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Rangers' Biggest Offseason Need Should Come as Little Surprise

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI | By Scott Roche | Last updated Nov 10, 2025 3:00 PM ET

When it comes to needs this offseason, the list is long for the Texas Rangers.

Factor in some potential money issues, and president of baseball operations Chris Young has a daunting task in front of him to put together a roster that will compete next year in the American League West.

The Rangers had one of the top pitching staffs in the majors this past season, but their struggling offense doomed them late in the year in the AL Wild Card race. Once would think that a team needing offense would focus its offseason needs there, but that's not the case.

Mike Petriello of MLB.com pointed out the obvious need -- among several -- for Texas this offseason. He highlighted how it will be chasing arms, mainly starting ones, with the number of pitchers on this roster slated to hit free agency.

Rangers Predicted Biggest Need This Winter Is Pitching

"Does it feel surprising that the team with baseball’s best ERA and 22nd-best run scoring may need to focus as much on the arms as the bats? It’s largely because of the fact that nearly 40% of the team’s innings came from pitchers headed to free agency – and because the rotation is led by a 37-year-old (Jacob deGrom) and a 36-year-old (Nathan Eovaldi). ... Given what sounds like a need for some budget tightening, president of baseball operations Chris Young might have to get creative to shake things up,'' wrote Petriello.

Finding arms is going to be easier said than done this winter. The problem for Texas and Young is going to be money. They are unlikely to get into a bidding war with other teams for the two biggest free agents -- Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros and Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres -- so they might have to go down the road of cheaper options and take a shot at Lucas Giolito from the Boston Red Sox, Michael King of the Padres or someone else.

The biggest free agents from the Rangers' pitching staff are Merrill Kelly and Tyler Mahle. Kelly was good after being acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks, but there is a good chance he heads there again this offseason in free agency.

Things might start to heat up a little bit this week at the general manager's meetings, but one thing is for sure: it's a big offseason for the Rangers in terms of roster building for next season.