The Rangers recorded their third straight season below .500 in 2026, but their 80-82 record was almost enough to win the lackluster American League West. The division ultimately went to the Astros 81-81, who became the first team in the 31-year-old Wild Card era to clinch a playoff spot without finishing above .500. After his team failed to clear the low bar in 2026, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young met with the media Monday to discuss the club’s shortcomings and offseason plans.
“We have to become younger, we have to become more athletic, we have to become more dynamic” said Young, who added that the Rangers did not show enough “courage and tenacity” on the road the past two seasons (links via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News). They went 33-48 in Arlington in 2025 and a nearly identical 35-46 this year.
It’s unclear how Young plans to resolve these issues, and it’s also unknown how much money he will have. However, Young said he will have answers on the Rangers’ opening day payroll before free agency begins, according to Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports. They spent well over $200 million to start the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but that number fell to $185 million and changed this year.
Despite holding a two-game lead in the AL West heading into the August 3 trade deadline, the Rangers operated without much financial flexibility. They were about $27 million below the competitive balance tax threshold (they paid CBT in 2023 and 2024) and could have gone even lower if they had dealt right. Jacob of Grom. But deGrom invoked his no-trade clause, and unless he agrees to a deal over the winter (if the Rangers shop him), he will play out the final guaranteed year of his contract in Texas in 2027 for $37 million.
The Rangers also reportedly approached the shortstop Corey Seager to give up his NTC before the deadline, but he joined deGrom to stay put. Seager, who is under contract through 2031 as part of a 10-year, $325 million pact he signed in 2021, missed 60 games for the second straight season in 2026. In light of that, Young told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that the Rangers “I couldn’t get enough of Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford in terms of being on the field, in terms of matches played. Any team that loses its two biggest contributors offensively will likely fail to achieve its goal. And it’s happened too often this year.”
Seager made 436 trips to the plate and hit .227/.312/.424 (106 wRC+) with 20 home runs and 2.2 fWAR. Decent numbers, but a far cry from the .284/.358/.503 and 130 wRC+ line that the five-time All-Star has produced since his debut with the Dodgers in 2015. A bone spur in Seager’s elbow may have had something to do with the decline. He treated the wound “for a few months » and could undergo minor offseason surgery to fix it, Young said (via Landry). However, for now, the Rangers are not concerned that surgery will affect Seager’s availability for spring training.
Texas also determines whether the third baseman Josh Jung will undergo hand surgery, McFarland reports. Jung was fractured on a Twins pitch. Joe Ryan last Friday, ending its season after just 104 games. Meanwhile, injuries kept Langford out of 52 games. Regardless of what offseason moves Young and general manager Ross Fenstermaker make, the healthier years of Seager, Langford and Jung should improve the Rangers’ chances of ending a three-year skid in 2027.
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