Diamondbacks Slugger Seen as Potential Fit for Rangers in Free Agency

Should the Texas Rangers pursue a talented first baseman in free agency next offseason?

May 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first base Josh Naylor (22) hits an RBI sacrifice fly against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning at Dodger Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

As the Texas Rangers continue to sputter to begin the season, the offense has deservingly taken much of the blame for their struggles.

The Rangers feel like a team that should have a much better record than they currently do based on the amount of talent they have.

So far, they have had one of the best starting rotations in baseball led by Nathan Eovaldi and a resurgent Jacob deGrom. Furthermore, even though their bullpen figured to be a weak spot for the team heading into the year, they have outperformed their low expectations.

The real problem for the team has come in the batting order. This is simply just an offense that has had a hard time staying healthy and a hard time being effective.

Despite a lot of talent, the unit isn’t getting the job done, and this is a major reason why they are under the .500 mark.

Some of the new additions to the lineup from this past offseason have struggled quite a bit, contributing to the lineup underachieving.

One position in particular has been at first base, which could result in the team looking to make a change this winter.

Should Texas Pursue a New First Baseman?

Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about the Rangers being a good potential fit for Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor this coming winter.

“The Mariners, Rangers, and Diamondbacks should be among the teams in the mix for his services in the offseason," he wrote.

Due to the struggles of Jake Burger this year, anything is on the table for Texas at this point at first base. Things got so poor for the slugger that the Rangers elected to send him to the minors for a reset.

With Burger having three years left of arbitration, he is going to be rather affordable If he doesn’t turn things around. This will allow Texas to either move on from him or bring in someone new.

In the case of Naylor, he has been an excellent slugger over the past few seasons. This year, he has slashed .289/.354/.432 with five home runs and 29 RBI. While his batting average and on-base percentage are way up from last campaign, his slugging numbers are a bit down.

With the Cleveland Guardians in 2024, he was able to total 31 home runs and 108 RBI. Even though it is a bit of a difference in production, he has been very good for Arizona.

Any potential interest will likely depend on how the rest of the year goes for Burger, but a player like Naylor could be a strong option to help the production at first base.