Texas Rangers 2025-2026 Offseason Thread

[saddles]

i agree but where do we put him? he plays 2B and it looks like we have Smith inked in there, he plays 3B but CY has Jung inked in there, he plays OF and we have Nimmo, Carter & Langford inked at all 3, only thing left is DH and CY has Pederson. if Freeman makes the opening day roster, and that's a big IF, he will spend 14 out of every 15 games sitting on the bench

He basically becomes the new Josh Smith eventually, I think. He may have to start the season in the minors, but we know Seager will not go much over 6 weeks before going on the DL.

 

[saddles]

Been a while since I had the time to post, but catching up on this thread, here are a few thoughts…

1) for the life of me I don’t understand why there is any talk at all surrounding Langford and Carter. They are the franchise and the future. Full stop. They are the absolute two least problems on the team. They were both elite prospects, the best the Rangers have had in quite some time, and neither has done anything to show they still don’t have elite potential. I hear talk about Langford having a lower ceiling. No he doesn’t. He’s young and learning still. Not all elite prospects hit .300 with 40 bombs in year one. Mike Trout sure didn’t. Wyatt has been very good. He will soon be elite. Leave him alone and write his name in permanent ink in LF. That’s his position. And if I hear one more pundit suggest Evan Carter is a major health risk who will never hit lefties and we should either trade him or make him a permanent platoon, I think I will lose my mind. He’s elite. You don’t bench elite players. You don’t trade them. Carter is above average in all categories- hitting, fielding, and baserunning. Very intelligent player. Has a knack for making special plays. Great citizen. He’s already shown significant improvement in his approach against lefties this offseason according to many sources. And every player in baseball has splits and struggles a little against either righties or lefties. Carter just needs to be decent against lefties. His glove is too valuable to bench/platoon. He says he feels the healthiest he has felt in a long time. A couple of freak injuries don’t qualify someone as injury-prone. Maybe at least give the guy another couple of seasons before writing him off. Like with Langford, write the name Evan Carter in ink for everyday CF and walk away from the paper.

2) if you are looking at trading a young or young-ish player, Josh Jung sticks out like a sore thumb. Still a solid player, still likely has better seasons ahead, great guy all-around. But every tool he has is easily replaceable. Very average hitter. Slightly above average power. Above average defense. Not great on the base paths. Poor pitch recognition. Actually has shown more proclivity to get injured than other supposed “injury prone” guys. Not saying I want him traded. But he’s a guy who could fetch them someone fairly solid in return, and his trade would open up a permanent spot so that both Smith and Freeman get a lot of playing time. Might take a short-term hit on defense at 3B, but Walcott ready to man the position in 2027 plus whatever asset they get from the Jung trade might be worth it.

3) the pendulum has swung a little too far towards pessimism and negativity regarding the 2026 Rangers season in my opinion. I think all of the scoffing at the notion of the Rangers contending for a World Series and at the ridiculous company man talk from CY about how the Rangers are good enough to win it all now were very warranted. Just way too many holes on the roster and way too many things needed to break just right. But this notion that the Rangers will be trash is a bit too far. They still have a rotation of deGrom-Eovaldi-Gore-Leiter that is insanely good. They still have good young hitters like Langford, Smith, and Carter. Seager, even with health concerns and some decline factored in, is still a star player. We jettisoned some really poor hitters in Heim and Garcia and removed the boat anchor Semien from the top of the lineup. Nimmo was an upgrade. Those subtractions should be a net positive. And Pederson can’t possibly any worse than he was in 2025. It’s almost statistically impossible. So even mild improvement from him will help. The Rangers won’t finish in last place. The Angels are a raging dumpster fire with virtually zero talent. Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe don’t put them past the Rangers. And I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see the Astros finish behind the Rangers. They are a team in steep decline. They lost talented headcase Framber. Altuve is ancient. Yordan came back down to Earth. Their pitching minus Hunter Brown is very suspect. If you ask me, the Mariners are the clear-cut favorites with the Rangers and A’s a few steps behind in the battle for 2nd and 3rd place.

I agree wholeheartedly on Carter and Langford. I do still have hopes of Jung joining those two in that category. I will give him this coming season to do so.

Yeah, the team isn't trash. I think 83 to 85 wins is doable.

 

[DTC]

i agree but where do we put him? he plays 2B and it looks like we have Smith inked in there, he plays 3B but CY has Jung inked in there, he plays OF and we have Nimmo, Carter & Langford inked at all 3, only thing left is DH and CY has Pederson. if Freeman makes the opening day roster, and that's a big IF, he will spend 14 out of every 15 games sitting on the bench

He could essentially be “Josh Smith”
Starts at 2B vs lefties.
Covers Jung at 3B when he’s dealing with an ailment. Covers a corner if Nimmo or Langford have an ailment. Could also be the platoon partner of Pederson vs LHP.

My question is, where does Duran fit ?

