The Texas Rangers are headed into another offseason with real questions about the shape of the roster, and by the time Opening Day 2027 rolls around, a handful of familiar names could be wearing someone else’s uniform.
After missing the postseason for a third straight year, Texas may once again be forced to make tough financial calls. President of baseball operations Chris Young was dealing with payroll limits last winter, and that same pressure could push the Rangers toward moving expensive veterans or cutting loose players who still have arbitration years left but no longer fit what the club wants to be.
The list of candidates includes players under contract or team control for 2027, with money, performance, lineup flexibility and the organization’s minor league depth all part of the equation. Here are the five Rangers most likely to be gone before Opening Day, from least likely to most likely.
Jacob deGrom sits near the top of that conversation, even if a move still feels far from certain. He turned down a potential trade to the Atlanta Braves at the deadline and said he wanted to win in Texas, and that stance would seem to carry into 2027.
Still, the late-season slide matters. deGrom’s performance tailed off badly over the final six weeks, and he finished 11-11 with a 4.20 ERA. He also logged at least 30 starts for the second straight year, but he’ll be 38 on Opening Day and is due $37 million in the final season of his contract. He also has a no-trade clause, and the combination of salary and the prospect cost to get him would narrow the market fast.
Nathan Eovaldi is another name that could come up if Texas decides it needs to reshape the roster. The Rangers love him, and he loves being in Texas. The Texas native signed a three-year, $75 million deal before the 2025 season.
But the clock is ticking. He’s entering the last year of that contract, has missed at least a month in each season with the Rangers because of injury, and just posted his worst season in Texas, going 11-10 with a 4.20 ERA. A trade would clear the final $25 million on his deal and could bring back a younger MLB-ready player, but the Rangers don’t have much starting pitching depth behind him, which makes that kind of move harder to pull off.
Corey Seager is a much tougher trade case because of the size of his contract. He has five years left on the 10-year, $325 million deal he signed before the 2022 season, and the Rangers held firm when the Boston Red Sox were reportedly interested last offseason.
His value is not where it should be, but a big-market club could still take a swing at a left-handed hitter who, when healthy, can produce 30 homers and 100 RBI. Seager hit .227/.312/.424 with 20 home runs and 51 RBI, but he has not played more than 123 games in any of his last four seasons. And now he also has 10-5 rights, giving him the ability to block any trade.
Leody Taveras has become a more realistic candidate to move because of what happened at the plate. He stayed healthy for most of the year and appeared in 141 games, but the offense never came around. He hit just .194/.288/.315 with nine home runs and 40 RBI, and he was still a major issue against left-handed pitching.
That problem became enough that the Rangers turned to Ezequiel Duran in center field late in the season as a right-handed bat against lefties. Taveras still brings a glove the Rangers value, and other teams do too, which could make him tradeable for a prospect or two. If Texas went that route, it would create more room for Alejandro Osuna and Cody Freeman, while also opening a path for Dylan Dreiling.
Jake Burger rounds out the list as the most likely to be elsewhere by 2027. He has two years of arbitration eligibility left, and moving on from a player with that much control would be unusual, but the fit may not be ideal for this offense.
Burger brought power, hitting 28 home runs and driving in 90 runs, but he also hit only .226 and struck out 167 times, a career high. His power and team control would still appeal to teams looking for affordable first base production, even if Texas might not get a huge return. The Rangers also have other options at the position, including Justin Foscue, who became a strong option against left-handed pitching as a designated hitter.
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