3 Texas Rangers who won't be back after trading for Jake Burger

The Texas Rangers continued their strong start to the offseason on Tuesday by not only re-signing Nathan Eovaldi, but trading for Jake Burger in a deal with the Miami Marlins.

Rangers fans know what Eovaldi brings, but should be over the moon with the team acquiring Burger, - a player who has hit 63 home runs over the last two seasons - and hasn't even hit arbitration yet. Burger presumably won't play the field much with Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Jung locked in at the corner infield spots, but the power he can bring will be a welcome addition out of the DH spot.

Rangers designated hitters ranked 29th in the sport last season with a 65 WRC+. Burger had a 106 WRC+ last season. They made quite the improvement, and even got a good deal out of it in terms of value.

Burger and Eovaldi join Kyle Higashioka in players that the Rangers have added this offseason, and it's hard to envision them being done. Adding these players will almost certainly lead to these three players' departure at some point this offseason.

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3) The Rangers should capitalize on Josh Smith's value while it's high

This one might be a bit of a surprise, especially considering the fact that Josh Smith was a Silver Slugger winner last season, but where exactly is he going to play?

Acquiring Burger meant that the Rangers added another bat to what should be a stacked lineup - particularly in the infield. Lowe and Jung slot in at the corners while Marcus Semien and Cory Seager make up the middle infield. When healthy, it's one of the best infields in all of baseball. Smith is primarily an infielder.

While he's mostly an infielder, Smith does have some experience in the corner outfield. The problem there, though, is that Adolis Garcia and Wyatt Langford are etched in as the team's corner outfielders. Sure, the Rangers could keep Smith around as a utility player, but is that the best use of his value?

This past season, Smith proved he can not only be an everyday player, but an above-average one at that. He might not make an All-Star team, but since he doesn't even hit arbitration until after next season, he can bring back a good piece if the Rangers do decide to trade him.

2) Max Scherzer is not close to the ace he once was

Looking to win the World Series in the 2023 season, the Rangers acquired Max Scherzer in a deal that sent Luisangel Acuña to the New York Mets. In a sense, the deal did work out for the Rangers. They won the World Series. Without Scherzer's solid performance that regular season for Texas, they might not have even made the playoffs, so for that, Rangers fans are grateful, even if Acuña turns out to be a productive player in New York.

Still, Scherzer made just three starts last postseason and struggled in two of them. He then followed that up by making nine starts in the entire 2024 campaign. His ERA was just shy of 4.00 in those nine starts, and he also posted his lowest strikeout rate (22.6 percent) in a season since 2011.

Not only has Scherzer failed to make 30 starts in a season annually since 2021, but he is clearly not the frontline arm he once was. Given the fact that he's now 40 years old, it makes sense that Scherzer is not the superstar he once was.

With Eovaldi back, there's little reason for Texas to pursue a reunion with the aging pitcher who has had trouble staying on the field. Rangers fans are thankful that he helped them win the World Series, but there's little reason to bring Scherzer back.

1) The Rangers don't have much of a need for Andrew Heaney

In a season that saw the Rangers pitching staff get decimated by injuries, Andrew Heaney was pretty much the only starter they could rely on to take the ball every fifth day. He led the team in starts (31) and ranked only behind Eovaldi in innings pitched (160). He had a 4.28 ERA in those starts - pitching mostly like a solid back end arm.

While Heaney is sure to get a good amount of interest in free agency after throwing his most innings in a season since 2018, there's little reason for the Rangers to bring him back.

First of all, how good of an addition would that be? Heaney was able to stay healthy during his time in Texas, but has qualified for the ERA title just once, and that was in 2018. Additionally, his strikeout rate this past season (22.9 percent) was his lowest in a season since 2015. At 33 years old and with his fastball velocity averaging just 91.5 mph according to Baseball Savant (down from 92.5 mph in 2023), there's little reason to believe that the strikeouts will magically re-appear.

Heaney might be regressing, and the Rangers don't really have a need in the rotation as is. Eovaldi is back, and joins a healthy Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle, Jon Gray, and Cody Bradford in the rotation. This isn't to mention guys like Dane Dunning, Jack Leiter, and Kumar Rocker as depth options.

The Rangers have their share of injury concerns, but can find a cheaper (and possibly better) depth option than Heaney if they choose to add more starting pitching.