Free Agency Refresh Vol. 3

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! I hope this time of year brings the rest and relaxation we all desire as the year is coming to an end. If you’re like me, the Holidays (while special) bring another element of travel and chaos that can lead to unforeseen headaches and frustrations. Even so, this time of the year is always special and sometimes we take it for granted how blessed we all truly are!

For Rangers’ fans like myself, this holiday season has been extra special with CY and company making some waves in the free agency and trade markets. To the delight of us all, Nathan Eovaldi is returning to Arlington for the foreseeable future, signing a 3-year deal with Texas on December 12th. CY and Ownership were adament this offseason that Evo was the main focus, even citing that all the other dominos were dependent on re-signing the veteran starter (and boy did those dominos start to fall).

Shortly after the Eovaldi signing, the Rangers shocked all of baseball by trading for the power hitting Jake Burger from Miami. Burger, who is a corner infielder who primarily plays 1B, is still eligible for arbitration for three years after the 2025 season. For someone who can hit the fastball out of the park at the rate with which Burger operates, the Rangers are getting a bargain financially considering the offensive output that Burger provides. While it hurts to see Max Acosta leave the organization, having more power (and someone who can dominate lefties) is certainly a boost this offense needed.

Not slowing down, the Rangers continued to rebulid their bullpen with the acquisitions of Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner and Shawn Armstrong. Topping off their free agent acquisitions, the Rangers brought in another slugger who will slot perfectly into the lineup in Joc Pederson. Pederson is coming off a career year in Arizona where he slashed .275/.393/.515/.908, driving in 64 runs and launching 23 homers. Reuniting with his former Dodger teammate, Corey Seager, Pederson looks to be an ideal fit for Texas as they look to return to the postseason in 2025. The only question mark is what Joc’s role will be against lefties, considering he only registered 42 plate appearances against lefties in 2024, compared to 407 against righties.

The last major domino for the Rangers thus far was the departure of Nathaniel Lowe, who will be suiting up for Washington in 2025. Lowe was dealt to Washington on December 22nd, in exchange for left-handed reliver, Robert Garcia. Garcia doesn’t have the flashiest number, but if baseball savant is any indication as to what his potential could be, the Rangers might have a diamond in the rough. For Lowe, the writing seemed to be on the wall following the Burger trade, especially when Lowe is expected to earn north of $10M in 2025, while Burger will earn $800k. In a year where the Rangers are willing to spend, but also cautious of the luxury tax threshold, moving on from Lowe seems to be a financial decision more than that of Lowe’s talent on the field. Though he was a fan favorite and a Gold Glove defender, the power production never reached the level the Rangers (or Lowe) were hoping for. He did win a Silver Slugger award in 2022, but that production has not been consistent in the seasons to follow.

Aside from the Rangers, the biggest free agent targets began to come off the board, beginning with Juan Soto who everyone felt was the signing that had to happen before other deals could be made. It was no secret Soto was going to get paid this offseason, and that was certainly the case as he signed a 15-year deal with the Mets for a record-setting $765M. While the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and others were all in play, ultimately Soto elected to move to Queens and sport the blue and orange.

Max Fried also signed a massive deal in New York, this one with the Yankees for 8-years, $218M. Willy Adames moved out to the West Coast, signing with the Giants for 7-years and $182M, while the Astros landed their new first baseman in Christian Walker. Walker, who will get plenty of opportunity to face off with Rangers again, signed on for 3-years and $60M to join the Astros; ultimately signaling the end of the Alex Bregman era in Houston who is still unsigned to this point . Houston also acquired Isaac Paredes to play 3B this season in exchange for star outfielder, Kyle Tucker who will suit up for the Cubs in 2025. Speaking of Cubs trades, Cody Bellinger is making his way to the Bronx to join the Yankees in exchange for Cody Poteet. The Yankees also acquired star reliever Devin Williams from Milwaukee, sending Nestor Cortes and Calen Durbin back in return.

