Chris Young still doesn’t have a final number for what the Rangers can spend in 2027, and that uncertainty hangs over everything else. The Texas president of baseball operations said last week he’ll need to sit down with ownership before the budget comes into focus, but the larger backdrop matters too: Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are still working toward a new collective bargaining agreement, the current deal runs out on Dec. 1, and if that happens as expected, a lockout would follow until a new agreement is reached.
That leaves Young with a window in free agency before the expected work stoppage, but first he needs a clean read on where the roster stands now. A simple way to frame it is by breaking the Rangers’ projected 26-man opening day payroll into three buckets: guaranteed veteran money, arbitration salaries and the league-minimum players who fill out the rest.
The biggest chunk starts with five veteran contracts. Corey Seager, Brandon Nimmo, Danny Jansen, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi are expected to account for $115.5 million in cash, according to Spotrac.
Their tax hit comes to $122 million, with the difference tied to bonuses paid up front to Seager and Eovaldi. That tax figure is the one that matters most to owner Ray Davis, who does not want to pay into the competitive balance tax system.
There’s also the matter of mutual options. Joc Peterson, Kyle Higashioka and Jakob Junis all have them, and both sides have to agree for the option to kick in.
If all three were triggered, that group would add $30 million. But the expectation is that the Rangers won’t pick up Peterson’s or Higashioka’s options, while Junis’ $4 million option could still be in play.
If Texas declines all of them, it still owes Higashioka $1 million and Junis $1.25 million in buyout money, which counts as dead money for 2027 and still counts toward the CBT. Under the most likely scenario, that pushes the tax figure to $124.25 million.
Arbitration is the next layer. These are the players with between three and five years of service time who can negotiate salaries with the club, and Texas has not gone to arbitration with a player since 2000, the longest active streak in the majors.
MLB Trade Rumors recently released its 2027 arbitration projections, and the Rangers have 10 eligible players, including two “super-two” players. Their projected salaries add up to $38.3 million.
Stack that on top of the veteran money and the Rangers would be at $162.55 million before free agency even begins.
Then comes the final piece: the players who are still under three years of service time and are not arbitration-eligible. Those 11 spots on the roster would be filled at the league minimum.
The 2026 minimum was $780,000, which would total $8.58 million for 11 players. That figure is expected to rise under the next CBA, but it won’t go down.
Using the current minimum, the Rangers would be sitting on $171.13 million in player salaries for opening day in 2027, before benefits, dead money and any other commitments are added in. For Young, that’s the baseline - the rough starting point before he and his staff begin building the rest of the roster.
In Other News...
Rangers Future Is Taking Shape And Some Familiar Names May Not Fit
The Rangers next roster reset is starting to come into focus, and it sounds a lot like a shift in identity as much as a change in personnel. Chris Young has made it clear the club wants to lean into younger, more athletic players and back away from older veterans whose versatility has faded and whose salaries leave less room to maneuver. For a team trying to chart its next winning core, that means the conversation is no longer just about who produced last season, but who fits the shape of what comes next.
Cody Freeman, Justin Foscue and Wyatt Langford are the kinds of players who fit that blueprint, giving Texas a trio of younger names to build around as the roster takes on a different look. On the other side of the ledger, familiar veterans such as Joc Pederson and Corey Seager are part of the broader question facing the front office, along with another unnamed player whose place is less certain as the Rangers weigh age, cost and performance. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers May Need One Painful Trade To Fix This Roster
The Rangers spent last offseason swinging for impact, including the Marcus Semien deal with the Mets for Brandon Nimmo and the prospect-heavy swap that brought MacKenzie Gore to Texas. Even with those aggressive moves, the club still came up short of the playoffs, leaving the front office with a familiar offseason problem: a roster that has talent, but not enough obvious room to fix everything at once.
Payroll commitments are already weighing on the picture, which is why the conversation is starting to drift toward tougher possibilities involving core players. Corey Seager is among the names that could theoretically be moved if Texas decides it needs both roster flexibility and a different construction around its biggest contracts, and the Braves have been mentioned as a possible trade partner. It is the kind of scenario that would sting, but for a team trying to reset its path, it may be the sort of painful decision that gets discussed instead of dismissed. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Already Face One Tough Offseason Call On A Veteran Bat
MLB Trade Rumors has already put some early offseason pressure on Texas, projecting arbitration numbers for a cluster of Rangers players and kicking off the kind of roster debate front offices usually try to delay until winter gets closer. The exercise is a useful reminder of how quickly the conversation around the club can shift from the stretch run to player control, age, and which pieces fit a roster that still wants to get more athletic.
One name drawing particular attention is Jake Burger, who could find himself in danger of becoming a non-tender decision as the Rangers sort through a veteran bat and a broader push toward youth. At the same time, the projections point in a different direction for Wyatt Langford and Jacob Latz, both of whom were flagged as extension candidates, leaving Texas with one of those familiar offseason balancing acts: reward the right players, trim the wrong fit, and decide how much patience there is for a bat that may no longer line up with the clubs next move. [Read more 🡒]