Rangers Named Dark-Horse Candidate for Intriguing Free Agent Starting Pitcher

Texas was listed as a dark-horse candidate for one right-handed free agent pitcher.

Texas Rangers hat | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers pitchers and catchers will hold their first official workout next Tuesday in Arizona to kick off spring training. As far as the starting rotation looks, president of baseball operations Chris Young likely has it set for the first workout.

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After a rather quiet offseason in terms of moves surrounding the rotation, Young and the Rangers came out of nowhere and acquired left-hander MacKenzie Gore from the Washington Nationals. It was a huge haul going the other way, but it gives first-year manager Skip Schumaker a huge addition at the top of the rotation with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi.

Again, with Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker right now penciled in at the backend of the rotation, the case could be made that Texas is set to begin the 2026 season, barring an injury. If Young is looking to add an arm, there are still free agent options available and the Rangers were listed as a dark-horse to sign Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rangers Listed As Dark-Horse To Sign Zac Gallen

Zac Gallen (23) | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Again, the Rangers appear to be set with their starting rotation to begin the season, but Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report makes a compelling case as to why Texas is a dark-horse candidate to sign Gallen.

"The MacKenzie Gore trade added a major piece to the Rangers rotation puzzle alongside Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter, but the final spot in their rotation is still up for grabs between Kumar Rocker, Jacob Latz and non-roster invitees Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber, keeping the door open for another addition,'' Reuter wrote.

Aside from Leiter and Rocker, Schumaker will have Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber in camp as veterans who will push some of the younger arms for a spot in the rotation. Gallen is an interesting name considering he is coming off a 2025 season that he might rather forget.

In 33 starts for Arizona, he went 13-15 with a career-high 4.83 ERA and a career-low 1.1 WAR. He pitched 192 innings and struck out 175. Those numbers could be a reason why the 30-year-old is still unsigned at this point in the offseason.

He isn't the only free agent pitcher still available, with Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez and Lucas Giolito of the Boston Red Sox also available.

As far as Texas and Gallen go, it seems like it would be a long shot and a fallback option for Young and Schumaker. Anything is possible at this point in the offseason with spring training around the corner, but a veteran pitcher looking for a bounce-back season is something that the Rangers could take a chance on.

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