The Rangers are staring at a small window before a likely lockout, and that means the front office may need to start plotting now for more than just the next season. With a work stoppage expected to hit at the start of December if a new collective bargaining agreement doesn’t get done, Texas could have only about a month to push through meaningful roster changes.
The bigger picture here is 2027. If the Rangers are going to get back to the postseason by then, three specific moves stand out: one big trade or signing, one promotion, and one organizational decision. Not all three feel equally likely, but all three deserve real consideration.
The most dramatic path would be moving Corey Seager. On paper, that kind of deal makes a certain amount of sense for a club trying to reshape payroll and get younger and more athletic. Owner Ray Davis is expected to push president of baseball operations Chris Young toward more aggressive payroll decisions, and Seager is the one expensive player who could realistically bring back a meaningful return.
It’s not hard to see why. Even with the injuries, Seager still has enough value to pull in two or three quality players, including at least one everyday major leaguer.
The source material points to the Boston Red Sox and their reported interest last year, with a likely return such as center fielder Jarren Duran. That’s the type of player who could help Texas right away.
A deal like that would also let Young clear a big chunk of Seager’s money from the books. And it would reduce the club’s exposure if Seager gets hurt again.
The challenge, of course, is finding a team willing to take on that contract. There aren’t many.
The promotion piece is Sebastian Walcott, and it’s not really tied to whether Seager stays or goes. Walcott still needs at-bats at Triple-A Round Rock before he’s ready, but the expectation is that he’ll get to the majors once he’s prepared. Texas is already cross training him as an outfielder so it can fit his bat into the lineup wherever possible.
The Rangers aren’t going to wait around for a clean opening at his natural position. The bat is too good for that.
And if the expected work stoppage delays the start of the season, that may actually buy Walcott extra time to get himself ready before he reaches Arlington. If the season were to begin in May, he still wouldn’t be up immediately.
But by July, if he’s the hitter people believe he can be, he could be helping the big club as a rookie.
Then there’s the pitching. Even though Texas already has a rotation-plus under contract, the group didn’t produce ace-level work last season.
Jacob deGrom was the best of the bunch, but his ERA was over 4.00 for the first time in his career. Nathan Eovaldi also posted an ERA over 4.00 for the first time since 2019.
MacKenzie Gore was solid but never truly dominant over an extended stretch and also finished with an ERA above 4.00.
There’s upside in Kumar Rocker’s stuff if he can put it all together, and Jack Leiter lost a year of development because of the ankle injury. But Texas still needs more starting pitching at the major-league level beyond those five and Cody Bradford.
That doesn’t necessarily mean a massive spending spree. The Rangers could at least look into arms like Drew Rasmussen or Freddy Peralta, but there are also lower-cost routes that would help. Even reunions with Jordan Montgomery and Cal Quantrill would give the staff more reliable coverage.
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