Reports surfaced last week that the Rangers had given permission for Donnie Ecker to interview with the White Sox about their managerial opening, but Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link) wrote that Ecker is no longer under consideration for the job. Ecker will instead return for what will presumably be his fourth season as the Rangers’ bench coach and offensive coordinator.
Rangers Rumors
Rangers Grant White Sox Permission To Interview Will Venable, Donnie Ecker
On the heels of reporting earlier today that the White Sox had interest in Rangers bench coach and offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker for their managerial vacancy, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported this evening that the Rangers have granted not only Ecker but also associate manager Will Venable permission to interview with Chicago regarding their available managerial gig. Venable’s name first surfaced in connection with the White Sox last week.
Ecker, 38, got his start as a coach in 2015 with the Cardinals. He acted as a minor league hitting coach for St. Louis from 2015 to 2017 before joining the Angels’ Triple-A club in that same role for the 2018 season. He first cracked the big leagues as an assistant hitting coach with the Reds in 2019. He remained with the club for two years before joining the Giants as a hitting coach prior to the 2020 season, and he stuck in San Francisco for another two years before again changing organizations to join the Rangers in his current role as bench coach and offensive coordinator prior to the 2022 season.
It’s a lengthy resume, and Ecker would bring perspectives from five different big league organizations to an infamously insular White Sox club if hired. This isn’t the first time Ecker has come up as a potential managerial candidate for a big league club, either. Last winter, Ecker was rumored among the potential candidates to replace Gabe Kapler as manager in San Francisco before they ultimately hired Bob Melvin away from the Padres.
Venable has also seen his name come up in past managerial searches and has long been looked at as one of the league’s top up-and-coming potential managers. After playing parts of nine seasons in the majors, Venable joined the Cubs as a special assistant to the front office in 2017 before serving as first base coach in the following two seasons and third base coach during the shortened 2020 campaign. Venable departed Chicago following the 2020 season to become Alex Cora’s bench coach in Boston. He remained in that role for two years before joining the Rangers as an associate manager under Bruce Bochy prior to the 2023 season.
Grant notes that Venable could be the leading contender to take Bochy’s place as manager in Texas when the 69-year-old eventually returns to retirement. Venable was seemingly comfortable with that arrangement when he declined interviews with the Mets and Guardians last winter in order to remain with the Rangers, but it’s possible he’s more seriously considering departing the Rangers this winter amid uncertainty regarding Bochy’s plans for the future. As Grant relays, Bochy told reporters following the end of the 2024 regular season that managing still “drives” him, seemingly leaving the door open to him sticking around beyond the end of his current contract in 2025.
The two Rangers coaches are hardly the only candidates connected to the job, of course. Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough and bench coach Danny Lehman, Tigers bench coach George Lombard, Padres special assistant A.J. Ellis, former Angels skipper Phil Nevin, Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso, and outgoing Marlins manager Skip Schumaker have all been name checked as potential candidates in the rumor mill, with Schumaker and McCullough getting particular attention as potential leading candidates.
Whoever ultimately takes the reins in Chicago will enter an tumultuous situation. Not only is the club coming off a disastrous 2024 campaign that set the modern record for losses in a single season at 121, but the club’s ownership could be up in the air following a report yesterday that indicated longtime owner Jerry Reinsdorf is discussing selling the club to former big leaguer Dave Stewart. While all that uncertainty and the likely long timetable for a return to contention could make the club’s managerial gig seem somewhat unattractive, the relative scarcity of big league manager jobs is sure to draw the attention of quality talent nonetheless.
Latest On White Sox Managerial Search
TODAY: The White Sox also have interest in Rangers bench coach/offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker and Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehmann, Fegan and Nelson report. Chicago may have to wait until the NLCS is over to speak with Lehmann or another reported target in Los Angeles first base coach Clayton McCullough, who 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine cited as “a leading candidate” for the White Sox job back in September.
OCTOBER 16: While not the biggest piece of White Sox-related news today, the club’s more immediate piece of short-term business is finding a new manager. James Fegan and Josh Nelson of Sox Machine report that Tigers bench coach George Lombard and Padres special assistant A.J. Ellis are two of the candidates being considered in a still-evolving search.
This isn’t the first time that the 49-year-old Lombard has been linked to a managerial opening, as he previously interviewed with the Pirates in 2019 (before Derek Shelton was hired) and for the Tigers in 2020. Though Detroit ended up going with A.J. Hinch as its new skipper, the Tigers were impressed enough by Lombard to bring him aboard as the bench coach soon after Hinch was hired, and Lombard has subsequently spent the last four seasons in the role.
