Three Right-Handed Hitting Free Agents Rangers Should Consider this Offseason

The Texas Rangers have made it clear they’d like to sign one more right-handed bat in free agency. Here are three names to keep in mind.

A Texas Rangers cap and baseball mitt sit on the dugout steps during a game against the Athletics at Globe Life Field. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Among the remaining things Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young wants to do this offseason is sign a free-agent right-handed bat.

Young desires that for a couple of reasons. The addition of Brandon Nimmo, along with the potential of Josh Smith taking over at second base for Marcus Semien, has made the projected lineup more left-handed. Second, the Rangers are emphasizing on-base percentage this offseason.

And, as Young has repeatedly noted, the Rangers are operating at a lower budget this season. Let’s assume, for the sake of this exercise, the desire is for the Rangers to stay under $200 million in payroll and have approximately $5 million or less to spend on a final hitter (sorry, no high-end free agents here). Here are three reasonable options.

Jose Iglesias

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The 35-year-old former All-Star is coming off a 112-game season with the San Diego Padres in which he slashed .229/.298/.294 with three home runs and 36 RBI. The season before, he slashed .337/.381/.448 in 85 games with the New York Mets. He has a lifetime on-base percentage of .321 and has shown the ability to get a .400 OBP in small samples of playing time. For instance, in 23 games with Boston in 2021 he had a .406 OBP.

He’s a slick-fielding utilityman at this point his career, who can play second base, shortstop and third base. He can play a game or two a week and remain effective. The longer he remains on the market the cheaper he gets.

Luis Urías

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He’s younger than Iglesias at 28 years old, but he has the same position flex, as he can play second, short and third. He’s played for five different franchises since he debuted in 2018 but has only played more than 100 games in a season twice. He’s used to inconsistent playing time and that could be an asset in this role.

His OBP (.329) is nearly 100 points better than his batting average (.231) and he has shown pop in large samples, with 23 home runs in 150 games with Milwaukee in 2021, and a follow-up season in 2022 with 16 home runs. He limits strikeouts, as he has two career strikeouts (433) for every one walk (212). That boosts his OBP. Aside from a 12-game rookie year, he’s never finished a season with an OBP below .300.

Miguel Andujar

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The 30-year-old can play third base and left field consistently. He can also play right field in a pinch. He’s played for four different teams and has a lifetime slash of .282/.315/.441. His plate discipline has clearly gotten better as his career has evolved. Before 2023 he never finished a season with an OBP of .300 or better. Since then, he’s been well over .300, with a .400 OBP in 34 games with Cincinnati last season.

He has provided some slug in his career, most notably a 27-home runs season with the New York Yankees in 2018. He doesn’t walk much, but he limits strikeouts, with just 276 in 1,682 at-bats. That sort of ratio is key in the Rangers’ new world of offense.