Rangers Can be Patient on Starting Pitching as Relievers Dominate Free Agency

The Texas Rangers would like to sign at least one veteran starter and the market, so far, the market is in their favor.

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If opening day were in early December, the Texas Rangers would start its rotation with Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter. After that there is some ambiguity.

There are candidates, for sure. Kumar Rocker and Jacob Latz are potential contenders. So is Cody Bradford, who missed last season after elbow surgery. Jon Gray remains a free agent, as does Merrill Kelly and Tyler Mahle, the latter two of which are among the Top 50 free agents on the market, per MLB Trade Rumors.

Texas hasn’t made a move on starting pitching yet. It’s a need, as described by president of baseball operations Chris Young. The Rangers have focused on bolstering catcher and the bullpen so far. Much of baseball has concentration on relievers and that’s part of the reason the Rangers can afford to be patient on the starting pitching market.

Free Agency’s Focus on Relief

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The Rangers have agreed to terms two relievers, Alexis Diaz and Tyler Alexander, per multiple outlets. Texas hasn’t announced the deals. The Rangers are likely hoping Diaz can reclaim his closer status from 2022-24 and that Alexander gives them a long relief option to go with Cole Winn.

While a few high-priced free agents have been signed, the only major starting pitching signing was Dylan Cease, who signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with Toronto. He set the market, but so far there has been no trickle-down to starters like Framber Valdez.

But the reliever market has been hopping. The Rangers have already lost two of last year’s relievers to the Chicago Cubs — Phil Maton and Hoby Milner. Of MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents, xxx relievers have agreed to contracts — Edwin Diaz (Los Angeles Dodgers), Devin Williams (New York Mets), Robert Suarez (Atlanta Braves), Raisel Iglesias (Atlanta Braves), Ryan Helsley (Baltimore Orioles), Kyle Finnegan (Detroit Tigers), Tyler Rogers (Toronto), Gregory Soto (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Emilio Pagan (Cincinnati Reds). The Top 50 doesn’t include Kenley Jansen, who just agreed to terms with the Tigers.

The market is clearly focused on relievers. The only other Top 50 starter to agree to a deal is Cody Ponce, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal with Toronto. He pitched the KBO last year. Experienced starters like Kelly, Mahle, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are all sitting there waiting for an offer.

That doesn’t mean the Rangers need to go make any of them an offer now. The market’s focus on relievers is to their advantage. So is the fact that most of the Top 50 starting pitchers are still on the market. The longer Texas waits, the less likely they are to bust their budget for 2026 on a starting pitcher. It’s also opens the possibility that an unlikely candidate falls to them for a short-term deal that fills the need.

The starting pitching market will come to the Rangers eventually. All they have to do is wait. The bustling relief market has certainly helped.