Lombard’s playing career saw him appear in parts of six seasons from 1998-2006, and he hung up his cleats following a 2009 season spent in the minors and in independent ball. He then worked in the Red Sox farm system for the next six seasons as a coach, roving coordinator, and manager — a two-season stint with the Red Sox rookie league affiliate in 2011-12 represents Lombard’s only experience as a manager. After a few months working with the Braves as a minor league coordinator in 2015, Lombard quickly moved onto a new job as the Dodgers’ first base coach, and spent the 2016-20 seasons as part of the L.A. coaching staff.
In a coincidental overlap, Ellis was still playing for the Dodgers in 2016 during Lombard’s first season. Ellis spent nine of his 11 MLB seasons with the Dodgers, and then after retiring following the 2018 season, stayed in the NL West by taking on an assistant role within the Padres’ baseball operations department. The special assistant title is a nebulous one that tends to vary greatly in responsibilities based on the individual’s specialties and the club’s needs, but Fegan writes that Ellis has done “plenty of roving player development work” over his six years in San Diego.
Moving into a regular job in the dugout would therefore represent an entirely new frontier for the 43-year-old Ellis, who has no formal managerial or coaching experience. Of course, Ellis’ long career as a catcher shouldn’t be discounted, given the long line of ex-catchers moving into managerial roles. As Fegan notes, Ellis had a reputation as a leader on the field during his playing days, and the White Sox could be interested in seeing if Ellis can make as a smooth a transition from catching to managing as Stephen Vogt did for the division rival Guardians.
Neither Lombard or Ellis have ever crossed paths with Chicago GM Chris Getz as a teammate or co-worker, nor were Lombard or Ellis ever former members of the White Sox organization. This fits with Getz’s prior statement that the White Sox were looking to bring in a new voice as the club’s next manager, though interim manager Grady Sizemore would receive some consideration.
Beyond these names, former Angels manager Phil Nevin, Rangers associate manager Will Venable, and Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso are known to be on Chicago’s list of candidates. While the Sox still want to talk to some coaches on teams currently playing in the postseason, some preliminary culling has already started to take place, as Fegan writes that the White Sox have already eliminated some candidates from consideration. A source tells Fegan that former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is “still alive” in the search, which is no surprise given that Schumaker has long been viewed as a preferred choice for the job.
MLBTR Podcast: Changes In Minnesota, Cubs’ Prospect Depth, And Possibilities For The O’s
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Twins general manager is leaving, their deal with Diamond Sports Group is dead and the Pohlad family is exploring a sale of the team (1:00)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- With Jed Hoyer in the last year of his contract, how aggressive will the Cubs be this offseason? Also, with so many top 100 prospects nearing the majors, how will that impact their offseason decisions? (10:10)
- What is the feeling about the Orioles possible spending this offseason? Is there a sense of what could happen or is more wait-and-see in the inside baseball world? (26:55)
- What do the Rangers need to do in this offseason in order to be competitive next year. Any specific players they need to target? (32:45)
- Willson Contreras seems like a logical fit for the Blue Jays if the Cardinals decide to move him. Only problem might be the return since the Cardinals want to shed money. Would this be likely? (34:55)
- The Padres have spent significant resources to build its current roster, but the World Series title continues to elude them. With potential payroll issues looming, how do they maintain their success for 2025 and beyond? They have a good lineup and great bullpen, but how do they avoid being worse in 2025? (39:50)
Check out our past episodes!
- Previewing FA Starting Pitchers, TV Deals, And Potential Spending Teams – listen here
- Buster Posey Takes Over In SF And The Cardinals’ Succession Plan – listen here
- Final Days In Oakland, The Surging Tigers, And If The Nats Will Pursue Juan Soto – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Josh Jung Undergoes Wrist Surgery
The Rangers provided medical updates on some injured players today, with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News among those to relay the info. Third baseman Josh Jung underwent a tendon release surgery on Tuesday that will keep him sidelined for the next three to four weeks, after which he will start regaining strength with the hope of having a normal offseason. Additionally, outfielder Evan Carter had an ablation procedure on his back while outfielder Adolis García has been diagnosed with a strained patellar tendon in his left knee and will rehab for the next eight weeks before beginning his offseason program.
