May 18, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers hat in honor of the military in the dugout during the second inning against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Field. Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Rangers Failed Offseason Signing Has Been Extremely Overpaid This Season

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 9:00 AM ET

After making a nice run before the trade deadline, the Texas Rangers have stumbled a bit of late. Unfortunately, this has resulted in making the postseason becoming more challenging.

The Rangers came in 2025 seeking to bounce back from what was a highly disappointing campaign in 2024. It isn't often that a defending champion in any sport misses the playoffs the following season, but that was the case for Texas.

Last year, they had to deal with a plethora of injuries to their starting rotation, and their lineup took a bit of a step back after winning the World Series. The Rangers made it a mission during the offseason to make some improvements to the offense while being mindful of their tight financial situation.

Without a ton of room to maneuver, the team seemingly did a nice job on paper with the additions they made, adding Kyle Higashioka to be their backup catcher, Joc Pederson to be a designated hitter and Jake Burger to take over at first base. However, one of the most notable moves to bring in a proven slugger hasn't worked out for the team at all.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about Pederson being one of the most overpaid players in baseball this season, with a salary of $18.5 million.

Can Pederson Salvage His Season?

It is hard to argue with Pederson being labeled as an overpaid player this year. The left-handed slugger appeared to be a great signing for a Texas team that needed some punch in their lineup after the disappointing 2024 campaign.

The Rangers signed the talented slugger after he was coming off an outstanding season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He slashed .275/.393/.515 with 23 home runs and 64 RBI. As strictly as a designated hitter, the Diamondbacks used him wisely against right-handed pitching as much as possible to maximize his value.

But with Texas, he got off to a dreadful start to the season before going on the injured list. In April, he slashed .115/.217/.197 with just one RBI. It is hard to see stats much worse than that for a hitter in the Majors, but he followed it up by slashing .167/.355/.333 with two home runs in May before heading to the injured list for about two months.

Even though he has been performing a bit better of late, his overall numbers for the season are still terrible. However, with the Rangers in the mix for a Wild Card spot, they will take whatever positive production they can for the next month and a half.