Rangers Reportedly Not Planning to Spend Big on All-Star Top Free Agent Catcher

Texas Rangers fans should not hold their breath on this one.

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The Texas Rangers headed into the offseason after missing the playoffs for the second straight year since winning their first World Series in franchise history, and fans are ready to get back to competing.

It's no secret the main reason for the lack of success since then has been an offense that fell off a cliff after career years from players in 2023, and one of those players was All-Star catcher Jonah Heim.

Winning a Gold Glove along with the ring in the stellar season, Heim was a critical piece of that team, but two years later, he was non-tendered by Texas coming off a dreadful 2025. Though it remains to be seen if this was the right decision or not, the current group of catchers for the Rangers is thin.

Despite this, they are not expected to go after the top backstop on the market in Philadelphia Phillies legend J.T. Realmuto. According to a report from Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required), Texas does not have the payroll available to spend on him.

Rangers Will Likely Not Pursue Realmuto According to Report

May 23, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Texas Rangers first base Nathaniel Lowe (30) scores past Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

"...according to team sources, Texas lacks the payroll flexibility to sign top free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto, a native of Oklahoma," the report said before naming second tier options like Danny Jansen and Victor Caratini as more realistic as well as a potential trade.

On the roster currently, Texas has veteran Kyle Higashioka and the inexperienced Willie MacIver in place, but adding another potential daily option to platoon with Higashioka would be ideal here. At the age of 34, Realmuto is not likely to command a massive deal, but would still be tough to pry away from Philadelphia.

Assuming the reporting is to be believed, Chris Young and the front office are likely aiming much lower.

Who Else Could Rangers Go After?

Jul 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros catcher Victor Caratini (17) throws a ball to the pitcher during the game against the Texas Rangers at Daikin Park. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The unfortunate part of getting rid of Heim when Texas did is that it's a fairly barren free agent market for the catcher position and really a poor offseason to be in desperate need of one.

Jansen and Caratini are the next two highest rated in terms of WAR, and beyond that it gets fairly ugly. Names like Christian Vázquez, Elias Díaz, Reese McGuire, Austin Barnes and Reese McGuire do not provide much in the way of an upgrade or complement to Higashioka.

If the Rangers want to look to make a second trade of the offseason, this could wind up being the better route to go should they be fixated on taking a pass on Realmuto.

The unfortunate part here is that Realmuto -- a career .774 OPS catcher with Gold Glove ability on defense -- could be one of the exact types of pieces this offense is in desperate need of.

Texas instead is going to look at other options, but what seems like a virtual guarantee barring a shocking trade is catcher being a massive offensive weak spot once again in 2026, and potentially getting even worse if it's not addressed further.