Jung, 26, was limited by his right wrist in 2024, both in terms of the quality and quantity of his production. Last year, he hit 23 home runs in 122 games for the Rangers, slashing .266/.315/.467 for a 112 wRC+. Ideally, he would have built upon that this year but he was hit by a pitch in just his fourth contest of the season and suffered a fractured right wrist.
He underwent surgery in early April but the problems with his wrist were not solved at that point. The club initially anticipated a six-week recovery timeline but the surgery ended up being more complicated than expected, expanding his expected timeline to eight to ten weeks. By May, it was reported that even that longer timeline was optimistic. As he tried to work his way back to health, inflammation and discomfort continued to pop up.
He was reinstated from the IL at the end of July but eventually ended the season back on the IL, heading there in late September due to discomfort in that wrist. He finished the season with a .264/.298/.421 slash line and 102 wRC+ in just 46 games.
Jung was considering a platelet-rich plasma injection with the hope of that providing some healing, but he would have had to wait six weeks to see if that worked, which may have just been kicking the can down the road. “Rupture of the tendon was inevitable,” Jung tells Grant. By getting the procedure over with now, he’ll ideally have some time to get back to feeling 100% before spring training ramps up.
It was a somewhat similar story for Carter, 22, this year. He had a huge debut with the Rangers in 2023, hitting .306/.413/.645 in his first 23 major league games and then .300/.417/.500 in 17 postseason games. But he also had a mostly lost season, hitting .188/.272/.361 in just 45 games, with a stress reaction in his back the culprit in his case. Per Grant, this ablation procedure was to “burn” off some scar tissue that was hampering his recovery. He has already been cleared to begin a hitting progression.
As for García, he got into 154 games this year but with clearly diminished production. His .224/.284/.400 batting line and 92 wRC+ were both far worse than last year’s .245/.328/.508 line and 126 wRC+. He also put up a massive .323/.382/.726 line and 199 wRC+ in the postseason, helping the Rangers win the World Series and earning ALCS MVP honors along the way. Perhaps the knee injury provides an explanation for the big drop-off. The eight-week timeline should give him plenty of time to be healed before spring training ramps up.
Offensive struggles were a big reason why the Rangers disappointed on the heels of their World Series victory. Collectively, they hit .263/.337/.452 in the 2023 regular season. That led to a 116 wRC+ which trailed only Atlanta and Tampa. In 2024, they dropped all the way to a collective line of .238/.305/.380 and 95 wRC+, putting them in the bottom third of the league.
The club’s poor performance wasn’t limited to these guys, but it’s obviously less than ideal to have three projected regulars at less than full strength. Ideally, all can be healthy for spring and back to their best selves in 2025. Jung figures to be the everyday option at third while Carter and García should be in the outfield alongside Wyatt Langford and Leody Taveras. García is about to turn 32 and has two years of club control left, so he’s a theoretical trade candidate for this winter, but the Rangers would obviously be selling low given his rough season and injured knee.
Latest On White Sox’s Managerial Search
Finding a manager is one of the first orders of offseason business for the White Sox. Chicago dismissed Pedro Grifol in early August. Grady Sizemore finished the season on an interim basis. While Sox GM Chris Getz left the door ajar for Sizemore to take the full-time job, Getz had previously indicated that the team was likely to go outside the organization for a solution.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Sox’s early list of targets includes Rangers associate manager Will Venable, Cardinals bench coach Daniel Descalso, and former Angels skipper Phil Nevin. That’s not an exhaustive set of candidates, nor is it clear if anyone from that trio will actually interview.
Nevin is the only one of that group with previous managerial experience. The former All-Star infielder took over the Halos on an interim basis when Los Angeles fired Joe Maddon in June 2022. The Angels signed Nevin to a one-year extension covering the ’23 campaign. They decided not to re-sign him last winter on the heels of a 73-89 season. Nevin interviewed for the Padres’ vacancy that eventually went to Mike Shildt. He did not coach this past season.
Venable and Descalso are more recently retired players who have long been viewed as potential future managers. Venable had spent time as Alex Cora’s bench coach with the Red Sox before accepting the associate manager role under Bruce Bochy in 2022. He has held that position in Texas for the past two years. Venable won a World Series ring during his first season in Arlington. He took himself out of consideration for managerial roles early last winter, reportedly declining a chance to interview with the Mets for the job which went to Carlos Mendoza.
