The Rangers are done for the year, but the Division Series still has plenty of familiar faces for Texas fans to track.
After the Wild Card round, the field is down to four matchups: Dodgers-Braves and Brewers-Padres in the National League, plus Rays-Yankees and Guardians-White Sox in the American League. With the postseason rolling on, a handful of former Rangers are still alive in the chase.
Atlanta has two ex-Rangers on its roster. Tyler Mahle got the ball in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against Philadelphia and turned in a solid outing despite the loss, giving up one run on six hits and a walk while striking out six over seven innings.
Mahle spent 2024 and 2025 in Texas, though injuries limited him to 19 starts. Even so, he put up a 2.54 ERA across 99 1/3 innings with the Rangers.
Atlanta picked him up from the San Francisco Giants at this year’s trade deadline, and he responded with a 1.99 ERA in 54 1/3 innings over nine starts during the regular season. He’s set to hit free agency this offseason.
The Braves also carried Rowdy Tellez on their Wild Card roster after he logged just 11 plate appearances with the club. Texas fans know him from last year, when he hit .259/.315/.457 with six homers and 22 RBI in 127 plate appearances over 50 games. He’s now a nine-year big-league veteran.
Cleveland has become the other major landing spot for Rangers alumni. Shawn Armstrong, now 36, signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Guardians during the winter and gave them 35 1/3 innings out of the bullpen this season, finishing with a 4.58 ERA and 34 strikeouts. Armstrong was excellent for Texas last year, posting a 2.31 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 74 innings.
Matt Festa is also in Cleveland, where he’s spent the last two seasons. This year he recorded a 3.78 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. Before that, he pitched briefly for the Rangers in 2024 and finished with a 4.37 ERA over 22 2/3 innings.
Austin Hedges gives the Guardians another former Ranger to root for. His Texas stint was short - only 16 regular-season games in 2023, the same year the Rangers won the World Series - and he also appeared once in that World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. This season, he hit .247/.325/.377 in 247 plate appearances and continued to bring his reputation for strong defense behind the plate.
Then there’s Nathaniel Lowe, which makes the Guardians a particularly interesting watch for Rangers fans. Cleveland brought in Texas’ 2023 World Series starting first baseman from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline. Lowe put up a strong .820 OPS with 12 home runs in 83 games with Cincinnati, but his bat cooled after the move, as he managed just a .650 OPS in 43 games with the Guardians.
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