 

[Kelleyman]

Been a while since I had the time to post, but catching up on this thread, here are a few thoughts…

1) for the life of me I don’t understand why there is any talk at all surrounding Langford and Carter. They are the franchise and the future. Full stop. They are the absolute two least problems on the team. They were both elite prospects, the best the Rangers have had in quite some time, and neither has done anything to show they still don’t have elite potential. I hear talk about Langford having a lower ceiling. No he doesn’t. He’s young and learning still. Not all elite prospects hit .300 with 40 bombs in year one. Mike Trout sure didn’t. Wyatt has been very good. He will soon be elite. Leave him alone and write his name in permanent ink in LF. That’s his position. And if I hear one more pundit suggest Evan Carter is a major health risk who will never hit lefties and we should either trade him or make him a permanent platoon, I think I will lose my mind. He’s elite. You don’t bench elite players. You don’t trade them. Carter is above average in all categories- hitting, fielding, and baserunning. Very intelligent player. Has a knack for making special plays. Great citizen. He’s already shown significant improvement in his approach against lefties this offseason according to many sources. And every player in baseball has splits and struggles a little against either righties or lefties. Carter just needs to be decent against lefties. His glove is too valuable to bench/platoon. He says he feels the healthiest he has felt in a long time. A couple of freak injuries don’t qualify someone as injury-prone. Maybe at least give the guy another couple of seasons before writing him off. Like with Langford, write the name Evan Carter in ink for everyday CF and walk away from the paper.

2) if you are looking at trading a young or young-ish player, Josh Jung sticks out like a sore thumb. Still a solid player, still likely has better seasons ahead, great guy all-around. But every tool he has is easily replaceable. Very average hitter. Slightly above average power. Above average defense. Not great on the base paths. Poor pitch recognition. Actually has shown more proclivity to get injured than other supposed “injury prone” guys. Not saying I want him traded. But he’s a guy who could fetch them someone fairly solid in return, and his trade would open up a permanent spot so that both Smith and Freeman get a lot of playing time. Might take a short-term hit on defense at 3B, but Walcott ready to man the position in 2027 plus whatever asset they get from the Jung trade might be worth it.

3) the pendulum has swung a little too far towards pessimism and negativity regarding the 2026 Rangers season in my opinion. I think all of the scoffing at the notion of the Rangers contending for a World Series and at the ridiculous company man talk from CY about how the Rangers are good enough to win it all now were very warranted. Just way too many holes on the roster and way too many things needed to break just right. But this notion that the Rangers will be trash is a bit too far. They still have a rotation of deGrom-Eovaldi-Gore-Leiter that is insanely good. They still have good young hitters like Langford, Smith, and Carter. Seager, even with health concerns and some decline factored in, is still a star player. We jettisoned some really poor hitters in Heim and Garcia and removed the boat anchor Semien from the top of the lineup. Nimmo was an upgrade. Those subtractions should be a net positive. And Pederson can’t possibly any worse than he was in 2025. It’s almost statistically impossible. So even mild improvement from him will help. The Rangers won’t finish in last place. The Angels are a raging dumpster fire with virtually zero talent. Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe don’t put them past the Rangers. And I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see the Astros finish behind the Rangers. They are a team in steep decline. They lost talented headcase Framber. Altuve is ancient. Yordan came back down to Earth. Their pitching minus Hunter Brown is very suspect. If you ask me, the Mariners are the clear-cut favorites with the Rangers and A’s a few steps behind in the battle for 2nd and 3rd place.

I think I agree with about all of this
Just wonder how the batting order goes and how Joc responds

 

[Kelleyman]

I agree wholeheartedly on Carter and Langford. I do still have hopes of Jung joining those two in that category. I will give him this coming season to do so.

Yeah, the team isn't trash. I think 83 to 85 wins is doable.

That’s about the reasonable win total with the variables being the pen injuries and if Joc and Jung produce.
Could do worse or better even 90 wins if we hit all cylinders
Think Skip will help instill the energy

 

[scotsman#1948]

He basically becomes the new Josh Smith eventually, I think. He may have to start the season in the minors, but we know Seager will not go much over 6 weeks before going on the DL.

which is why if we could find someone like Boston or another team i would work to trade him even if we had to put $42-48M on the table too

 

[saddles]

Skubal wins his arbitration case.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

From Kennedi Landry:

“Kumar is in a really good spot,” Young said. “I think last offseason, maybe, he got away from some things that he needed to do to have success. This offseason, he's gotten back to those things. Our pitching group has been in very close and constant communication with him. We know that he's motivated and hungry and ready to come in and have a great year. We're excited about where he is and hopeful that it'll lead to great results in 2026.”

“With these young starters, as much as they learn in season, they need to learn about what offseasons need to look like and how to continue their growth and maturation,” Fenstermaker added. “We saw that a year ago with Jack, and we're looking forward to seeing what [Rocker] brings here this year.”

Does anyone else have a problem with what CY said in that Kumar "got away from some things" and this offseason "he's gotten back to those things." First of all what a simpleton statement. Does that mean when a player gets away from a few things we just put our head in the sand and do nothing to fix it for the entire season. Or is this just rah rah corporate speak. Or is it a way to take a number 1 draft pick and force him into the starting rotation and move Latz regardless of who is pitching better to justify their #1 pick turned out to be a good one..