While Venable has been on coaching staffs for the past seven years, Descalso has just one season of MLB coaching experience. The former Cardinals infielder took the bench coach role with St. Louis last offseason. He spent this year as Oli Marmol’s top lieutenant and has also worked in the Diamondbacks’ front office since retiring as a player in 2021.
MLB To Take Over Broadcasts For Twins, Guardians, Brewers In 2025
Major League Baseball announced that it will take over the distribution of local broadcasts for the Twins, Guardians and Brewers in 2025. All three of those clubs previously had deals with Diamond Sports Group, which owns the Bally Sports Networks. But those deals all expired after 2024 and it was reported this week that Diamond is planning to make cutbacks to the number of teams on its slate of baseball broadcasts.
MLB will now be handling the broadcasts of at least six clubs, as it was already distributing for the Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies. Fans will be able to sign up for direct-to-consumer streaming packages without blackouts, except for games that are being broadcasted nationally. The Rangers also saw their Diamond deal expire in 2024 but seem to be in a different situation for now. MLB announced that Texas wouldn’t be continuing with Diamond but are exploring local options for 2025.
The Regional Sports Network model has been decaying for many years and this news is latest part of the crumbling. For years, broadcasters would pay clubs for the right to have exclusive local broadcasting rights, which would often lead to frustration among fans. Baseball games were harder to access and some fans found themselves in the blackout areas of multiple different teams. However, these deals were a significant source of annual revenue for teams.
But as consumers cut cords and move away from buying cable packages, the model has been less effective and several deals have already fallen apart. Diamond has been going through the bankruptcy process since early in 2023. As mentioned, the Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies didn’t have a local broadcasting deal for 2024. The Padres and Diamondbacks had previously been with Diamond while the Rockies were with AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. Fans in those markets were able to pay MLB directly to watch the team in 2024, with no blackouts, for $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the year. Dan Hayes of The Athletic relays on X that the Twins will be charging a similar price next year.
While that was a nice development for many fans, it wasn’t good for the teams. By all accounts, the revenue generated from this model is lower than what the clubs were previously receiving from the cable model, as the latter led to a passive stream of revenue from fans who signed up for cable packages but didn’t watch much or any baseball. The direct-to-consumer model cuts out the middleman but is dependent on active fan interest.
The MLB announcement today says that the “reach” of the Guardians via RSN was 1.45 million homes, with the Twins at 1.08 million. The league relays that between four and five million homes will now have access to their local clubs via these streaming options, but not all of them will sign up and it’s unclear what sort of rates are to be expected. Twins president Dave St. Peter expects the club to receive less broadcast revenue in 2025, per Aaron Gleeman of the Athletic on X, though he added that he expects greater revenue in the future.
In short, the move is good for fans in terms of simply watching the games. But since it’s bad for the teams on the business side, it could have spillover effects into roster construction. Last offseason, declining broadcast revenue seemed to have significant ripple effects in terms of transactions. The Padres trading Juan Soto to the Yankees, for instance, seemed to be motivated by the Friars needing to make budget cuts. Teams like the Rangers, Twins and others either cut their payrolls or didn’t raise them as much as expected, which led to certain free agents having fewer suitors than anticipated and a weak market for free agents in general.
Whether this will have an immediate impact on the decisions of the Twins, Guardians and Brewers will remain to be seen. The Twins already cut their payroll significantly a year ago in the wake of uncertainty with Diamond. There was seemingly some chance of the deal collapsing before the Twins re-signed for another year but with reduced fees. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the payroll went from $154MM in 2023 to $127MM in 2024. Per recent reporting, the club isn’t planning further payroll cuts but it doesn’t appear as though an increase is coming either. Per Gleeman on X, St. Peter doesn’t think this news impacts the payroll relative to those recent reports as the club already knew this was coming.
The Rangers appear to be exploring a different path. Last month, it was reported by Tom Friend of the Sports Business Journal that the club is looking into developing their own direct-to-consumer streaming service, independent of MLB. Presumably, the benefit to handling it themselves would mean they reap more direct revenue, but they would also spend more on the day-to-day costs of running the operation. If they eventually find this path too challenging, it seems fair to assume that letting MLB take over would be a fallback option.
Uncertainty around the broadcast situation seemed to impact the Rangers last year. Though they won the 2023 World Series, they followed that up with a relatively modest offseason, not signing any deals larger than the two years and $22MM they gave to Tyler Mahle. How their current plan will play out perhaps has even less certainty than the other three clubs, so it will be an interesting situation to watch.
