushing in AA Frisco. He entered Friday with a .328 batting average, three home runs, eight doubles, nine RBIs, and an OPS of .985. Those exit velocities are looking pretty nice too.

Texas doesn't have enough pop. Pederson hits home runs, sure. Fourteen of his 22 have been with nobody on base, which is part of the leadoff role. Seager appears to be in a good groove right now, just missing on a few during the road trip. Langford, Duran, Burger? There's certainly potential, just far, far too streaky.

Walcott has shown nothing but pop in his (limited) 2026 at-bats. He is the only new face in the organization who adds to the potential.

Of course, plenty of other factors go into this decision besides the MLB team needing a spark.

Is it too close to the long-term injury before even considering a recent IL stint for a concussion? Possibly.

What about his long-term development? Well, he's clearly too good for AA at 20 years old. AAA is the next logical stepping stone but for what purpose? I imagine he crushes in Round Rock too, while the club in Arlington continues to struggle. May as well have Walcott at Globe Life Field.

Call up or no call up, what happens to his development when the 2027 season is heavily delayed, or there is no season?

There is probably a whole lot more to question than what's been discussed thus far. Those are what I came up with when thinking about the possibility in the last 48-72 hours.

So, the Rangers call him up. How would the lineup/defensive outlook play out? Well, Walcott cannot currently play the field. He has only been a DH since returning from a UCL injury. There is a workaround.

Joc Pederson becomes the first baseman against right-handed pitching. Jake Burger needs to be a platoon player at this point. His right-handed numbers are well below average (.665 OPS), while the left-handed numbers are actually pretty solid (.856 OPS). Yes, defense is going to take a hit when Pederson is out there. Let's not act like the Rangers are some kind of elite defensive team, and changes can be made in later portion of games. Schumaker has to be willing to make that trade-off.

Your outfield alignment is pretty simple from there. Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, and Brandon Nimmo, left to right. In the world where Jung is healthy, he joins Seager and Ezequiel Duran to close out the infield.

More importantly, this eliminates ABs for some of the role players who have fallen off a cliff. Nicky Lopez has a batting average of .156 and is getting on base just 18% of the time in August. Justin Foscue can only hit lefties and just recently broke out of a brutal slump. Cody Freeman, a good story from 2025, just not the guy who can save you. Those types cannot be everyday players down the stretch, again, in a world where Jung is healthy.

Go back to 2023, when Carter's impact quite literally saved what turned into a World Series-winning team. Hell, there were even rumors of Langford getting called up two months after being drafted. But for Carter, the final stretch of the season saw him slash .307/.413/1.059 with five home runs and 12 RBIs. His postseason play was a major bonus, making the decision worth it.

If there's one final Hail Mary the organization can throw to replicate '23 Carter, it's Walcott getting called up. You pray for similar results playing out to get the juice flowing in a positive direction. Better to throw deep entering the fourth quarter on a sinking ship than to wait for the final seconds.

Tuesday, let's do it. I bet attendance gets a nice boost too, Ray Davis.

At the same time – make sure to re-read the second and third paragraphs of this story.