The Texas Rangers missed the playoffs six years in a row, won the World Series, and then missed the playoffs again in 2024. If you're going to make the playoffs, might as well make it count, right?
Well, the Texas Rangers appear ready to make it back to the playoffs in 2025, and spending a lot of money on pitchers would help that happen — according to Jon Heyman, the Rangers could be in the mix for Corbin Burnes, one of the remaining free agent prizes.
"My mystery team for Corbin Burnes, potentially... could be the Rangers," said Heyman on a Bleacher Report live stream late last week.
The Rangers could be a “wildcard” team in the Corbin Burnes race, per @JonHeyman on @BRWalkoff pic.twitter.com/WuvTmlxslO
— Rangers Nation ⚾️ (@rangers__nation) December 13, 2024
After re-signing Nathan Eovaldi earlier this offseason, the Rangers don't appear to be done bolstering their rotation; it makes sense, too, because outside of Eovaldi, the Rangers are a little thin on starting pitchers.
Burnes would beef up the staff and give Texas a pretty great 1-2 punch at the top of its rotation. In an AL West littered with great pitchers, it mught be necessary if the Rangers want to stay in the race.
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Burnes seems in no rush to sign
Max Fried and Blake Snell have new homes, but many of the big-name pitching free agents remain unsigned, and Burnes is the biggest name among them. Coming off an All-Star season in which he posted a 2.92 ERA, struck out 181 batters in 194 innings, won 15 games and finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting, Burnes is bound to command a long-term deal close to $200 million.
He's 30 years old, so the backhalf of a long deal from Burnes could get a little dicey, but he's good enough now to justify a commitment. Texas should throw the kitchen sink at him.