Rangers president Chris Young 'open-minded' about roster change, pinpoints team's 'priority'

When it comes to this offseason, Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young made it clear during the recent Major League Baseball general manager meetings in Las Vegas that the unexpected could be expected in the Lone Star State.

Texas is coming off a season where it went 81-81 and finished in third in the American League West. It marked the second straight year where the Rangers missed the postseason after winning the World Series in 2023.

Several of the players who were on that World Series-winning team in 2023 are still on the roster, but Young made it clear earlier this week that he isn't afraid to shake things up if it could help propel the team back into meaningful October baseball.

Rangers president Chris Young open to making changes

"I don't think you're going to see wholesale changes where we flip out nine position players, but I think that change can be good," Young said. "Every team will go through change. No team is going to bring back the exact same roster. Who that is, I can't tell you, but I just say we're open-minded in terms of personnel."

One of the keys for Texas this offseason will be putting together a bullpen that can thrive in the late innings. That was a problem for the Rangers last season as the Rangers posted a 4.24 ERA in the ninth inning (121.0 innings) and 6.23 ERA in extra innings (26.0 innings). Overall, Texas relievers had a 3.62 ERA.

"We need to build our bullpen," Young said. "We need bullpen arms."

However, Young didn't stop there when forecasting what next season's roster might need.

"Starting pitching is always going to be a priority for us," he continued. "We love the position-player group that we have, and we'll evaluate to see if there are ways to improve that group. If we stick with the guys we have, how can we create opportunities for the young guys?"

One of those position players who could be interesting to watch this offseason is outfielder Adolis Garcia, who has posted two seasons with an OPS+ below 100 (98 and 93, respectively) and is projected to make more than $12 million next season in his final year of arbitration.

Could Garcia be a potential change-of-scenery candidate? It's one possibility if Young is looking to shake up a roster that needs to improve to compete with division rivals Houston and Seattle.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.