Could Rangers Look To Trade One of Josh Jung or Jake Burger?

Will either of these Texas Rangers players be on the trade block this offseason?

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What does the future hold for the Texas Rangers?

That's what everyone in the Dallas-Forth Worth area will be trying to figure out once the 2025 campaign for the Rangers officially comes to a close on Sunday and the offseason begins. With multiple pitchers set to hit the open market and a question mark about their manager, this winter could usher in some change.

But how much turnover will there actually be? Corey Seager and Marcus Semien will be manning the middle infield for the foreseeable future. Evan Carter, despite all of his injury issues, is a cornerstone of the franchise. Same with Wyatt Langford, who is a rising superstar. And Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi will be leading the rotation alongside Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker.

Some changes on the fringes of the roster could be made, with different relief arms being brought in with the aim of replicating the success they had for the majority of the year. A deeper bench could be created with some of their rising minor leaguers and star prospects. But it doesn't seem like an overhaul will come.

That is unless someone like Josh Jung or Jake Burger is shopped in the offseason, using one or both of the young power hitters to upgrade other parts of the roster that could set them up for better success.

Will that happen, though? In the mind of The Dallas Morning News' Kevin Sherrington (subscription required), he doesn't believe that will be the case.

Rangers Would Be Selling Low on Josh Jung

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Even the thought of trading Josh Jung two years ago would have been laughable. He was one of the team's top prospects after being selected eighth overall in the 2019 draft. And during his rookie season in 2023, he flashed all of that upside with a .266/.315/.467 slash line and 113 OPS+ to go along with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs to power him to an All-Star selection and a fourth place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

But that goes to show how quickly things can change in Major League Baseball. Since that point, he suffered a fractured wrist after just four contests in 2024, which limited him to 46 games total. And this year, he suffered some regression that caused the Rangers to option him to Triple-A in the middle of summer. While other teams around the league could be interested in the 27-year-old with that type of pedigree and past performance, moving off of him is something that might not be smart.

"Jung, who's regressed significantly since his rookie season, might bring something in a package deal, but they'd be selling low," Sherrington stated.

Could Rangers Flip Jake Burger After Disappointing Season?

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This past offseason, the Rangers believed they had upgraded their first base position when they acquired Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins. The 29-year-old was coming off back-to-back seasons with 34 and 29 home runs, respectively, and he seemed poised to continue that.

But a disappointing and injury-riddled campaign later, he's not viewed as favorably as he once was. Because of that, Sherrington also believes the slugger's value on the trade market is low, with him simply stating, "same with Jake Burger" when discussing his reduced value that's similar to Jung's.

That doesn't mean Texas couldn't trade either of these two if they wanted. However, they would be getting back a much lower return than they likely should, which probably will result in both remaining with the Ranges in 2026.