When Marcus Semien and Corey Seager were named the Silver Slugger winners on Thursday night, nobody in the baseball world was shocked. They are, after all, two of the three candidates for the MVP award in the American League. They should deserve recognition for their combined 196 runs scored, 62 home runs, and 82 doubles during the regular season.

Despite having 107 RBIs, 29 doubles, and 39 home runs, Adolis Garcia was not awarded a Silver Slugger. Luis Robert Jr., Julio Rodriguez, and Kyle Tucker were the American League outfield winners. Garcia was only five RBIs behind Tucker and had more home runs than any of them, but it’s possible that his batting average kept him out of the winner’s circle.

Garcia can nonetheless find comfort in the fact that he was a member of the World Series-winning squad and was voted the American League Championship Series MVP. The Texas Rangers also took home the Silver Slugger Award for their squad.

Next week, the winners of the major individual awards will be announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The MVP and Manager of the Year awards will be of special interest to Rangers supporters. Seager and Semien will find out on Thursday, while Bruce Bochy’s destiny will be disclosed on Tuesday. Nevertheless, given that Shohei Ohtani is the second MVP finalist, the chances might not be in their favor. Brandon Hyde, manager of the Orioles, is a serious contender for best manager.

Postseason performances were not taken into consideration in the voting process because all votes for the awards were due at the conclusion of the regular season. If they had, Seager might have won over some people with his postseason play, and Bochy would have been a serious contender.

In other news, during his remarks at the GM Meetings, agent Scott Boras—who represents Semien and Seager—discussed the Rangers’ success in free agency and their willingness to spend. Boras thinks the Rangers will be the subject of a lot of offseason rumors because of their spending and their ambition to win the championship again.

The Rangers have already been linked to Shohei Ohtani, as well as pitchers Aaron Nolan, Josh Hader, and Jordan Montgomery. The Rangers may look into dealing for proven pitchers like Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers or Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians and extending their contracts in order to keep them from becoming free agents the following season, given the high demand for pitching. The Rangers have a surplus of prospects they can use in potential trade deals for top-tier pitching.

On a more positive note, Ron Washington, who was just appointed manager of the Angels, deserves praise. This week’s Card of the Week is his 1984 Donruss card, but his 1982 Topps Traded rookie card was the featured card last week. Washington appears happy in this card, perhaps taken during spring training or after returning from winter ball.

Washington once said that he played winter ball to be game-ready for spring training in order to impress and secure a spot on the roster. It worked out well for him in the past after leaving the Dodgers organization, where he was blocked from advancing. He now has another chance to oversee the angels.

To lighten the mood further, a dog video is shared, showing a puppy trying its best not to swallow another puppy whole. The cuteness and adorableness of puppies never fail to bring joy.