The Texas Rangers may be done chasing an American League playoff spot, but the games still matter for a few players trying to make a case for 2027.
With the club grinding through September, the bigger picture is starting to come into focus: a 26-man roster, a 40-man roster, and a winter full of decisions that have to be sorted out well before any possible work stoppage in December. For three Rangers in particular, these last weeks are less about the standings and more about survival.
Evan Carter is the most obvious name in that group. Nobody questions the talent.
The issue has always been whether his bat can hold up against left-handed pitching, because that flaw leaves him looking more like a platoon option with elite defense than a player whose upside matches his reputation. That might work as a fourth or fifth outfielder, but not for someone with his ceiling.
There has been one silver lining this season: the Rangers have finally gotten Carter on the field. By prioritizing availability over simply running him out there every day, he is set to top 130 games, which would be the most in any season of his career.
The problem is that the production still hasn’t followed. He’s likely to finish below .200, and that’s just not enough.
A non-tender in November doesn’t sound likely, but a trade does. With Alejandro Osuna emerging in the majors and Dylan Dreiling continuing to climb in the minors, Texas has options.
Ezequiel Duran could even fill that spot full-time right now. Carter still carries trade value, though, and these final games are a chance to show the Rangers there’s more coming in 2027.
The same kind of uncertainty hangs over Dustin Harris Freeman. On paper, he looks like he should have a place on the 2027 roster, but that’s not a safe assumption.
Injuries slowed him this year, though he has hit well since returning to full-time duty in August. He could step into the super-utility lane if Duran moves on, but the path is crowded.
Duran should have a role somewhere in 2027, yet the exact fit is unclear because he’s been useful all over the diamond. Justin Foscue has carved out value as a right-handed DH against lefties and can also handle second base. Josh Jung could come off the injured list this weekend, and the expectation is that he’ll be the starter at third base next season.
That leaves Freeman in a squeeze. He might wind up as the last man on the bench next year, but that may not be where he helps most. The closing stretch is his chance to prove he can be more than a reserve, unless the Rangers need the roster spot and option him to make room for Jung.
Then there’s Kumar Rocker, whose season has offered flashes without enough stability. Texas has given him a full run of starts, and the results have been uneven. The raw stuff that made him a first-round pick has shown up at times, but consistency has not.
The Rangers have tried an opener in front of him twice, and it worked both times. The third try went the other way, with Rocker struggling.
Even at home earlier this season, when he looked more comfortable, he still hasn’t delivered steady production. He has already thrown more innings this year than he ever has as a pro, but the Rangers knew what they were signing up for when he won the job in March.
If they wanted to protect the workload, they would have done it sooner.
A roster spot probably isn’t in immediate danger, but the role could be. After more than a season of relatively ineffective starting work, Rocker’s stuff might fit better in relief.
That idea has come up before, and it may need to be revisited in 2027. If not, he could be the one truly fighting for a roster spot on opening day.
In Other News...
Jake Burger Has Rangers Fans Watching One Very Funny Streak
Jake Burger has become one of the more interesting watch items in a Rangers lineup that has had to grind for every bit of production this season. He leads Texas with 26 home runs and 83 RBIs, and over his last three games he has given the club a timely jolt with three homers and four RBIs, the kind of burst that can turn a quiet week into something worth following.
There is also a lighter storyline hanging around the hot streak: Burgers wife, Ashlyn, has reportedly given him permission to keep a new goatee only if the home runs keep coming. It is a fitting little twist for a season that has already featured plenty of streakiness, and for a Rangers team still trying to climb out of the division and wild-card hole, every swing seems to carry a little extra meaning. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Get Two Huge Names Back At The Perfect Time
With a nine-game homestand looming, the Rangers got a welcome boost Tuesday when they activated Josh Jung and Nathan Eovaldi ahead of their series against the Diamondbacks. Jung is back after a rehab stint and gives Texas another option at the hot corner, with the club looking at a setup that could include time at third base and designated hitter.
Eovaldis return matters just as much for a staff that needs flexibility down the stretch, and the Rangers plan to use him in a multi-inning relief role or as an opener. With the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mets all coming to Arlington before the regular season ends on the road against the Twins, Texas is trying to keep its rotation and lineup intact at exactly the right moment. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Keep Wasting Every Chance To Stop This Slide
The Rangers kept finding familiar trouble at Chase Field, where a lineup that has had enough chances to turn its slide around again came up short and a pitching staff that needed a clean night never delivered one. Texas managed only one run while Arizona piled up nine, and the gap looked especially stark in the middle innings, when the Rangers offense left runners stranded and the game began slipping away.
Texas did scratch across its lone run in the top of the fifth, but the inning ended with the bases loaded and the door still open. Arizona answered by blowing the game apart in the bottom half, turning a brief opening into a five-run burst that put the Diamondbacks firmly in control and left the Rangers searching for the kind of stop that keeps a losing stretch from getting worse. [Read more 🡒]