There are still a plethora of big names waiting to sign new deals, highlighted by Pete Alonso. Others in that category are Corbin Burnes, Teoscar Hernandez, Jack Fleherty, Anthony Santander, and Alex Bregman among others. The Rangers are not done, and likely will add a closer to the roster before all is said and done. Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott are the top names remaining, and Texas would certainly love to see either of them at the back end of their bullpen in 2025. Another name that CY and Ross Fenstermaker would love to see in Arlington is coveted Japanese star, Roki Sasaki. In a media call earlier this week, Chris Young confirmed the Rangers did meet with Sasaki and his agent, but did not provide any further comments. Given the moves the Rangers have made thus far, they are certainly a strong candidate for Sasaki, though experts still view the Dodgers and Padres as the favorites.

As for what the Rangers may look to do in the coming weeks to round out the 2025 roster, I’ve asked some fellow contributors to share their thoughts and predicitions:

Heath C:
It’s not a secret that the Rangers still need bullpen help. My first reaction is to sign Tanner Scott and call it a day. He’s younger than Kirby Yates but he’ll cost more both in money and years. Kirby Yates would come with a 1-year contract. It’ll take 3-5 years to land Scott.

Last season with the Marlins and Padres, Scott went 9-6 with a 1.75 era in 72 innings. Only the last couple of seasons has Scott been under a 4.00 era. He’s always had at least 10 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s got 54 saves over the last few seasons. Signing Scott could give you your closer. Yates was money last season with the Rangers going 7-2 with a 1.17 era over 61.2 innings with 85 strikeouts and 28 walks. His 3.3 bWAR was the highest of his career.

There is also Chris Martin who is an Arlington native. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind coming back to Texas on a one year deal. He went 3-1 with a 3.45 era in 44.1 innings for Boston in 2024.

Rōki Sasaki is no doubt in play no matter who the Rangers might sign. He’s going to be playing for the league minimum. The Rangers made their pitch already. Unfortunately, throwing more money his way isn’t the answer to solve this puzzle. He’ll just need to buy into the vision that Chris Young and Ross Fenstermaker sold while they met with him in LA.

Quite honestly, I wouldn’t mind another power bat but I don’t see that happening with the money they Rangers have left to spend while stagung under the tax threshold.

Ultimately, I think the Rangers try to land a deal with Yates and Martin to help fortify the bullpen.

Bennie B:
It seems to me the Rangers need at least two more late inning relievers.  I believe they will go after Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates to fill those needs.  To afford to acquire both of those pitchers, they will need to trade off another player who is due to make a substantial amount in 2025.

They have two starting pitchers in Jon Gray and Tyler Mahle who seem to be possibilities to trade away in order to facilitate acquiring relievers while remaining under the luxury tax threshold. With deGrom, Eovaldi, Bradford and Rocker in the rotation, they really only need one more pitcher for the rotation, so there is only room for one of Gray and Mahle.  I still expect them to go after Roki Sasaki as well. 

A couple of weeks ago I heard Bruce Bochy being interviewed.  Bochy was asked about Jon Gray, and he seemed to indicate that he was counting on Gray occupying a spot in the rotation.  That tells me the odd man out could be Tyler Mahle.  Trading Tyler Mahle would save $11 million toward the luxury tax threshold.  Jon Gray would represent a bigger savings if they traded him, but I believe they like Gray and his flexibility to be used in either the rotation or the bullpen, if the need arises.

Those savings would allow them to go after the finishing touches on what could be the best bullpen they have had in several years.  They already have acquired enough guys to compete for the middle innings.  Having Yates for the eighth or ninth inning and having Scott to be the closer would finish out a very good bullpen. There is also a possibility they could slightly backload the contracts of Yates and Scott to help with the luxury tax in 2025.

