The Texas Rangers have a clear opening at second base, but the way they fill it could say a lot about the kind of team they want to be in 2027.
There are safer, cheaper paths. Justin Foscue could cover one side of a platoon thanks to his .981 OPS against left-handed pitching, with a veteran like Jeff McNeil brought in as the left-handed complement. Texas could also simply hand the job to Ezequiel Duran, though that would come with the downside of losing his versatility.
If the Rangers want something bigger, though, the market offers a few names. Brandon Lowe is there.
So is three-time batting champion Luis Arraez. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is available too, along with Gleyber Torres, who once held down the spot for the Yankees.
For a club that may not have much appetite to spend, this is one of the deepest positions in a free-agent class that is thin overall.
Arraez has been the name tied to Texas before, including around the trade deadline, and plenty of people figure the Rangers should circle back. But the better fit is Chisholm Jr.
That starts with what Texas has already said it wants. Rangers POBO Chris Young: "We need to get younger, we need to get more athletic, we need to get more dynamic."
Arraez doesn’t really check those boxes. He’s a contact-first hitter who almost never strikes out - 4.3% in 2026, 5.8% for his career - and that kind of bat will always have an audience.
But he doesn’t run well, with an average sprint speed of 26.8 feet per second, good for the 33rd percentile. He brings almost no power, topping out at double-digit homers only once, when he hit 10 in 2023.
And defensively, second base has often been a problem, which is why he’s spent plenty of time at first base during his career.
He also doesn’t walk much, so if he isn’t spraying singles all over the field, there isn’t much else in his offensive profile. His defense did look much better in 2026, but that improvement deserves credit to former Rangers manager and infield guru Ron Washington, who worked with the 29-year-old while he was with the Giants. After Arraez moved on to the Philadelphia Phillies, that glove slipped again.
Chisholm Jr. brings a different kind of package. In 2025, he posted his first 30-30 season.
This year, even after missing almost all of September with an injury, he still swiped 41 bases and hit 19 homers. He’s not a finished product defensively, but the tools are there for him to be a strong defender if the execution catches up.
That’s the key difference. Chisholm Jr. can hurt teams in more than one way.
Arraez, by contrast, is much more dependent on batting average. If he’s not hitting well above .300, the rest of the profile doesn’t carry enough weight.
The Phillies got a reminder of that when he hit .278 for them down the stretch and finished with an 82 wRC+.
Cost matters too, and this is where the gap may widen even more. Arraez is no longer in the lane of a reasonable one-year deal; Spotrac projects him at three years and $54 million.
Chisholm Jr. is coming off a down year, which could change his market in a big way. The Rangers might even be able to sell him on a one-year pillow contract similar to the qualifying offer, which this year sits at just over $23 million.
That would be a hefty price for a one-year deal, but it might be easier for Ray Davis to approve than a longer commitment. It would also give Chisholm Jr. a chance to reset his market while still cashing in now and again in 2027.
For Texas, the appeal is obvious: more pop, more speed, and another player with Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford who can create runs with his legs. That lines up better with Chris Young’s stated goals and may fit Ray Davis’s spending habits better, too. On balance, Chisholm Jr. looks like the smarter target over Arraez.
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Now the offseason chatter is turning up the pressure on what comes next. MLB Trade Rumors has already put Gore near the top of its trade-candidate conversation, a sign that Texas may be willing to consider a pivot as it sorts out its rotation plans and broader roster strategy for next year. [Read more 🡒]