 

[saddles]

Does anyone else have a problem with what CY said in that Kumar "got away from some things" and this offseason "he's gotten back to those things." First of all what a simpleton statement. Does that mean when a player gets away from a few things we just put our head in the sand and do nothing to fix it for the entire season. Or is this just rah rah corporate speak. Or is it a way to take a number 1 draft pick and force him into the starting rotation and move Latz regardless of who is pitching better to justify their #1 pick turned out to be a good one..

Maybe it is the new pitching coach who worked with him to discover what went wrong last year and together they fixed those things this offsesson. I think the most important part of what he said was, "they need to learn about what offseasons need to look like and how to continue their growth and maturation.”

 

[saddles]

From Jeff Wilson:

#Rangers number changes for 2026:

Jack Leiter to wear 22
Chris Martin goes to 31
Joc Pederson takes 3

 

[Kelleyman]

Isn’t Rocker needing to add an offspeed pitch?

 

[DTC]

Isn’t Rocker needing to add an offspeed pitch?

Yes, if he doesn’t develop somewhat of a decent offspeed offering to keep batters off balance he will continue to give up a .850 OPS his 2nd time through the order and will eventually become a RP, possibly a closer.

 

[saddles]

Isn’t Rocker needing to add an offspeed pitch?

In 2024 while he was still considered a prospect, MLB Pipeline gave him a 50 grade changeup, which isn't bad.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Slider: 70 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55

"Players are graded on a 20-80 scale: 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. When discussing prospects, the most important number is the future overall grade, an all-encompassing number on the 20-80 scale that signifies what each player is projected to ultimately be in the big leagues."

 

[DTC]

Kumar Rocker

He needs to locate his pitches a little better, get his curveball & changeup dialed in, as well as his mechanics.

Fastball: Elite velocity, sitting 97-99 mph (touches 100+), with a four-seamer that plays up due to ride and a sinker variant in the high-90s for groundballs. Still a plus-plus pitch when located.


• Slider: His signature offering, a hard, late-breaking wipeout pitch in the low-to-mid 80s (historically 70-grade or better). It’s a swing-and-miss weapon with devastating depth, though usage/command waned in 2025 against lefties (leading to adjustments like ditching or tweaking it at times).


• Curveball: Low-80s, plus potential with tight spin and vertical break; complements the slider well.


• Changeup: Mid-80s (up to 91 mph reported in some looks), firm with fade—average to above-average, used to combat lefties but still developing consistency.


• Command/Mechanics: The biggest question mark. Inconsistent fastball location and mechanical tweaks have been focal points post-2025 shutdown. Big 6’5”, 245-pound frame (built like a former NFL lineman’s son) generates power but can lead to effort or delivery issues if not managed.


• Overall: High ceiling as a No. 2/3 starter with front-of-rotation stuff if command clicks and he builds workload safely (post-TJ concerns linger). Floor includes reliever risk due to command struggles or platoon splits, but the Rangers are committed to him as a starter. Scouts still rave about the “elite swing-and-miss shit” when it’s on.


Rocker’s 2026 will be pivotal—another strong minor league tune-up or spring showing could lock him into the rotation, while regression might push him toward bullpen experimentation. The tools remain tantalizing for a potential breakout.

 

[saddles]

From the MLB article,

One intriguing prospect who can make a run at an Opening Day spot from each team​

Rangers: Emiliano Teodo, RHP
A shoulder impingement limited Teodo to just 30 innings and led to a 7.20 ERA, but he's fully healthy again and could be a bullpen asset with three weapons. Signed for just $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2020, he sports a 97-99 mph sinker that touches 102, a tight upper-80s slider that falls off the table and an upper-80s changeup with fade and depth

 

[DTC]

From the MLB article,

One intriguing prospect who can make a run at an Opening Day spot from each team​

Rangers: Emiliano Teodo, RHP
A shoulder impingement limited Teodo to just 30 innings and led to a 7.20 ERA, but he's fully healthy again and could be a bullpen asset with three weapons. Signed for just $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2020, he sports a 97-99 mph sinker that touches 102, a tight upper-80s slider that falls off the table and an upper-80s changeup with fade and depth

102 MPH sinker ?
That’s insane.
I’m excited to see him come up and pitch.

Will he go back to starting or relief ?

 

[saddles]

From David Purdum:

Indicted Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase is accused of throwing suspect pitches to benefit bettors in at least 48 games over two years, significantly more than was initially revealed by federal prosecutors, according to a court document filed Thursday.

 

[saddles]

102 MPH sinker ?
That’s insane.
I’m excited to see him come up and pitch.

Will he go back to starting or relief ?

I think he may become our closer at some point this year. I sure hope he is his old self in spring training

 

[scotsman#1948]

i was wondering when CY was going to sign another "pitcher" who isn't on any other team's radar and it was just announced that he is close to signing Brasier RHP who spent more time on the IR last season than he did active

 

[saddles]

Brasier spent a lot of both the last 2 seasons injured. I hope it is only a minor league deal. He is not worth losing someone else for.