Texas Rangers Offseason Outlook for 2023-2024 Free Agency
Hey, it’s a pretty good time to be a Rangers fan! Texas just won their first World Series in franchise history to cap off an unbelievable season that culminated in a postseason where they took down their rival and the defending champions while dominating every other opponent in their way.
The Rangers will enter 2024 at the top of the league with holes to be filled but primarily the goal of defending their title next season. This team has a core of extremely talented and still fairly young players with a deep farm system that presents reinforcements that will be on the way when needed.
There are no major holes to be fixed on this team, but rather a few key decisions to be made on free agents and how to add pieces to support their championship team. This roster is set in win-now mode for the next five years and likely more, which will tell the story of this winter.
Money honestly will not be a factor for the Rangers after their spending spree the past few seasons and they’ll be willing to enter luxury tax if they can help bolster their roster.
The positional breakdown is the easiest way to understand where players could depart and what spots on the depth chart need to be filled by internal options or new additions to the roster.
Infield
Under Contract: Jonah Heim, Nathaniel Lowe, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Ezequiel Duran, Josh H. Smith, Sam Huff
Free Agents: Mitch Garver, Austin Hedges
The middle infield duo of Marcus Semien and Corey Seager proved to the world in the World Series why the Rangers paid them a combined $500 million dollars. They were exceptional and will continue to lead this offense for the duration of the decade.
It doesn’t stop there with the infield talent as Josh Jung took a huge step forward in his rookie season and is a potential extension candidate as he’s locked into the third base job in Texas. Nathaniel Lowe didn’t make a huge impact in the playoffs but he has remained a constant presence at first base and has three more years of control via arbitration.
To round out that group behind the plate is Jonah Heim who ascended to being one of the top catchers in baseball this season. That group of five is excellent and the only decisions to be made are in regard to the back-up catcher position and a potential utility infielder off the bench.
Mitch Garver is the only everyday offensive player on the roster headed for free agency and he’s the best hitting catcher on the market even though he’s not going to be an everyday catcher for essentially any team looking to sign him.
The Rangers could spend big and bring him back for his role as the regular designated hitter and backup catcher. This allowed him to shine in 2023 and it could be in the best interest of both sides to stick together.
If the Rangers become priced out due to the demand for Garver’s bat, they could turn to fellow free agent Austin Hedges as a defensive-minded backup catcher. He was acquired at the deadline when Heim was dealing with an injury and clearly became an emotional leader in the clubhouse.
If Texas has full confidence in their talented offense without Garver, a reunion with Hedges may make sense.
Sam Huff has exciting upside at the plate that could be tapped into but his defense behind the dish has been subpar and it doesn’t seem like the defending champions would like to have him as the secondary catcher on the roster behind Heim. It feels like bringing back either Garver or Hedges makes the most sense, but an external veteran backup could fit as well.
Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith are both depth options and Duran seems like a safe bet to make the roster in a utility role similar to that of last season. Adding another infielder who can play all over would be logical as well and there are plenty of veteran options available on the market. The Rangers are in an excellent position with their five starters in the infield locked in for next year.