If they decide they need even more money to spend they could also trade Leody Taveras and allow a minimum salary guy such as Dustin Harris to be the last man on the bench.  Harris didn’t get much of a chance to show what he could do this past season in his brief stint with the Rangers.  His versatility in being able to play all the outfield positions, as well as both of the corner infield positions, could make him a valuable bench addition since they have acquired two guys in Jake Burger and Joc Pederson who are somewhat lacking in defensive skills.  That savings might allow them to go after another good bullpen piece to use in either the seventh or eighth inning.

The consensus is clear, bullpen arms are still needed and Kirby Yates is a proven veteran coming off a career year with Texas. I doubt he’d give the Rangers the hometown discount, but perhaps he understands there’s more to be done and structures his deal to allow for another power arm. The surplus of arms in the rotation could certainly provided added depth to the bullpen, and I’m a fan of Marc Church being a 7th or 8th inning guy. David Robertson appears to be content with calling it a career, or signing with the team late in the year for one more run at a title. Pairing him with Yates is my ideal finish to this offseason, but Yates has to be the priority. If we can cover the 9th inning, this team is set up to be (arguably) the best team in the AL West entering 2025.

Think the Rangers should pursue someone else? Let us know in the comments below what you would do as GM to wrap up the 2024/2025 offseason.

2025 FREE AGENT STATUS (AS OF 12/30/2024):
Player – Position – Age (Projected Annual Market Value *Based on Spotrac Estimate* -or- New Contract Details)

