The Texas Rangers enter the 2026 season in a fascinating state of transition. After following their 2023 World Series Championship with two straight seasons of mediocrity (81-81 finish in 2025), the front office decided to shake things up by hiring Skip Schumaker, the 2023 NL Manager of the Year. The Rangers believe Schumaker will bring a younger, aggressive approach to the clubhouse.
The Rangers weren’t content with minor tweaks to the roster either as they traded franchise staple Marcus Semien to the Mets for outfielder Brandon Nimmo in hopes of fixing their lineup’s OBP. They also sent five prospects to the Nationals for lefty MacKenize Gore, who gives them a high-upside southpaw to bridge the gap between their aging aces and their rising stars.
Lineup:
This 2026 lineup is built on the idea of a high-OBP table setting philosophy. With the departures of Adolis Garcia and Semien, the hopes are this newer looking lineup will be able to “grind down” opposing pitchers. Nimmo was brought in specifically to fix the Rangers’ leadoff woes as he has an elite walk rate and a knack for getting on-base. Corey Seager returns from his appendectomy that ended his 2025 season early, but he’s now fully healthy and expectation is that Schumaker will keep him in the three-hole to maximize RBI opportunities. Wyatt Langford is coming off a 22 home run season and focused during the winter on strength training in hopes of avoiding the oblique issue that slowed him down last season. Jake Burger will now serve as the primary slugger in the lineup and the Rangers are hoping he can give Seager protection in the lineup. Josh Jung’s health is another potential x-factor as he can provide formidable depth and gold glove caliber defense at 3B.
Rotation:
On paper, the Rangers field a top-five starting rotation but in reality there are a lot of question marks with this group. It’s possible that Texas will implement “gap starts” throughout the season to give their two frontline pitchers extra days of rest. Jacob deGrom returns coming off a surprisingly healthy 172 inning, 12-8 season in which he had an ERA of 2.97 and if he can repeat that he should be right back in Cy Young contention. Nathan Eovaldi, the postseason hero, remains one of the most efficient strike-throwers in the game. Gore provides a high strikeout left-handed presence that the rotation lacked last season. Jack Leiter found his footing in the second half of last season and now controls a fastball-slider combo that he can locate.
Bullpen:
After a 2025 season in which the bullpen posted a top-five ERA (3.62), they also led the majors in blown saves (29). The front office decided to give this group an overhaul. The Rangers will enter the season with a closer-by-committee approach. Robert Garcia is the incumbent and emerged last season with a 2.85 ERA and big time strikeout stuff, but control issues (16 save chances, only 9 converted) made him a stressful watch. Chris Martin returns on a 1 year, $4million contract but at the age of 39 he’s no longer the fireballer he used to be so he will need to rely on his stabilizing command on the mound. Alexis Diaz comes over after two rough seasons in Cincinnati and the Rangers are hoping their coaching can help him rediscover the All-Star form he showed in 2023. Jakob Junis was signed to be the primary multi-inning weapon to bridge the gap between the starters to the back-end pen.
Projected Lineup:
- Brandon Nimmo – LF
- Wyatt Langford – RF
- Corey Seager – SS
- Jake Burger – 1B
- Joc Pederson – DH
- Josh Jung – 3B
- Josh Smith – 2B
- Danny Jansen – C
- Evan Carter – CF
Projected Rotation:
- Jacob deGrom
- Nathan Eovaldi
- MacKenzie Gore
- Jack Leiter
- Kumar Rocker
Projected Bullpen:
Robert Garcia – Closer
Chris Martin – Setup
Alexis Diaz
Jokob Junis
Cole Winn
Josh Sborz
Manager: Skip Schumaker (1st season)
Projection: 84-78 (2nd in the AL West)
Written By: Brian Finnigan
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