Rangers Have Free Agent Options to Round Out Starting Rotation for 2026

The Rangers have some free agent options to add to their starting rotation before spring training.

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We are just over a month away from spring training beginning, and with the offseason in the home stretch, there are still needs that some teams have to do to be a finished product. That includes the Texas Rangers, who have some needs, especially in the starting rotation.

The Rangers are set at the top of their starting rotation on paper with Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Jack Leiter. After that, there are questions about the depth and who will solidify the backend of the rotation.

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Adding one more pitcher through free agency or a trade would go a long way in going into spring training with one fewer question surrounding the staff. There are a couple of free agent options remaining that would fill the void Texas has, and David Schoenfield of ESPN listed the Rangers as a potential fit for three of them.

Rangers Listed as Free Agent Fit for Trio of Free Agent Pitchers

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Now, before we go too deep into this, Schoenfield didn't say all three, but one of the three would be a fit for Texas. The three pitchers he listed were Chris Bassit, Lucas Giolito, and Nick Martinez as inning-eater pitchers that would fit the Rangers' rotation.

"The Rangers, however, should be in the mix for another starter. After their top three of Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, and Jack Leiter, the next options on the depth chart are (5.74 ERA in 14 starts) and Jacob Latz, a 29-year-old who pitched well last season, primarily out of the bullpen. It thins out in a hurry after that group,'' Schoenfield wrote.

All three of the free agents, Bassit, Giolito, and Martinez, are certainly innings-eaters. You could also make the case that they could slide into the third spot in the rotation behind Eovaldi, but regardless, it would give first-year manager Skip Schumaker depth for his rotation.

The best fit when all is said and done might be Giolito. He had a big bounce-back season with the Boston Red Sox, but declined his player option in November to become a free agent. He went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts and 145 innings for the Red Sox in 2025. His 2.1 WAR was his best since 2023 with the Chicago White Sox, but it also proved that he has healed from his surgery in 2024.

Going into spring training, there are questions surrounding the Texas starters, but adding one of the three mentioned above by Schoenfield would be a good addition for Schumaker going into 2026.

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