For the second straight year, the Texas Rangers missed the playoffs in 2025. The Rangers’ pitching staff wasn’t a problem, as a rotation led by Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi was one of baseball’s best. On the other hand, Texas’ offense had weak points.
The Offense
StatNumberRankRuns Scored68422ndHome Runs17518thOPS.68626thWhiff%24.9%11thHard Hit%40.2%20th
The Pitching
StatNumberRankStarters’ ERA3.411stRelievers’ ERA3.625thStrikeouts1,34419thWhiff%25.7%11thChase%28.7%8th
The Good
Texas’ rotation was a force to be reckoned with last year, thanks to the return of Jacob deGrom and an electric year from Nathan Eovaldi.
I’ll start with deGrom, who missed almost all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery (he made three abbreviated MLB outings in September). Before he underwent the knife in 2023, deGrom looked much like he did in 2021 and 2022 when healthy: a blistering fastball, and a hard slider that became the base of his arsenal.
While deGrom used those two pitches a combined 84% of the time in 2025, he was very much a different version. deGrom’s fastball was dialed back, averaging 97.5 MPH as opposed to the 99.2 MPH he showed on average four years ago. But on top of that, he worked in more changeups to keep hitters off balance, and even broke out the curveball against lefties.
The result? deGrom finished in the top-10 in opponents’ wOBA in the first half, struck out 185 over 172 innings, and capped off the year with the AL Comeback Player of the Year award.
deGrom wasn’t the only big starter on the team. Nathan Eovaldi, had he qualified, would have bested Paul Skenes and led Major League Baseball in wOBA (.240) and ERA (1.73). Eovaldi struck out 129 over 130 innings in a season where he missed time with elbow inflammation and a rotator cuff strain.
The 35-year-old Eovaldi is one of the best feel pitchers in the game, mixing in a fastball that doesn’t have as much velocity as it did, along with a good cutter and one of the best splitters in the game, to stymie hitters.
Aside from those two, Tyler Mahle had a great first half. Mahle only struck out 56 over 77 frames but had one of the top 20 wOBA percentages in the league. Mahle only gave up four home runs in that span. But much like Eovaldi, Mahle had his own injury problems.
The Texas rotation also filled out nicely with Jack Leiter becoming a regular. Patrick Corbin, who signed late in camp, leaned more heavily on the cutter he began using in Washington and logged 155.1 IP, second-most on the team.
As for the Rangers’ lineup, nine players had double-digits in home runs. The clubhouse leader was Corey Seager with 21.
Seager, like many players on the Rangers, spent time on the IL. Part of that was out of his control, as he missed the final few weeks on the injured list recovering from an appendectomy.
Wyatt Langford, in his second season in the Majors, hit 22 home runs and stole 22 bases.
The Bad
Finding consistency was a problem for the Rangers’ offense.
While Texas’ agents of chaos, led by Michael Helman and Josh Smith, helped lead the Rangers to a hot stretch in September that nearly got the team into the playoffs, it was a grind to get production from notable names.
Seven Rangers regulars had OPS figures below .700. Adolis Garcia, a chase-happy outfielder, had 19 home runs but struck out 135 times over 135 games. However, he was far from the only player who had a below-average year.
Jake Burger, in his first season, slashed .236/.269/.419 in 103 games. Joc Pederson, after a fantastic season in Arizona as a platoon player, only slashed .181/.285/.328 over 96 games.
I think you get the idea.
Moving to the pitching staff, the lone sore spot in the rotation was Kumar Rocker. Rocker conceded 11 home runs in 64.1 IP in a year that saw him bounce between Texas, Round Rock, and the IL.
As for the bullpen, it was very good overall. Shawn Armstrong, signed in December 2024, turned out to be one of the best signings of the winter. Armstrong struck out 74 over 74 and finished with the third-best wOBA (.224) among relievers with min. 30 appearances. He was one of several relievers to get shares of the ninth-inning stopper role.
The Rangers rotated through several pitchers, including Robert Garcia, Phil Maton, and Luke Jackson, in the closer role before Armstrong took that charge. It was a very where the Rangers had to figure things out without Kirby Yates, who signed with the Dodgers after a dominant 2024 in Texas.
Early Projected Lineup for 2026
1B: Jake Burger
2B: Josh Smith
3B: Josh Jung
SS: Corey Seager
OF: Brandon Nimmo (LF), Evan Carter (CF), Wyatt Langford (RF)
DH: Joc Pederson/Ezequiel Duran
SP: Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, Jacob Latz
RP: Robert Garcia, Michel Otanez, Cole Winn, Jose Corniell, Luis Curvelo, Dom Hamel [PROMOTIONS/ADDITIONS]
The Rangers, much like division rival Seattle, have been one of the busier teams in November. Texas non-tendered several major contributors from 2023, most notably Jonah Heim & Adolis Garcia. Additionally, Marcus Semien was traded to the Mets for Brandon Nimmo just before Thanksgiving.
Nimmo’s arrival in Texas gives new manager Skip Schumaker a power-hitting outfielder who can get on base. This should make lineup construction interesting, given that Nimmo did well as a leadoff hitter with the Mets before moving down the order.
However, how much more will this group change, at least offensively?
As for the pitching staff, the Rangers’ bullpen core doesn’t have a lot of well-known talent. However, there are some hard-throwers in the organization, like Jose Corniell and Emiliano Teodo.
Texas made one move already to add to that bullpen, picking up Michel Otanez from the Athletics.
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