Rangers Boss Sees Immense Potential in Rotation After MacKenzie Gore Trade

The Texas Rangers believe they have the right mix of pitchers in their starting rotation for the 2026 season.

Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom looks on during a game at Citi Field. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Adding MacKenzie Gore to the rotation was likely the final major move for the Texas Rangers this offseason.

With Gore in the rotation, Texas now has four experienced starting pitchers to put at the top of the rotation. Texas still needs to determine who its fifth starter will be, but when president of baseball operations Chris Young talked about the move last week, he believed he had the necessary ingredients to help meet, if not exceed expectations, for 2026.

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“I would take our guys against anybody,” Young said recently. “I mean, we led baseball in pitching last year. And I think right now, on paper, the rotation, you know, has the potential to be equal or better.”

Why Rangers Rotation Could Be Better in 2026

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

It starts with Jacob deGrom, who pitched his first full season since 2019, made 30 starts and went back to the All-Star Game. While he had issues with allowing home runs in the late stages of the season, he went 12-8 with a 2.97 ERA, struck out 185, walked 37 and had a 0.92 WHIP. He was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year, two years after having Tommy John surgery. The 37-year-old has two years remaining on his deal and he showed he can be effective even with his injury history.

Texas needs a healthy Nathan Eovaldi, too. He went 11-3 with a 1.73 ERA in 22 starts with 129 strikeouts, 21 walks and a 0.85 WHIP. He missed time with injuries and had sports hernia surgery after the season. The right-hander is about to turn 36 years old and, like Eovaldi, has two years remaining on his deal.

When this pair is healthy, there may be no better 1-2 punch in baseball.

“Obviously, there's the challenges of staying healthy and keeping everybody healthy and then performing,” Young said.

Jack Leiter is coming off a solid rookie season in which he went 10-10 with a 3.86 ERA in 29 starts, with 148 strikeouts, 67 walks and a 1.28 WHIP. The second half of his season was better than his first and that could be a springboard to be an emerging ace in the next two seasons.

With Gore, Texas is getting a left-hander who has struck out at least 10 hitters per nine innings twice in his career. He went to the All-Star Game last year even has he finished with a record of 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA. His 185 strikeouts were among the Top 25 in baseball.

The goal for spring training is to find that reliable fifth starter, whether its Kumar Rocker, Jacob Latz or an option that hasn’t been discovered yet. But Young is bullish on what this rotation can do.

“We led baseball in pitching last year,” Young said. “And I think right now, on paper, the rotation, you know, has the potential to be equal or better. You know, it's one thing to say it, it's another thing to go out and do it.”