What a Successful Texas Rangers Offseason Actually Looks Like

The Texas Rangers have plenty of things to check off the to-do list. Here is what a successful offseason will look like by spring training.

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young has plenty of decisions to make this offseason.

He’s unhappy after missing the postseason three years in a row. That’s justified after winning the 2023 World Series. He’s retracing his steps after a 2026 that yielded only 80 wins and missing a division title by one game.

He and his staff have plenty to pick apart. To have a successful offseason, they’ll need to do these three things.

Shed One-High Dollar Contract

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Rangers need some more financial flexibility. They also need to get younger. One sure way to do that is to drop one of four highest-paid players — pitcher Jacob deGrom, pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, shortstop Corey Seager and right fielder Brandon Nimmo.

The quartet, all over 30 years old, will make more than $113 million in 2027. deGrom and Eovaldi are in the final year of their deals. Seager and Nimmo have longer deals. All four have no-trade clauses. Texas would have to convince one of them to agree to a trade to get their salary off the books.

The most likely candidate is Seager, who just acquired 10/5 rights and is due $31.5 million each of the next five years. It’s a deal Texas wouldn’t mind getting off the books. He is also the one player of the four that could bring the most talent in return for a trade.

Add Starting Caliber Talent at Two Positions

Texas Rangers center fielder Evan Carter. Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Evan Carter, the starter in center field, batted under .200 and still has trouble with left-handed pitching. The troubles were so acute that by season’s end Texas resorted to using Ezequiel Duran in center field against lefties.

Carter has nearly 800 MLB at-bats and he’s entering a critical improvement year in 2027. If he doesn’t improve and the Rangers don’t have coverage there, they’re in trouble. Acquiring a center fielder that can start and push Carter is necessary.

With first baseman Jake Burger, there are different reasons. He led the Rangers with 28 home runs and 90 RBI. He but only batted .228, which was down from last season, struck out a career-high 167 times and had a .302 on-base percentage. It’s not the profile the Rangers are chasing at the plate.

Again, the priority would be finding a first baseman who doesn’t cost too much but can push Burger and be capable of starting if he wins the job. If he does, then Burger could slide into a DH spot.

Add Starting Pitching to Push the Youngsters

Texas Rangers pitcher Kumar Rocker. Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jack Leiter missed half of the season after ankle surgery, a surgery that corrected an extraneous bone that was throwing off his mechanics. Kumar Rocker took a step back after missing half of the 2025 season when he was optioned back to Triple-A. Texas hoped both would take a step forward. Combined they won nine games.

Young set a priority on getting four of his young players to move forward in 2027 with Leiter and Rocker among them. But Texas really can’t afford to trust that both will take that step after regressing in 2026. So, they’ll have to make some moves in free agency.

They don’t need to be huge moves. They can be as simple as re-signing Cal Quantrill and Jordan Montgomery, both veteran starters that could work the back end of the rotation. They’re good though to push both young pitchers to either be better or go back to Triple-A to figure things out. But rolling with Leiter and Rocker again with no backup in 2027 is just too risky.