There will be other long-term questions to be answered in time. Commissioner Rob Manfred intends to market a streaming package consisting of multiple teams at some point in the future, perhaps as soon as 2025. MLB.TV has existed for years but with consumers affected by local blackout rules. The idea going forward would be to essentially make a blackout-free version of MLB.TV. There would be complications in such a plan, as clubs like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs and others handle their own games via broadcasters that are at least partially owned by the team. Given their relatively stable footing, they would have less interest in joining such a plan with the other clubs.
As for Diamond, they had deals with 12 clubs in 2024. It was recently revealed that they are only fully committed to one for 2025, which is Atlanta. As part of that reporting last week, Diamond was apparently willing to renegotiate with other clubs but wanted to pay reduced fees. It seems that won’t happen with the four clubs mentioned in today’s announcement, so the Diamond slate will be down to a maximum of eight clubs in 2025 but perhaps that will go even lower of some others decide to make a deal like this with MLB instead.
Offseason Outlook: Texas Rangers
The Rangers never seemed to snap out of a World Series hangover, as the team stumbled to a 78-84 record one year after capturing its first championship. Texas now has several holes to be filled on the pitching staff, and the lingering question of how much money is available for roster upgrades.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Corey Seager, SS: $218MM through 2031
- Jacob deGrom, SP: $115MM through 2027 (club option for 2028 worth at least $20MM)
- Marcus Semien, 2B: $98MMM through 2028
- Tyler Mahle, SP: $16.5MM through 2025
- Jon Gray, SP: $13MM through 2025
- Adolis Garcia, OF: $9.25MM through 2025 (eligible for arbitration through '26)
Option Decisions
- Nathan Eovaldi, SP: $20MM player option for 2025
- David Robertson, RP: $7MM mutual option for 2025 ($1.5MM buyout)
- Andrew Chafin, RP: $6.5MM club option for 2025 ($500K buyout)
2025 financial commitments: $136.75MM ($170.25MM if all options are exercised)
Total future commitments: $469.75MM ($503.25MM if all options are exercised)
Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Nathaniel Lowe (4.145): $10.7MM
- Jonah Heim (4.097): $4.8MM
- Dane Dunning (4.078): $4.4MM
- Josh Sborz (4.055): $1.3MM
- Leody Taveras (3.124): $4.3MM
- Non-tender candidates: Dunning, Sborz
Free Agents
The first bit of the Rangers' offseason business was addressed in September, when Chris Young was signed to a new contract extension and promoted from GM to president of baseball operations. Young's previous deal was up at the end of the 2024 season, and despite this year's struggles in Arlington, the Commissioner's Trophy from 2023 was surely enough for Young to earn some extra job security.
Now entering his third winter in charge of the Texas front office, Young faces another unique challenge. The 2022-23 offseason was all about the Rangers trying to finally get back into contention, and Jacob deGrom's five-year, $185MM free agent deal added to the club's spending spree from the previous offseason under former PBO Jon Daniels. Last offseason, with a championship now in tow, Young basically just stood pat, as the Rangers scaled back spending due to the big salary commitments already in place, and plenty of concern over the team's broadcasting revenues.
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Reds Had Interest In Will Venable For Managerial Vacancy
- The Reds’ hiring of Terry Francona came together quickly, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that president of baseball operations Nick Krall first touched base with Francona via a phone conversation on September 26. Krall had gotten permission from the Guardians to speak with Francona (who was still with the team in a special assistant role), as Francona was atop the Reds’ list of nearly 100 possible managerial candidates but “with an asterisk,” depending on the longtime skipper’s health and whether he wanted to return after a year away from the sport. Krall and GM Brad Meador met with Francona in Tucson on October 2, and were impressed enough to call owner Bob Castellini to fly to Tucson the next day to finalize the contract. In other details on the managerial search, interim manager Freddie Benavides had put himself on the Reds’ short list with an excellent set of interviews, and Rangers associate manager Will Venable was also on the list of top targets. It appears as though Benavides might’ve been the only other candidate to actually interview, as Francona’s emergence precluded the Reds’ need to speak with Venable, or other rumored candidates as David Ross or Skip Schumaker.
Young: Rangers Will Prioritize Pitching, Explore Reunions With Eovaldi, Heaney
The Rangers went from the top of the MLB mountain to missing the playoffs in the span of one season, due in no small part to an offense that sputtered throughout the season. Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim were among the regulars who struggled at the plate, while Texas was plagued by injuries to Corey Seager, Josh Jung and Evan Carter, among others. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News points out, the Rangers floundered against four-seam fastballs in particular.
