ARLINGTON -- In 2025, Jacob Latz was an effective Swiss army knife for a Rangers pitching staff that was arguably the best in baseball.
The staff still has a few holes with a little under a month until Rangers pitchers and catchers report to camp in Surprise, Ariz. So where does Latz fit into the equation?
“I wouldn't say we have defined that yet right now, but Jacob is preparing as a starter,” general manager Ross Fenstermaker said at the Winter Meetings last month. “What his ultimate role is will be determined by performance in Spring Training and the rest of [what we do] this offseason. But right now, he is preparing as a starter, and we will revisit that come Spring Training.”
Latz’s stats in 2025:
• As a starter: 2.72 ERA in 39 2/3 innings (eight games)
• As a reliever: 2.93 ERA in 46 innings (25 games)
Latz, a fifth-round pick out of Kent State in the 2017 MLB Draft, was a starter for the majority of his Minor League career, and even debuted as a starter in 2021. But in ‘23, the player development staff transitioned him to a reliever due to a number of injuries that limited his effectiveness deeper into games.
He made no starts at the big league level between 2023-24. But last season, he became a valuable swingman with a number of injuries eating through the rotation.
It’s fair to say that Latz should get further consideration in the rotation, but it’s also fair to ask whether he’s more valuable as a swingman than as the fifth starter.
“Jacob wants to prepare as a starter,” Fenstermaker added. “He has shown that he's capable of doing such. That's how he's going to treat his offseason. It's a lot easier for us to reduce that role from starter to reliever than it is to build up from a reliever to starter in spring. So as of right now, that's where his mindset, mentality is at, and we support that.”
And the Rangers could no doubt use more innings in one way or another.
The Rangers’ rotation, as it stands now, is headed by co-aces Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, with Jack Leiter and potentially Kumar Rocker coming behind. Cody Bradford is expected to return from elbow surgery somewhere around May.
All that is to say, Texas no doubt needs more starting depth before Opening Day. Latz could be that.
“I think it’s just something that we have to have more conversations on in terms of what his best role will be for the 2026 Rangers,” Fenstermaker said. “If he's in the bullpen, it's most likely in a high-leverage role, given his stuff quality and the things that we saw throughout last year. I also think that there are some substantial conversations to have and whether or not he could be a 150 innings starter for the Texas Rangers.
“We're going to continue having that dialog. Jake is preparing for that, and part of that is going to be how he comes into camp, how he competes, what the competition looks like. We'll make the best decision for our club at that point.”