His defense is still stellar, and in fact, he took home the Gold Glove this year. That is something that the Mets were looking for.
And with Nimmo, the Rangers get a corner outfielder to help replace Garcia. His contract isn’t the best, with five years remaining. But it still saves the team some much needed salary room if only a few million.
For a team that is cutting salaries by perhaps as much as 20% or so, that is a significant savings. The biggest addition, though, is Nimmo’s bat. The Wyoming native has a career 126 wRC+ and slugged 25 home runs last season.
Nimmo is a lefty bat that hits well against both lefties and righties. He will be an everyday player and one that the Rangers will lean on to jumpstart an offense that has been dismal the past two seasons.
Still Need Starters
Last season, the Rangers’ starting pitchers led MLB in ERA for the first time in club history. The pair of aces in deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi will be back. Breakout rookie Jack Leiter will be back, along with Kumar Rocker, who had an inconsistent 2025 campaign.
But Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin, Merrill Kelly, who combined to start 56 games for the Rangers last season, are now free agents. In Kelly’s case, he has returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks. There is a chance that the Rangers could re-sign Corbin, but maybe they should aim higher.