The Texas Rangers opened November with a cluster of moves that reach well beyond the present moment. Jose Butto is in the fold, two members of the coaching staff are headed in different directions, and Evan Carter’s recovery has already put center field back on the team’s radar for 2027.
The most immediate roster addition came on Monday, when the Rangers claimed right-handed reliever Jose Butto off waivers. To make room, infielder/outfielder Michael Helman was assigned outright to the minor leagues. Butto, a Venezuelan-born pitcher, is heading into his fifth major league season and will be with his third club since debuting in 2022.
He brings a solid track record to the bullpen mix. Butto owns a career 13-10 record with a 3.76 ERA and 185 strikeouts across 180 innings.
His 2026 season was derailed early, though. He made only three appearances for the Giants before going on the Injured List on April 2 with right-arm fatigue and missing the rest of the year.
His pitch mix includes a plus sinker he throws 39.7% of the time, plus a mid-90s four-seam fastball, slider, change, and curve. He’ll head into spring training trying to win a job and help stabilize a bullpen that, outside of All-Star Jacob Latz, fell short in 2026.
The Rangers also made a pair of coaching changes that point to dissatisfaction with how the offense and pitching staff performed. Assistant hitting coach Alex Cintron is out of that role, though he will remain in the organization in a yet-to-be-determined capacity. Cintron came to Texas in 2025 after serving as the Houston Astros’ assistant hitting coach from 2018 to 2025.
The move leaves hitting coach Justin Viele in place for now, but the message is hard to miss. Texas hasn’t produced at the level Chris Young believes it can over the last two seasons, and the staff shuffle reflects that.
Assistant pitching coach Dave Bush is also not coming back in 2027. Bush joined the Rangers’ front office in 2024 as Director of Pitching Strategy before moving onto the major league coaching staff under Jordan Tiegs. Like Viele, Tiegs survived this round of changes, but Young’s willingness to make these adjustments makes the pressure obvious.
Then there’s Carter, whose status creates a different kind of concern. The Gold Glove nominee and starting center fielder has undergone surgery to repair a tear in his hip labrum, and he won’t be ready for the start of the season. He is expected to miss all of spring training and likely won’t be available to Skip Schumaker until late April or early May.
That absence could force the Rangers to reshuffle the outfield early. Wyatt Langford could move from left field to open the season in center.
Cameron Cauley, who made his professional debut last season, is another possible option. Fresh off his Gold Glove win, Ezequiel Duran could also handle the position for a stretch.
Young has already called center field a "primary interest" for the organization this offseason, and Carter’s injury may only sharpen that focus if the recovery drags on. For now, it’s one more item on a long list of questions Texas is carrying into the winter.
Opening Day is set for March 25 against the Astros at Daikin Park, with the home opener scheduled for April 1 against the Athletics. Whether that stays intact depends on labor talks, with the owners and MLBPA now working against a shrinking window to reach a new agreement.
In Other News...
Rangers Took A Flier On An Arm With Late-Inning Intrigue
The Rangers made a low-risk move with a potentially useful arm, claiming right-hander Jose Butto off waivers from the Giants and giving him a spot on the 40-man roster. It is the kind of roster shuffle that rarely grabs much attention on its own, but it fits the broader Texas approach of trying to uncover bullpen help wherever it can find it, especially with a pitcher who has shown late-inning intrigue.
To make the move work, Texas designated outfielder Michael Helman for assignment, and he cleared waivers before being sent to Triple-A Round Rock. Buttos path is the bigger question for now, since he is coming back from surgery for a blood clot in his arm and is not expected to be ready until the 2027 season, leaving the Rangers to wait and see whether this flier eventually turns into a bullpen option. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Are Revisiting A Rule That Shaped Major Roster Moves
The qualifying offer market is back on the table, and with it comes one of baseballs more familiar roster-building complications. Eight MLB players were tagged with a $23.15 million offer on Monday, giving them until Nov. 17 to decide whether to accept or decline, and the ripple effects reach clubs like the Rangers even though they did not hand out a qualifying offer of their own this year.
Texas has lived through plenty of qualifying-offer decisions over the years, and those moves have helped shape some of its biggest roster swings. The Rangers have also seen how the draft-pick side of the system can influence free-agent pursuit, which is why this round of decisions matters beyond the players directly involved and could factor into how aggressively the club shops this winter. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Just Reshaped Two Key Areas After Playoff Miss
The Rangers have started reshaping the organizational side of their baseball operation after missing the playoffs, making a series of staffing changes that touch both the major league dugout and the front office. Assistant hitting coach Alex Cintrn will not return to his current role, though he will stay with the club in an offensive-related capacity, while assistant pitching coach Dave Bush is also out and the team does not intend to replace that spot.
The front office moves were just as notable, with the club promoting Nick Hundley to vice president of player development and elevating Hamilton Wise, Mike Parnell and Josh Boyd into expanded roles across scouting and personnel. It is the kind of broad reset that suggests the Rangers are trying to tighten every part of the pipeline after a disappointing finish, even as the most immediate questions now center on how those changes will shape the coaching staff and the way the organization develops talent moving forward. [Read more 🡒]