With Josh Hamilton returning, a chance for Rangers to make some noise

May 17, 2015; Frisco, Tx, USA; Frisco RoughRiders designated hitter Josh Hamilton (32) jogs on to the field prior to the game against the Corpus Christi Hooks at Dr. Pepper Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Some two-plus years after leaving Texas for sunny Los Angeles, Josh Hamilton will don a Rangers uniform once again on Monday as he looks to jumpstart a career that has fallen on hard times as of late. An injury-filled 2014 campaign with the Angels and an offseason admission to relapse with cocaine have left Hamilton far from the star status that he had when he led the Rangers to two World Series appearances just a few years ago.

But Hamilton is back in Texas, and by many accounts is in as good of shape as he has been in years. At 34 (he celebrated a birthday on the 21st), the slugger may not be the MVP-caliber player he once was, but his return could still be the push the Rangers need to turn their 20-23 record into a surprise run to the top of the AL West standings.

The surprise Astros aside, the AL West has produced a group of underperforming clubs. The rebuilt Mariners have not been as strong as advertised, while the Angels have struggled across the board and the Athletics are looking more ready to rebuild by the day. So while Texas hardly has the makings of a division leader, it’s actually not so far off.

As things sit heading into Sunday, the Rangers sit 7.5 games out of first place, and just 2.5 games out of second. If the Mariners continue to struggle and the strikeout-prone Astros finally come back to Earth (as history suggests they should), the path to first place is quite clear for the boys from Arlington if Hamilton can provide a fraction of what he did in his glory days in Texas.

Jon Daniels was in the tricky position this offseason of being stuck in between having a roster that shoudl clearly rebuild or add pieces in an effort to contend, and elected not to make the moves to do either. Adrian Beltre is still a Ranger, Elvis Andrus is still a Ranger, and every top-tier prospect remains in the Rangers’ farm system. And while not making a move was likely a mistake on Daniels’ part, he now has the opportunity to take advantage of a weak division and turn his club into a potential playoff contender.

With the high number of potential mid-cost contributors set to be available at this year’s trade deadline (Scott Kazmir, Jeff Samardzija, Carlos Gomez, Kyle Lohse, Ben Zobrist, Matt Wieters, etc.), the Rangers could very well manage to put themselves over the top and into the postseason. A healthy Hamilton combined with either a big-name acquisition like Cole Hamels or multiple mid-tier adds such as Zobrist and Lohse take the Rangers from being good on a good day to being a playoff contender on a consistent game-to-game basis.

While Josh Hamilton alone will not be the reason the Rangers become out-of-nowhere AL West champs, a healthy Hamilton can help the mediocre Texas team go from blah to good, laying the groundwork for them to go from good to very good. Daniels and company should be watching in the next few weeks, because opportunity could very well come knocking for the Rangers to make some noise.