Arguably, they are the fourth best team in their division, since Texas has not been sitting still either and has hopes of putting a much better product on the field in their new stadium, especially since they are still in the hunt for free-agents like Castellanos. Kluber today might not be Kluber of old, but he seems better than whatever improvements the Angels have made to their rotation (Bundy and Teheran) unless Ohtani comes back as a starter and delivers on all the hype and potential.
Even Texas's new stadium itself might be worth a few more wins for the Rangers. One thing Buck Showalter pointed out was that in the soon-to-be-old open air stadium, you could not schedule afternoon games before get-away days in the summer because of the heat. Since virtually every Rangers away-game except to Houston is a significant bit of travel, that alone could add a few wins on the road from more refreshed players.
Of course, the Angels might step in and get Castellanos themselves to replace Kole Calhoun in right field. One big advantage they have is that even with all these expensive contracts to Rendon, Trout, Pujols and Upton, they are not hurting financially. Rendon and a healthy Ohtani for a full season will likely keep them well above the 3 million attendance mark. They also have their TV contract and the development rights for the area around the stadium, which is bigger than Disneyland.
