Rangers New Acquisition is Key to Reaching Playoffs, MLB Insider Says

The Texas Rangers have one player that a Major League Baseball insider believes is the key to returning to the playoffs.

A hat and glove of a Texas Rangers player. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have made specific, targeted moves to try and get their team back to the playoffs for the first time since winning the World Series in 2023.

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One of those moves required Texas to trade one of the players that made that championship happen. In November, the Rangers traded second baseman Marcus Semien to the New York Mets for outfielder Brandon Nimmo. The idea, according to Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young, was to help bring more on base percentage to their lineup.

If Nimmo is as productive with the Rangers as he was with the Mets, it should turn out to be a good move. But it isn't the move that one MLB insider says will make the difference between Texas making the playoffs and not in 2026.

The Rangers’ Key Playoff Acquisition

Washington Nationals starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

ESPN's Jeff Passan published his complete 2026 season preview on Friday, which included a breakdown of every team. For the Rangers, he wrote that the franchise's most critical player this season is new left-handed starting pitcher MacKeznie Gore. While gore isn't the ace for the staff, he wrote that his addition will be a difference maker for Texas, alongside Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi.

“It's as simple as this: If deGrom and Eovaldi are healthy and Gore can match their performance, the Rangers are a playoff team,” Passan wrote. “If not, they'll need a lot of help from an offense that has gone dormant two years running since Texas won the World Series.”

In January, the Rangers traded five Top 30 prospects to acquire the left-hander from the Washington Nationals, where he showed undeniable promise but didn’t have the overall record to match a player that made the National League All-Star team in 2025.

Gore was an All-Star even though he went 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA in 30 starts. He struck out 185 hitters, and had he not gone on the injured list on Sept. 11 with a right ankle injury, he might have crossed 200 strikeouts. He was among the Top 25 in baseball in strikeouts.

In 2024 he went 10-12 with a 3.90 ERA with 181 strikeouts and 65 walks in 166.1 innings. He’s struck out at least 10 hitters per nine innings twice in his career. It makes him a good fit alongside deGrom and Eovaldi, who also strike out hitters at a high rate.

With Jack Leiter, the top four spots in the starting rotation are set. Gore’s addition gives the Rangers another strikeout thrower that has a solid track record for performance — but not winning. That’s the trick. If moving to a better team improves his win-loss record and, by extension, his performance, then Texas may be playoff bound after all.

The biggest trade the Rangers made this offseason, the five prospects given up in the deal, makes it a necessity.