The Texas Rangers Are at a Crossroads

The Texas Rangers have had quite a decade. A bunch of losses, one playoff appearance, and one World Series win. Since winning the World Series in 2023, the Rangers have yet to pass 81 wins. Three straight seasons of flirting with .500 is simply not good enough when you consider where this roster is.

Last offseason, the Rangers made an aggressive move by acquiring MacKenzie Gore to bolster their rotation, but it didn’t make much of a difference. They’ve cut payroll at times and added at others, yet somehow still come up with a similar result, all leading to disappointment since their World Series win.

In some ways, the Rangers are at a crossroads. Do they continue on their current path, or do they need to shift toward more of a rebuild? We all like to talk about teams that aren’t committed to one direction by placing them in a retool category, but I don’t think that works for the Rangers. Not with the players they have and the money on the books.

A decision needs to be made one way or another. Be aggressive regardless of the direction.

The Case for Adding

Although the Rangers have a rather pedestrian record over the past three seasons, I would still consider this a good team. The lineup doesn’t have many obvious holes and comes with enough star power that you can convince me one or two additions could correct their course.

I still view Corey Seager as one of the best hitters in baseball, and Wyatt Langford has a ceiling that I don’t think he’s close to reaching. The issue is getting them both on the field and healthy at the same time. Injuries have been a story with Texas for a number of years and throughout Seager’s career. Even with that caveat, I’m still willing to consider these two bats a great duo atop the order.

Acquiring Brandon Nimmo was somewhat of a money move, but also a floor-raiser for the lineup. Even if he’s not the player he was at his peak in New York, you’re still going to get professional at-bats and above-average offense day in and day out.

Add in the resurgences of Josh Jung and Ezequiel Duran, and you’re starting to form a formidable team. Yes, they still need to add, but the list isn’t as long as some might think. The DH spot is open, allowing the Rangers the flexibility to add essentially any bat to this lineup without having to worry about defense. Find a left-handed platoon first baseman to pair with Jake Burger, which shouldn’t be too hard, and you have a passable, if not good, first-base situation.

A key factor will be Evan Carter. Once a top prospect and rookie hero, Carter has dealt with injuries that have led to poor performance in each of the past three seasons. I might be foolish for thinking so, but there’s too much talent for me to give up on Carter. Maybe he bounces back after another year removed from injury, or the Rangers could trade him in a change-of-scenery move to get help elsewhere on the roster.

I don’t think the lineup is that far away from being playoff-caliber. The rotation, headlined by deGrom, Eovaldi, and Gore, has a solid top three that could use one more impact arm. I like what we saw from Kumar Rocker, but I’d rather see him be a surprise breakout in 2027 than rely on it.

Like most teams, Texas could use some help in the bullpen as well. Jacob Latz is a great story, but are the Rangers really going to make him the closer going forward? Maybe so, but I would want a solid backup plan. I think it’s a couple of bullpen arms and one starter, and the pitching staff is in pretty good shape.

All of this is to say, I don’t think the Rangers are that far off. What they need is achievable, but they might have to get creative. We all know the luxury tax has been an issue, and cutting payroll was part of the equation. Having big contracts like deGrom, Eovaldi, Seager, and Nimmo made adding more difficult.

The good news? Jacob deGrom (2028 club option) and Nathan Eovaldi can come off the books after this season. The bad news? You now have to replace two of your rotation’s best arms. Even if the Rangers are close enough to consider buying and going for it, is that in their best interest?

The Case for Selling

You might be sitting here thinking everything I just said was ignorant. Maybe you don’t agree with how I view the players on the roster, and that’s perfectly fine. This next section is for you.

After having a relatively high payroll for so many years in a row, you have to wonder if ownership is ready to peel some contracts off this roster. Let’s face the facts — it’s an old group. Eovaldi is 37, deGrom is 39, Seager is 33, Nimmo is 34, Jansen is 32, and Latz is 31.

Of the players who finished in the top 10 in fWAR last season, only Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford, Jacob Latz, Justin Foscue, and Brandon Nimmo are under team control beyond 2028. Josh Jung, Jake Burger, Ezequiel Duran, and Logan O’Hoppe are in their second year of arbitration for 2027, giving them one more year of control.

Over the next two seasons, you could lose deGrom, Eovaldi, Jung, Gore, Jansen, Burger, Duran, and others. Oh yeah, Langford just hit arbitration, so his clock is ticking as well. Keep in mind, nobody’s getting younger during this time.

Well, surely the Rangers can fill those spots with prospects. Sebastian Walcott has been on everyone’s radar for a number of years and is highly regarded as a top-100 prospect. However, all five of their top prospects are 22 or younger, with only one having played above Double-A (Walcott, at 20 years old). We’re not talking about a situation where players are right on the cusp of helping this team.

Depending on which website you choose, the Rangers’ farm system ranks between 20th and 25th. Yikes. Trading away five players to get MacKenzie Gore might prove regrettable. So, with an aging roster that’s coming close to the end of its contracts or team control and a weak farm system, the Rangers might have the perfect equation for selling.

Another wrinkle is whether teams are going to be willing to take on an entire contract. I don’t imagine the Rangers want to eat money to trade Jacob deGrom or Corey Seager. Eovaldi is easier to stomach at only $25 million. Surely, you wouldn’t move Gore after just acquiring him last year, right?

This is where I think the Rangers might be stuck. The optics are bad, and that’s one thing, but you might have to sell at a discount for some of these players. Does trading Jung and Duran coming off career years make sense? Maybe so, but not if you’re keeping the other players we’ve discussed throughout this piece.

You can convince me that selling is the right move, but I don’t think it’s the most likely.

Final Thoughts

The Rangers are stuck in a good old-fashioned predicament. A pickle. A position not all that different from the Phillies, only with less success to show for it over the past three seasons. The Astros are in the midst of a lot of change and could be trending downward, while the Mariners have a good opportunity to rebound. The Athletics and Angels aren’t close enough for discussion.

Could the circumstances in the AL West force the Rangers to go against their better judgment and find a way to push forward and try to win in 2027? I think so. There’s enough room to be convinced that the Rangers, with a couple of additions, could become the favorite in the division. At the very least, they could be second to the Mariners.

For better or worse, I think the Rangers are going to be buyers this offseason.