• Adam Frazier – 2B – 32 yo ($1.5M)
• Alex Bregman – 3B – 30 yo ($30M)
• Alex Cobb – SP – 37 yo (1-Yr; $15M w/ DET)
• Alex Verdugo – OF – 28 yo ($15.2M)
• Alex Wood – SP – 33 yo ($8.1M)
• Andrew Chafin – RP – 34 yo ($4.5M)
• Andrew Heaney – SP – 33 yo ($10.8M)
• Andrew Kittredge – RP – 34 yo ($5.5M)
• Andrew McCutchen – OF/DH – 38 yo (1-yr; $5M w/ PIT)
• Anthony Rizzo – 1B/DH – 35 yo ($16M)
• Anthony Santander – OF – 30 yo ($17.7M)
• Aroldis Chapman – RP – 36 yo (1-Yr; $10.75M)
• Austin Hedges – C – 32 yo (1-Yr; $4M w/ CLE)
• Blake Snell – SP – 31 yo (5-Yr; $182M)
• Blake Treinen – RP – 36 yo (2-Yr; $22M w/ LAD)
• Brandon Drury – 2B – 32 yo ($6.7M)
• Carlos Estevez – RP – 31 yo ($14M)
• Carlos Santana – DH – 38 yo (1-yr; $12M w/ CLE)
• Carson Kelly – C – 30 yo (2-Yr; $11.5M w/ CHC)
• Charlie Morton – SP – 41 yo ($17.6M)
• Christian Walker – 1B – 33 yo (3-Yr; $60M w/ HOU)
• Clay Holmes – RP – 31 yo (3-Yr; $38M w/ NYM)
• Colin Rea – SP – 34 yo ($11.6M)
• Corbin Burnes – SP – 30 yo ($30.1M)
• Danny Jansen – C – 29 yo (1-Yr; $8.5M w/ TB)
• David Robertson – RP – 39 yo ($7.1M)
• Kike Hernandez – SS/2B – 33 yo ($2.8M)
• Frankie Montas – SP – 31 yo (2-Yr; $34M w/ NYM)
• Gleyber Torres – 2B – 27 yo (1-Yr; $15M w/ DET)
• Ha-Seong Kim – 2B/SS – 29 yo ($12.3m)
• Harrison Bader – OF – 30 yo ($7.1M)
• J.D. Martinez – DH – 37 yo ($9.5M)
• Jack Flaherty – SP – 29 yo ($21.2M)
• James McCann – C – 34 yo ($2.8M)
• James Paxton – SP – 36 yo ($8.4M)
• Jason Heyward – OF – 35 yo ($1.5M)
• Jesse Winker – OF – 31 yo ($2.4M)
• Joc Pederson – DH – 32 yo (2-Yr; $37M w/ TEX)
• John Means – SP – 31 yo ($2.9M)
• Jorge Polanco – 2B – 31 yo ($13.7M)
• Jose Leclerc – RP – 30 yo ($4.6M)
• Jose Quintana – SP – 35 yo ($8.3M)
• Josh Bell – DH – 32 yo (1-Yr; $6M w/ WSH)
• Jose Urquidy – SP – 29 yo ($2.6M)
• Juan Soto – OF – 26 yo (15-Yr; $765M w/ NYM)
• Jurickson Profar – OF – 31 yo ($12.9)
• Justin Turner – DH – 39 yo ($7.7M)
• Justin Verlander – SP – 41 yo ($13.9M)
• Kendall Graveman – RP – 33 yo ($5.3M)
• Kenley Jansen – RP – 37 yo ($14.7M)
• Kirby Yates – RP – 37 yo ($6M)
• Kyle Farmer – SS – 34 yo (1-Yr; $2.5M w/ COL)
• Kyle Gibson – SP – 37 yo ($13.4M)
• Kyle Hendricks – SP – 34 yo (1-Yr; $2.5M w/ LAA)
• Kyle Higashioka – C – 34 yo (2-Yr; $13.M w/ TEX)
• Lance Lynn – SP – 37 yo ($7.6M)
• Luis Severino – SP – 30 yo (2-yr; $66M w/ A’s)
• Matt Moore – RP – 35 yo ($3.4M)
• Max Fried – SP – 30 yo (8-Yr; $218M w/ NYY)
• Max Kepler – OF – 31 yo (1-Yr; $10M w/ PHI)
• Max Scherzer – SP – 40 yo ($15.2m)
• Michael Conforto – OF – 31 yo (1-Yr; $17M w/ LAD)
• Michael Lorenzen – SP – 32 yo ($7.8M)
• Nathan Eovalid – SP – 34 yo (3-Yr; $75M w/ TEX)
• Nick Martinez – SP – 34 yo ($18.7M)
• Nick Pivetta – SP – 31 yo ($15.1M)
• Patrick Corbin – SP – 35 yo ($6.4M)
• Paul Goldschmidt – DH – 37 yo (1-yr; $12.5M w/ NYY)
• Paul Sewald – RP – 34 yo ($11.6M)
• Pete Alonso – 1B – 29 yo ($29M)
• *Roki Sasaki – SP – 23 yo ($7M)
• Ryan Pressley – RP – 35 yo ($9.3M)
• Sean Manaea – SP – 32 yo (3-Yr; $75M w/ NYM)
• Shane Bieber – SP – 29 yo (1-Yr; $10M w/ CLE)
• Teoscar Hernandez – OF – 32 yo (3-Yr; $66M w/ LAD)
• Tommy Kahnle – RP – 35 yo ($5.3M)
• Tommy Pham – OF – 36 yo ($2.4M)
• Travis d’Arnaud – C – 35 yo (2-Yr; $12M w/ LAA)
• Tyler O’Neill – OF – 29 yo (3-Yr; $49.5M w/ BAL)
• Walker Buehler – SP – 30 yo (1-Yr; $21M w/ BOS)
• Willy Adames – SS – 29 yo (7-Yr; $182M w/ SFG)
• Will Smith – RP – 35 yo ($2.6M)
• Yimi Garcia – RP – 34 yo (2-Yr; $15M w/ TOR)
• Yoan Moncada – 3B – 29 yo ($14M)
• Yusei Kikuchi – SP – 33 yo (3-Yr; $63M w/ LAA)

Bold Identifies FA Who Have Signed With New Team