Rangers Trade with Pirates to Acquire Carter Baumler During Rule 5 Draft

The Texas Rangers didn’t select a player in the Rule 5 draft but did execute a trade to bring in a pitcher that could compete for a bullpen spot in 2026.

Kelsey Kremer/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Texas Rangers had six open spots on the 40-man roster and general manager Ross Fenstermaker said the team could be active during the Rule 5 Draft.

The Rangers didn’t select a player during the Major League portion of the draft, but they did make a trade. Texas sent right-handed pitcher Jaiker Garcia and cash considerations to the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed reliever Carter Baumler, who was selected by the Pirates in the first round out of the Baltimore Orioles’ system.

The Rule 5 draft guidelines require the Rangers to immediately place Baumler on the 40-man roster. Since Texas had open spots, it didn’t require them to make a 40-man roster move. Texas’ roster is now 35 players.

It also means that Baumler will be at spring training with the Rangers and competing for a bullpen spot. Per The Dallas Morning News’ Shawn McFarland on X (formerly Twitter), the Rangers believe the righty’s “power and spin” is a fit for their bullpen. He was clocked as high as 98 mph with his fastball last season. But there is injury risk to monitor as well.

About Carter Baumler

Olivia Sun/The Register via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The 23-year-old Baumler is coming off a 2025 season in which he went 2-0 with two saves and a 2.04 ERA over 28 relief appearances in 2025 with Baltimore’s Rookie-level FCL Orioles, High-A Aberdeen, and Double-A Chesapeake. He spent the first month of the 2025 season on the injured list.

He did not allow a home run while recording a 10.4 SO/9 ratio and a 1.084 WHIP, which was the seventh-lowest WHIP figure among Orioles minor leaguers that threw at least 30 innings.

The injury risk comes in the form of an October 2020 Tommy John procedure, which came shortly after the Orioles selected him in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB draft out of Dowling Catholic (Iowa) High School. Texas is familiar with his surgeon. Texas team physician Dr. Keith Meister performed the procedure.

For his minor league career, from 2022-25, Baumler is 7-1 with two saves, a 3.05 ERA (30 ER/88.2 IP), and 104 strikeouts against 40 walks over 49 career games/10 starts. He began his career as a starter, but the Orioles quickly converted him to a relief role.

Texas clearly had something in placed as the Pirates selected No. 5 and the Rangers selected No. 14. The price to get Baumler was Garcia.

The 20-year-old Venezuela native was part of the Rangers’ 2022 international signing class but started his career as a position player. Texas moved him to pitcher in 2023 and he spent 2025 with Texas’ Arizona Complex League team. He went 3-3 with a 4.66 ERA in 18 games, with two saves. For his career he is 5-8 with a 7.22 ERA in 37 games, with 10 starts.