Texas Rangers Offseason Moves That Already Look Smart, and Dumb

The Texas Rangers made plenty of moves this offseason. Some have already worked out while some don’t look that great.

The Texas Rangers logo | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers made some significant moves in the offseason to improve their roster and try to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2023.

Those moves included trading their second baseman, Marcus Semien, to the New York Mets for outfielder Brandon Nimmo. Then, in January, the Rangers sent five Top 30 prospects to the Washington Nationals to acquire left-handed starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore.

But Texas made plenty of other moves, too. Some of those moves have already panned out. Others, well, the Rangers will just have to wait and see. Going into opening day these are the moves that look smart and the ones that come unfortunately, look dumb.

Smart

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Signing Jordan Montgomery

The Rangers have placed this bet before, and it didn't work. But Montgomery could be a different outcome. He's on the back end of his Tommy John surgery recovery and Texas feels confident that he could be ready for the majors by midseason.

More importantly, he is returning to an organization where he had his finest hour as a starting pitcher, helping the Rangers win the 2023 World Series. That year he went 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA with 166 strikeouts and 48 walks. With the Rangers he went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA. He was incredible in the postseason, as he shined in the postseason, as he went 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA.

It’s a “vibes” signing that could pay off in the back half of the season when fresh arms are hard to find. Texas also signed him for practically nothing and he's highly motivated to bounce back and show 2023 wasn't a fluke.

Signing Andrew McCutchen

It was fair to wonder whether the former National League MVP had any juice left in his bat when he signed with the Rangers in mid-March. Even he admitted he wasn't sure what he had left, since he hadn't taken much live batting practice in the offseason. But he's been as much of a revelation as a 39-year-old All-Star can be in spring training.

In seven games he slashed .444/.583/.778 with a home run and seven RBI. He broke camp with an opening day job all but assured and made the Rangers brass look really smart by bringing him in on a minor league deal.

Dumb

Atlanta Braves pitcher Alexis Diaz. | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Signing Alexis Díaz

The Rangers may have erred in signing him into a $2 million Major League deal. They may have been better off signing him to a minor league deal and letting him pitch his way on to the team. The experiment ended in mid-March with Díaz putting up awful numbers in his handful of spring training appearances as Texas designated him for assignment to make room for left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks.

Díaz gave three hits and eight earned runs in 1.2 innings of work, as he went 0-2 with a 43.20 ERA in three games. The fact that he cleared waivers and ended up back with the Rangers in their minor league system says plenty about where he's at as he tries to reclaim his status as a former All-Star closer.

Not Signing a Legit Closer

The Texas Rangers are going with Robert Garcia and Chris Martin as their closers to start the 2026 season. Combined the duo have 25 career saves. For a franchise that had one of the worst save conversion percentages in baseball last year, the lack of pursuit of a legitimate closer is a bad outcome. Some of that is Díaz not panning out. But there were quality options on the market, most notably Kenley Jansen, Ryan Helsley and Pete Fairbanks.

It's possible the tandem of Garcia and Martin will pan out. It's possible one of them will do what Kirby Yates did in 2024 and become an All-Star. But if neither pan out, then Texas is in a pickle that it will have to resolve with a trade and likely overpay to get a closer.