Rangers President: 2027 Payroll To Be Similar To 2026

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young met this week with members of the media, including Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, to talk about various topics related to the club. He said the aim will be for the 2027 club to be competitive will running a “very similar” payroll to 2026.

According to the MLBTR Payroll Tracker, the Rangers had a cash/LRD payroll of $193MM this year, with a competitive balance tax number of $219MM. The club’s 2027 numbers are projected to be $175MM and $194MM, respectively, both about $20MM lower than in the season that just finished.

$20MM is a lot of money for a normal person but isn’t a ton of spending capacity for a major league club these days. The Rangers went 80-82 this year and have a lot of holes to fill. In a sense, they don’t need to improve too much, as it only took 81 wins for the Astros to take the A.L. West this year. But it seems safe to assume that was a historic low and it will take at least a win total in the mid-80s next year, if not higher.

That then raises the question of whether the Rangers can move some money around. “As we gauge the interest in our current players, it allows us the ability to understand how we could reallocate [dollars],” Young said. “I think everybody knows we’re not going to have the exact same roster we had last season. There will be changes. So, we are hard at work right now determining what those changes may be and understanding what the respective markets are. And that’s where trades are made. You oftentimes trade one player to make yourself stronger in two different spots, and that’s what we’re looking to do.”

In his column, Grant infers that this means the club will pursue trades of players like Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom and/or Nathan Eovaldi. It’s an understandable leap to make, as those will be three of the club’s highest-paid players. deGrom will make $37MM next year. His deal also has a club option for 2028. Eovaldi will make $20MM. Seager will make $31MM and will continue making that same salary through 2031.

Moving those players would create some more payroll space but there are hang-ups. All three players have full no-trade protection, for starters. deGrom and Eovaldi have that as part of their contracts. Seager now has 10-and-5 rights, having just completed his fifth year with the Rangers. deGrom already invoked his no-trade clause to block a trade to Atlanta at the deadline. Perhaps he’d be more willing to waive it in the offseason but that’s speculative. Even if it proves to be true, he might have a narrow list of places he’s willing to approve a trade to.

There are issues beyond the contractual matters. deGrom is 38 years old, turning 39 in June. He was still a fairly effective pitcher in 2026, posting a 4.20 earned run average, but he won’t have massive trade value when considering his age, injury history and hefty salary. It’s a fairly similar situation with Eovaldi, who also posted a 4.20 ERA this year. He will turn 37 in February.

Seager is notably younger, turning 33 in April, but there are still issues there. Even in his prime, he was fairly injury prone. It’s pretty rare for him to stay healthy for a full year. He hasn’t topped 123 games played in a season since 2022. He was capped at 102 contests in each of the past two seasons. His 2026 performance was below his usual standards, as he hit .227/.312/.424 for a wRC+ of 106. This year’s free agent class of shortstops is weak, which could help the Rangers, but Seager’s market would still be limited by his health track record and contract.

Grant doesn’t mention Brandon Nimmo in his post but he’s worth a mention as well. He will make $20.25MM annually through 2030. He has full no-trade protection in his deal. He waived that once to be traded from the Mets to the Rangers but it’s unclear if he would want to do that again. He will turn 34 in March. He had a solid batting line of .260/.324/.405 this year but his defensive grades were poor.

There will be lots of obstacles to finding deals for any of these players but the Rangers will try. With Seager, they have extra motivation, as prospect Sebastian Walcott is knocking on the door. A Seager trade could open the shortstop position for Walcott while also freeing up cash for other pursuits. They could also try to trade for a player with a comparable contract but one who plays a position of greater need, like they did when flipping Marcus Semien to the Mets for Nimmo.

There are other players they could look to move, ones who don’t have no-trade protection, but the cost savings there wouldn’t be as significant. MacKenzie Gore is an impending free agent and could perhaps be put on the trade block. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for an arbitration salary of $8.7MM. Trading him would save the Rangers a bit of money but would open a hole in the rotation. Replacing him by signing a free agent of comparable talent would cost more than that. Trading Gore would also be selling a bit low after the Rangers gave up a hefty package of prospects to get him last offseason, before he posted a lackluster 4.58 ERA.

Jake Burger is projected to make $6.9MM next year but won’t have massive value as a power-only first baseman. Josh Jung could be put out there but getting rid of his $5.2MM projected salary wouldn’t lead to huge savings and would open up a hole at third base.

It’s all a tricky balancing act as the Rangers look to weigh several things. The 2026 club wasn’t good enough and could use some upgrades in center field, behind the plate and in the bullpen. Trading established players could save money but would also open up new holes. Even if they do free up some cash, this offseason’s free agent class is a bit on the weaker side, making it harder for a club to solve problems via spending.