Texas Rangers Named 'Obvious' Fit for Top Free Agent Former All-Star Closer

The Texas Rangers find themselves in quite the interesting situation as they prepare to try to get back on track this season.

After winning the first World Series title in franchise history in 2023, the Rangers wound up missing the playoffs and didn't finish particularly close, being eliminated from contention with eight games left in the season.

A big part of the reason why things went off the rails was obviously injuries to starting pitching, but the performance of the bullpen was just as big if not a bigger concern. In terms of ERA, Texas' bullpen ranked 26th in the league. Unlike 2023, the offense was not able to cover up issues on the pitching staff after it saw a natural regression, and so was the Rangers fate in 2024.

The team entered the offseason with a clear plan to build up the bullpen, making a big splash on Chris Martin along with also acquiring guys like Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong. The urgency to fix the bullpen for Texas has been admirable, but they still lack a true closer at this point.

As a result, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named the Rangers as an obvious fit for the top closer remaining in Philadelphia Phillies fire ball thrower Carlos Estévez.

"Of the teams who A) look like contenders and B) could justify spending around $14M annually for a closer, the blatantly obvious candidate is the Texas Rangers," Miller wrote. "They've signed a bunch of budget bullpen arms, but they don't have anything close to a sure thing at closer. It may well be their Achilles' heel if they don't address it before the season begins."

Estévez is coming off the best season of his career both for the Phillies and Los Angeles Angels, who traded him across the country to Philadelphia at the trade deadline.

Across both teams, Estévez made 54 appearances and posted a 2.45 ERA and a 0.909 WHIP, both career lows, while also recording 26 saves.

His 2023 season for the Angels was not quite as impressive from an ERA standpoint (3.90), but he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career while recording 31 saves and striking out batters at a high rate with 11.3 K's per nine innings.

Though Estévez certainly will not come cheap and likely require multiple years of commitment with an AAV at or even exceeding $10 million, the value and peace of mind in locking up a true closer who has demonstrated the ability to shut games down cannot be understated.

Estévez could be the final piece in putting the Texas bullpen over the top, so look to see the Rangers stay involved and potentially win the sweepstakes for his services.