Rangers Looking For Starting Pitcher, Right-Handed Bat

The Rangers just bolstered their roster with a few free agents, signing catcher Danny Jansen and left-hander Tyler Alexander. They reportedly also have an agreement in place with right-hander Alexis Díaz, although that deal isn’t official yet. President of baseball operations Chris Young and general manager Ross Fenstermaker spoke to the media today about the Jansen and Alexander signings and what’s still to come in the offseason. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports relays that the club is looking for a starting pitcher, a right-handed bat and further bullpen upgrades.

Those are all sensible targets. The lineup struggled in 2025 and they have already subtracted two notable righty bats. They traded Marcus Semien to the Mets for Brandon Nimmo and non-tendered outfielder Adolis García, who has now signed with the Phillies. Nimmo effectively replaces García in the Texas outfield but Nimmo swings from the left side. The most likely replacement for Semien at second is Josh Smith, another lefty.

In addition to Nmmo and Smith, the Rangers have lefties Corey Seager, Joc Pederson and Evan Carter in the lineup. Nimmo and Seager are everyday guys. Smith has fairly modest platoon splits thus far in his career. Pederson and Carter, however, both struggle against southpaws. Manager Skip Schumaker has suggested Carter could get a bit of a longer look against lefties but could also be shielded from some of the tougher ones.

A righty bat who could play some outfield could help the club on the grass and also in the designated hitter spot. Ezequiel Durán and Michael Helman are on the 40-man roster, swing right-handed and can play the outfield. Sam Haggerty is a switch-hitter. However, all three generally profile as light-hitting utility types.

The free agent market features Harrison Bader, Austin Hays, Miguel Andujar, Rob Refsnyder, Tommy Pham, Austin Slater, Randal Grichuk and other righty-swinging outfielders. No one in that group should command a massive deal but various reports have indicated the Rangers are reportedly dealing with a tight budget and have other things on the to-do list. Luis Robert Jr. seems to be available in trades but the White Sox are setting a high asking price. Nick Castellanos is out there but he hasn’t been an impact bat for a few years. The Astros are looking to flip Jake Meyers but he’s more of a glove-first outfielder. There’s also the intra-divisional aspect and the fact that Houston wants an immediate rotation upgrade that Texas can’t really provide.

Speaking of the rotation, the Rangers currently have a top-heavy group. Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom are a strong one-two punch at the front but it drops off after that. Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin, Merrill Kelly and Jon Gray all became free agents at season’s end. Jack Leiter is coming off a decent season, with a 3.86 earned run average over 151 2/3 innings. Kumar Rocker’s season wasn’t as smooth, as he had a 5.74 ERA over 14 starts. Jacob Latz had a decent year as a swingman but is still lacking in major league starting experience. There are some other starters on the 40-man but all are younger and even less experienced than Leiter and Rocker.

It would be prudent for the club to add a mid-rotation guy, one who would ideally slot in behind the Eovaldi and deGrom duo. Again, the financial constraints may play a role. Apart from the Dylan Cease signing, most of the top free agents are still out there, but the Rangers probably aren’t looking at that market. Perhaps someone like Chris Bassitt, Lucas Giolito or Zack Littell could be viable, depending on how much powder is dry and how the club attacks other spots. Guys like Kris Bubic, Edward Cabrera, MacKenzie Gore, Kodai Senga, Mitch Keller and others could be on the trade block, with varying degrees of trade value.

The budgetary concerns were a factor in the club’s bullpen-building strategy a year ago. They gave one-year deals to Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong. The group ended up performing pretty well but almost the entire relief corps hit free agency after the 2025 season. As mentioned, they have added Alexander and Díaz but will presumably keep looking for more bullpen bargains. Wilson says the club isn’t expected to target the top of the relief market.

RosterResource currently projects the Rangers for a payroll of $175MM next year. That’s almost $50MM south of last year’s $224MM figure but all indications are that the club will spend less on the 2026 club, though it’s unclear exactly where they plan to end up.

Photo courtesy of Tim Heitman, Imagn Images