This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ARLINGTON -- Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young spoke with the media via Zoom on Monday to give offseason updates. Here’s what we learned:
What is the budget going to look like?
Young said that he expects the payroll for 2027 to be “very similar” to where it was in ‘26. The Rangers’ payroll sat around $193 million this year, and they have a number of free agents coming off the books.
With that, the Rangers theoretically have about $20 million to spend this offseason after factoring in arbitration increases. That is not much to spend on free agents.
“We are going to continue to look for all ways to improve our club,” Young said. “[A budget], I think, it allows us to be very creative and pursue a lot of different paths to build a whole club and a complete roster. And we're excited for that challenge.”
To that point, do they NEED to trade any of the big-money players?
“Need” is a strong word. But if the Rangers are going to be competitive -- and Young says they plan to be -- it’s something they are going to have to explore.
The Rangers’ three highest-paid players -- Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi -- are all set to make between $20 million and $37 million in 2027. All three have no-trade protection, which deGrom invoked at the Trade Deadline.
“I don't think we are in a spot where we have to move anybody,” Young said. “I think we're looking at this as what is the best thing for the Texas Rangers in 2027 and beyond.
“I think every market develops differently, and as we gauge the interest in our current players, it allows us the ability to understand how we could reallocate,” Young added later. “Oftentimes, [you] trade one player to make yourself stronger in two different spots, and that's what we're looking to do.”
So no, they don’t need to, necessarily. But it very well could be a possibility.
Have priorities changed since the end of the regular season?
In short, no. At the end-of-season press conference, Young and manager Skip Schumaker emphasized the need for the Rangers to get younger and more athletic. That remains a key focus for the offseason, though more specific needs have also materialized. Young needs to build a new bullpen once again. Catching depth remains a priority.
But big picture: Young knows what he wants to build.
“From an offensive standpoint, we're going to look for ways to really make sure that we're building a team and a roster that has cohesiveness and continuity throughout the lineup,” Young said. “That we've got a connected offensive unit, one through nine. I think it’s really important for us, that there's less volatility.
“We have to be better defensively. We were not good enough defensively last year. That's going to be a key priority for us. We need to run the bases better. So that's part of being younger, more athletic, more dynamic. There's a certain profile of players that we're going to look for that will be important for us.”