Rangers Agree To Terms With Four Arbitration-Eligible Players
Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers tonight announced that the club has agreed to terms on 2026 contracts with infielders Jake Burger, Ezequiel Duran, Josh Jung, and Josh Smith.
With tonight’s agreements, as well as the previous signing of infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty on November 21, the Rangers have now reached 2026 contract agreements with all arbitration-eligible players on the club’s Major League roster.
Burger, 29, batted .236 (84-356) in 103 games for Texas in 2025, his first season in a Rangers uniform after he was acquired from Miami via trade on 12/11/24. He collected a pair of multi-home run games in 2025 (May 21 at New York-AL, September 10 vs. Milwaukee), tying Corey Seager for the most multi-homer efforts among Rangers in 2025. The five-year MLB veteran owns a career .247 batting average and .766 OPS with 88 home runs and 238 RBI in 447 games with Chicago-AL (2021-23), Miami (2023-24), and Texas (2025).
Duran, 26, batted .224 (46-205) with 14 RBI in 90 games for the Rangers in 2025, his fourth consecutive season seeing Major League action. The utilityman appeared defensively at seven different positions – shortstop (30 games), first base (25), second base (17), third base (11), rightfield (8), leftfield (3), and pitcher (4). Over his final 44 games beginning August 2, Duran hit .284 (33-116), as his 33 hits in that span were 3rd-most on the club. The Dominican Republic native carries a career .251 average and 22 home runs in 362 games over four Major League campaigns (2022-25).
Jung, who turns 28 on February 12, played in a career-high 131 games with Texas in 2025 and batted .251/.294/.390/.684 (121-482) with 14 home runs, one triple, 23 doubles, and 61 RBI. He was the Rangers' Opening Day third baseman for a third straight season and led the club in hits (55) and RBI (26) from July 21 through the end of the season. In four Major League campaigns, all with Texas from 2022-25, Jung has hit .255 with a .724 OPS, 49 home runs, and 161 RBI across 325 career games.
Smith, 28, hit .251/.335/.366/.701 (124-495) with 10 home runs, 2 triples, 23 doubles, and 35 RBI over a team-high 144 games in 2025, his second straight season with at least 140 games played. The left-handed hitter made starts at every non pitcher/catcher defensive position, joining Danny Santana (2019) as the only players in Washington/Texas franchise history (1961-) to achieve the feat in a single season. Since making his Major League debut with Texas in 2022, Smith has batted .236 with 31 home runs and 128 RBI in 456 games.
RANGERS ANNOUNCE TWO NON-ROSTER INVITEES: The Rangers tonight announced agreements with two players on minor league contracts with invitations to 2026 Major League Spring Training camp: right-handed pitchers Nabil Crismatt and Patrick Murphy.
The 31-year-old Nabil Crismatt (pronounced ‘nah-BEEL CRIZ-matt’) went 3-0 with a 3.71 ERA (14 ER/34.0 IP) in 8 games/5 starts for Arizona in 2025. Among pitchers with at least 500 pitches thrown in 2025, Crismatt’s 29.7% hard-hit rate was the 4th-lowest in the Majors, according to Statcast. The right-hander has appeared strictly for National League clubs in his six-year MLB career, compiling a 12-6 record and 3.71 ERA in 122 games/6 starts with St. Louis (2020), San Diego (2021-23), Arizona (2023, 2025), and Los Angeles-NL (2024). A native of Barranquilla, Colombia, Crismatt originally signed as a minor league free agent with the New York Mets in 2012.
Murphy will be in Rangers’ Major League camp for the second consecutive spring after fashioning a 0.66 ERA (1 ER/13.2 IP) in 7 Cactus League games/one start for Texas in 2025. The 30-year-old right-hander went 1-2 with a 3.04 ERA (8 ER/23.2 IP) in 15 minor league games/3 starts last season, mostly with Triple-A Round Rock (14 G/2 GS). He also pitched for the KT Wiz of the Korean Baseball Organization in 2025, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA (21 ER/60.2 IP) in 15 games/9 starts. A 3rd-round selection by Toronto in the 2013 MLB Draft, Murphy debuted with the Blue Jays in 2020 and holds a 4.76 ERA (21 ER/39.2 IP) in 35 career Major League relief appearances, most recently with Washington in 2022.
– RANGERS –