Three Rangers Non-Roster Position Players with Chance to Play Opening Day

The Texas Rangers have a limited number of position players on non-roster invites and three of them could have a chance to make the opening day roster.

A Texas Rangers cap and baseball mitt. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have 10 position players coming into spring training on non-roster invitations.

Some are prospects, including Sebastian Walcott, Trevor Hauver, Aaron Zavala and Cameron Cauley. All have some shot to make the Major League roster at some point in 2026. But it would take a great spring training — and likely some injuries — to put them in position to make the Major League roster on opening day in Philadelphia.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Others on non-roster invitations are veterans who are looking for Major League jobs. Like the prospects, they’ll need help to make the opening day roster. Here are three than have a chance if things break right.

Andrew Velazquez

Atlanta Braves second baseman Andrew Velazquez. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Velazquez has 275 games of Major League experience with five different teams, most recently the Los Angeles Angels in 2022-23. He’s been in the minor leagues the last two seasons, 2024 with Atlanta and 2025 with the New York Yankees. He has a lifetime slash of .189/.244/.293 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI.

His value is his ability to play multiple positions, with the majority of that at shortstop. Given the injury issues Corey Seager has dealt with the past two seasons, having an able backup on standby would be the right move. In addition to injury, he’ll need holdovers like Ezequiel Duran and Cody Freeman to underperform.

Jose Herrera

Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Jose Herrera. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Rangers signed the former Arizona Diamondbacks catcher to a minor league deal but they are already well-stocked at the position with Kyle Higashioka, Danny Jansen and Willie MacIver. A lot must go right for the four-year vet to get a spot on the opening day roster. He’ll need an injury and at least one underperforming player.

Herrera has a lifetime slash of .200/.280/.259 with three home runs and 42 RBI in 190 games. His career metrics reveal a solid defensive catcher who, when paired with a vet, can give Texas a solid second option for 40 or 50 games in a season. In any other scenario, he ends up on stand-by at Triple-A.

Tyler Wade

San Diego Padres outfielder Tyler Wade. | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Wade has 507 games of MLB experience with four different teams, most recently with the San Diego Padres in 2024-25. He’s listed as a second baseman, so he should be look at as a dark horse candidate at second base if Josh Smith, Duran or Freeman don’t take hold of the job. He’s also played at least 30 games at every position in the field except pitcher and catcher.

Historically, he’s a light hitter, with a career slash of .216/.294/.284 with seven home runs and 60 RBI. He is capable of good numbers, as he slashed .268/.354/.323 with the New York Yankees in 2021. Much must go wrong for Wade to be a factor, and he’ll have to play well in spring training to get the Rangers interested in keeping him.