The Rangers had simply 35 gamers on their 40-man roster on the finish of the Winter Conferences, and so they did their finest to rectify the scenario on Friday, signing catcher Danny Jansen to a two-year deal and relievers Alexis Díaz and Tyler Alexander to one-year offers. The three strikes haven’t but been formally introduced by the membership, however with the agreements, the roster is beginning to look not simply fuller, however way more settled. These strikes might look underwhelming on the floor, however Jansen fills the group’s largest gap, and the relievers give the Rangers the form of upside play they’ll want to search out their manner again into the playoff image in 2026.
We’ll begin with Jansen, who has agreed to a two-year, $14.5 million contract, in response to Robert Murray of FanSided. He’s the youngest of the three catchers who made our Prime 50 Free Brokers record, slotting in at thirty eighth between J.T. Realmuto (thirtieth) and Victor Caratini (thirty ninth). Jansen beat Ben Clemens’ estimated one yr and $9 million contract, and the Rangers received an additional yr at a decrease AAV. It’s possible you’ll be inclined to chalk that up the relative weak spot of the catcher market, however remember that final yr, Jansen was the one catcher to make the highest 50, and the Rays gave him one yr and $8.5 million.
Jansen joins the 35-year-old Kyle Higashioka in Texas. Proper now, our RosterResource projections have Jansen because the starter, however it’s not arduous to ascertain the 2 splitting time 50/50. Jansen ought to represent an actual enchancment over Jonah Heim, whom the Rangers non-tendered after he put up adverse WAR in each 2024 and 2025. Past that, although, Jansen is just not essentially a positive factor. Irrespective of which metric you ask, Jansen has been one of many worst defensive catchers within the recreation over the previous two years. Perhaps the Rangers suppose his bother framing pitches might be mitigated by the introduction of the ABS problem system. That’s not a positive factor both, but when it does work out that manner, it may make Jansen one thing of a steal.
The actual fear is that Jansen’s bat has additionally disappeared of late. He was an above-average hitter from 2021 to 2023, then his wRC+ dropped to 89 in 2024. It bounced again to 103 in 2025, however the superior numbers don’t belief that rebound. His 85 DRC+ was the worst mark of his total profession. Jansen is a true-blue lifter-puller who’s able to beating his xwOBA by yanking dwelling runs down the left discipline line. That’s what he did after a deadline commerce to Milwaukee, and it labored out nice (fulfilling Clemens’ prophecy that Jansen spends one month yearly wanting like Babe Ruth, or no less than Babe Ruth in Rec Specs). However Jansen’s strikeout charge spiked previous 25% this yr, a full 4 proportion factors above his earlier excessive. He gave the impression to be promoting out for energy, and it’s arduous to know what he’ll appear like in 2026.
It’s additionally vital to notice that 2025 was Jansen’s first season with out an IL stint since 2020, and human beings, particularly those who spend their lives squatting and catching 100-mph fastballs, don’t often get more healthy of their 30s. If all that is coming off as pessimistic, remember that the Rangers simply signed, in response to Clemens, the second-best catcher available on the market. Actually, it wouldn’t be an excessive amount of of a stretch to argue that he’s a greater guess than Realmuto, contemplating that he’s 4 years youthful and coming off a greater season on the plate. It’s troublesome to search out an excellent catcher in free company. Sure, the Rangers have been ranging from a fairly unhealthy place, however they upgraded the catcher place at a fairly affordable value.
Now we transfer on to the relievers, each of whom signed one-year offers with phrases that haven’t but been reported, in response to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Alexander and Díaz are wild playing cards in their very own manner. Díaz is famously the youthful brother of Edwin Díaz, and for a minute there, he appeared like he is perhaps even higher as a better. He was sensible as a rookie in 2022, nice in 2023, first rate in 2024, after which, uh, not first rate in 2025. Díaz ran an 8.15 ERA and an excellent uglier 8.51 FIP, shedding his nearer spot in Cincinnati, then bouncing to the Dodgers and the Braves. Similar to his brother, Alexis throws a four-seamer and a gyro slider from an excessive sidearm launch level. Not like his brother, his fastball is 1.5 mph slower than the league common. Along with shedding his velocity, he misplaced his command in 2025. His stroll charge skyrocketed and his strikeout charge plummeted. Issues received ugly in three totally different cities.
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Nonetheless, it doesn’t take an excessive amount of effort to take a look at Díaz and see a good reliever in there. He has clearly undergone some mechanical adjustments. His arm angle on the fastball jumped from 9 levels in 2024 to 16 levels in 2025. That may have been intentional, an try to recapture the magic of the 2022 season, when he additionally threw from a 16-degree arm angle. Nevertheless, he’s raised the arm angle on his slider even increased, and the pitch now has a really totally different spin orientation. All of that is to say that Díaz very a lot appears to be like like he’s nonetheless figuring issues out. That’s not essentially what you need from a 29-year-old pitcher, however that’s additionally how you discover any individual with upside. No one expects Díaz to run a sub-2.00 ERA once more, but when the Rangers may also help him work out his mechanics, he may nonetheless be a helpful piece.
Alexander is a 31-year-old soft-tossing lefty who has a mixed 4.91 ERA and 4.53 FIP over the previous 4 seasons. However wait! In 2025, he put up a career-best 1.3 WAR due to a career-best 3.64 FIP. However wait! That nice FIP was largely a results of a career-best 7.3% of his fly balls turning into dwelling runs. His hard-hit charge on these fly balls was 42.2%, the very same because it was in 2024. The Rangers are good sufficient that they’re not going to be fooled by a fluky HR/FB%, however it’s not arduous to take a look at Alexander and see upside.
Particularly, you should have a look at Alexander’s sweeper, which is beloved by all three of the general public stuff metrics. In 2024, it was his finest pitch in response to Baseball Savant’s run values. In 2025, it took a step again due to a .365 BABIP. To be clear, that BABIP wasn’t essentially fluky, no less than not in the way in which we usually consider batted ball outcomes as fluky. It was almost equivalent to the pitch’s anticipated batting common, however it’s not as if batters have been crushing the ball. They simply dumped plenty of singles over the infield. Nonetheless, we’re speaking about simply 72 batted balls, few of which have been crushed. Though the outcomes weren’t there, the pitch had the second-lowest hard-hit charge of Alexander’s repertoire and the second-highest whiff charge. Nonetheless, he throws it simply 22% of the time and throws both a four-seamer or sinker 44% of the time. Alexander does lead with the sweeper to lefties, with a utilization charge of 38% towards them, however it’s potential that he may discover extra success by spamming the pitch.
All of those gamers have upside. Jansen may nonetheless be a league-average hitter, and his protection can’t get a lot worse. If all he does is repeat the final two underwhelming seasons of his profession, it could push the Rangers out of Substitute Degree Killers territory on the catcher spot. Alexander may work out learn how to experience that sweeper to success. Díaz appeared for 3 totally different groups in 2025 as a result of he pitched terribly, sure, but additionally as a result of two groups thought they noticed one thing they may repair. The Rangers completed six video games out of the Wild Card in 2025, however as late as July 27, their playoff odds have been nonetheless above 50%. It is a group that’s nonetheless solely two years faraway from successful the World Sequence, one with a excessive payroll and designs on competition in 2026. No one will get there and not using a few issues going proper, so it is sensible to plug the largest holes and take a couple of possibilities trying to find upside.