Rangers Prioritize Young Arms and Offensive Changes for 2026 Rebound

The Texas Rangers seems to be betting on their youth to lead their 2026 rebound after a disappointing 2025 season

Nov 3, 2023; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of the Texas Rangers fans and flags during the World Series championship parade at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers are hoping youth and change can fix what went wrong.

Kennedi Landry, who covers the team for MLB.com, broke down their plan on MLB Tonight this week. The offense that powered a World Series championship in 2023 collapsed to 22nd in runs scored by 2025.​

Something had to change. According to Landry, the Rangers went with "addition by subtraction" this offseason. President of baseball operations Chris Young has said all offseason the offensive changes have been designed to improve the team's on-base percentage and offensive versatility.

To that end, Texas non-tendered two struggling stars from their 2023 World Series team, catcher Jonah Heim and outfielder Adolis Garcia. Then they traded Gold Glove second baseman Marcus Semien to the Mets for Brandon Nimmo and cash.

"Obviously a lot went wrong for the offence in 2025. It's far from the offense that was one of the best in baseball in 2023 when they won the World Series," Landry said.​

"Things are going to look very different for the Rangers next season."@kennlandry shares how Texas looks to improve their offense next season and how they're prioritizing the development of Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter.#MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/bl6W3Djp2S

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 17, 2026

Young said recently that there will be an open competition at second base, but the hope is that super-utility star Josh Smith takes the job among a pool of candidates that includes Ezequiel Duran and Cody Freeman. Smith is an above-average fielder who also won the utility Silver Slugger in 2024. He's played every position except pitcher and catcher, but his natural positions are up the middle.

The real hope? Wyatt Langford takes another jump. The 2023 first-round pick is coming off a season in which he put up 22 home runs and 22 steals while becoming an AL Gold Glove finalist in left field. His offensive numbers were only behind Corey Seager. Landry believes Langford is due for a huge MVP-level jump if he stays healthy.

"He's a guy who can, has the ability to go 25-25, even 30-30, if he can stay healthy across a full season," she said.​

Can Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter Deliver?

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker | Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images

Here's where it gets interesting. Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter will fill out the rotation behind Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. The Rangers are evaluating their remaining rotation candidates as spring training approaches, and these two young arms are critical to the plan.​

Leiter, the Rangers' first-round pick in 2022, showed real progress in his first full Major League season. He posted a 3.86 ERA across 29 starts after struggling to an 8.83 ERA in a handful of appearances in 2024. He struck out 148 batters and showed much better command throughout the season.

Rocker was a much different story. He struggled to a 5.74 ERA in just 14 starts. His command was an issue and it led to an option back to Triple-A by August after the Rangers fortified the rotation with Merrill Kelly. He has elite stuff, but consistency was his biggest issue. The Rangers hope Rocker's emergence gives them a positive outlook for the future.

The Rangers are betting on youth because the veteran approach stopped working. Pitchers and catchers report February 10.