Be that as it may, president of baseball operations Chris Young’s end-of-season press conference struck an optimistic tone regarding the in-house hitters the Rangers currently possess. “The biggest remedy, in my opinion, is improving the guys we currently have,” Young said (via Grant). The recently extended Rangers baseball ops leader called internal improvements to the lineup a “heavy priority” heading into next season.
With regard to outside additions, those will come more on the pitching side of the roster. MLB.com’s Kennedi Landri writes that Young specifically mentioned that he’d like to retain impending free agents Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney. Eovaldi triggered a $20MM player option this season when he reached a combined 300 innings between 2023-24, but he’s widely expected to decline that in favor of a return to the market (barring a hypothetical extension from his current club). Heaney exercised a player option following the 2023 season and returned to make 31 solid starts in this year’s rotation.
“As far as Evo and Andrew go, those are priorities for us,” said Young. “We love those guys. They helped us win a World Series. We would love to bring those guys back, and we’re going to explore every way we can to make that happen.”
Entering the 2025 season, Texas won’t be short on rotation options. Jacob deGrom should be the Opening Day starter now that he’s recovered from Tommy John surgery, though counting on him for a full slate of 30-plus starts doesn’t feel realistic when he hasn’t reached that total since 2019. He’ll be joined by Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle (also in his first full season post-Tommy John) and some combination of Dane Dunning, Cody Bradford, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter. With deGrom and Mahle both facing workload concerns and the bulk of the team’s other options yet to pitch a full season in a big league rotation, it’s understandable that the Rangers feel it not just prudent but pivotal to fortify the starting staff.
Reunions with Eovaldi and/or Heaney won’t come cheaply, however. Eovaldi’s two-year, $34MM deal proved to be a bargain, even as incentives ballooned his guarantee to a total of $38.5MM over his two years. He signed that deal coming off an injury-shortened year with the Red Sox, who’d issued him a qualifying offer and thus tied him to draft pick compensation. Now healthy and unencumbered by the weight of a QO, he should be able to top that $34MM guarantee even though he’s two years older than during his last trip to the open market.
Heaney, similarly, was coming off a season of just 72 2/3 innings with the Dodgers. He hasn’t looked as dominant in Texas as he did during that abbreviated run with L.A., but he just gave the Rangers a combined 307 1/3 innings of 4.22 ERA ball with more promising strikeout and walk rates of 23.2% and 7.6%, respectively. He could find another two-year deal in the market, and it’s possible that would come with a larger guarantee than the $25MM term on his last pact.
The extent to which Texas will be able to spend in free agency is not yet clear. RosterResource pegs them with about $148MM worth of 2025 commitments, and that’s not including arbitration raises for Dunning, Heim, Sborz, Nathaniel Lowe and Leody Taveras — a group that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects for a combined $25.5MM. Add in a slate of league-minimum players, and Texas is looking at around $185MM in total projected salary for next year’s 26-man roster. That’s $40MM shy of where they opened the 2024 season, so there’s clearly some room to spend, but that $40MM could dry up quickly if the Rangers are intent not only on adding at least one starter, but also on replacing effectively their entire late-inning relief corps.
To say Texas is likely to be active in the bullpen market would be putting things mildly. Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc and Jose Urena — their top four relievers by innings pitched — are all free agents. Deadline acquisition Andrew Chafin has a $6.5MM club option ($500K buyout) that is not a lock to be exercised. Robertson has a $7MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout) and will very likely decline his end of it. Yates, Robertson, Leclerc, Chafin and Josh Sborz — who missed most of the season due to shoulder problems — were the team’s go-to options in high-leverage spots.
Young didn’t comment on what level of increase will or won’t be possible. He plans to meet with majority owner Ray Davis in the near future to outline a spending plan. While Young avoided any firm declarations on payroll, he spoke about uncertainty regarding the team’s endeavors to create a proprietary regional sports network and pledged to build a “very good roster with whatever resources we have.”
On the surface, that’s a far cry from his Aug. 2021 comments wherein he pledged to be “very active” in free agency — and then followed through with blockbuster signings of Seager and Marcus Semien. More context on the Rangers’ potential spending figures to come to light as the onset of free agency draws nearer, but given the team’s current financial obligations and needs up and down the pitching staff, it’s hardly a shock that Young is prioritizing arms and hoping to see a talented core of hitters rebound at the plate next season.
