The Texas Rangers will have pitchers and catchers reporting to Surprise in a couple of weeks, and the team’s roster is starting to round into shape.
The Rangers swapped Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo early
in the offseason, addressing their corner outfield need while also opening up a spot for Josh Smith to play every day. In December they signed Danny Jansen, addressing their need for a catcher to share time with Kyle Higashioka. Last week, the team acquired MacKenzie Gore, taking care of a hole in the middle of their rotation that needed filling. And throughout the offseason, they have added relief pitchers, with four free agent relievers being signed to major league deals, a reliever being added through the Rule 5 Draft, a pair of arms being claimed on waivers (who are still here, as of now), and your usual collection of NRIs to throw against the camp wall to see if any stick.
The one priority on the offseason shopping list that has not been addressed, however, is a righthanded bat. Chris Young has said throughout the offseason that the Rangers want to add a righthanded bat, and given the makeup of the roster, I’d say that’s more of a need than a want. Evan Carter has been terrible in his career against lefties and has durability concerns, and Josh Smith is a lefthanded hitter with durability concerns. Neither player may end up in a true platoon, but I suspect both will regularly sit against lefties, with Sam Haggerty (penciled in as the team’s fourth outfielder) and Ezequiel Duran (penciled in as the utility infielder) filling in for them.
Joc Pederson, meanwhile, is a platoon DH. He was signed to be the designated hitter against righthanded pitchers, and he needs a platoon partner. Unlike past years, where the four bench spots could be allocated to a backup catcher, a fourth outfielder, a utility infielder, and Some Dude Who Will Never Play, you are going to probably need that last bench spot to be dedicated to someone who will actually play, and who will ideally be starting against lefties, most likely at DH, but potentially in the field to give, say, Wyatt Langford a half-day off by DHing.
There are still some viable platoon DH/RH bench bat options out there in the free agent market. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?
Paul Goldschmidt
This would be, to me, the “in an ideal world” option. The 38 year old future Hall of Famer had spent his entire career with the Diamondbacks and Cardinals before joining the Yankees for 2025 on a one year, $12.5 million deal. He is slowing down, having put up a 100 OPS+ in 2024 and a 104 OPS+ in 2025, but has continued to hit lefties well, slashing .336/.411/.570 in 168 plate appearances in 2025 after slashing .295/.366/.473 against them in his final year with the Cardinals. He started 115 games for the Yankees, but after a great first couple of months faded, slashing .226/.277/.333 in the final four months of the season after putting up a .338/.394/.495 line in the first two months of the season.
While Goldschmidt probably isn’t a starting caliber first baseman anymore, his performance against lefties would make him a great option in the short side of a platoon at DH, and he could also provide Jake Burger the occasional day off, and fill in for Burger for short periods if he has a stint on the injured list. And the hope would be that not playing every day would help avoid the steep decline he experienced last year. He’s also considered to be a solid veteran clubhouse presence.
Goldschmidt seems unlikely, however, for a few reasons. One, I’m not sure that he’s in a place where he’s ready to become a part-time player, rather than an everyday guy, especially when the regular at his position is Jake Burger. Second, if he is going to go the part-time player route, other teams may be more attractive to him — the Yankees, for example, are reported to be interesting in bringing him back. Third, I doubt the Rangers would be willing to pay him close to the $12.5 million he made last year, and I don’t know that he’d be willing to take a significant pay cut to come to Texas (or that other teams wouldn’t be willing to pay him more).
Miguel Andujar
Have bat, will travel, Miguel Andujar appears to be the popular pick among commenters here on the LSB for the bench bat role. Andujar finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2018, when put up a 130 OPS+, though his glovework at third base was bad enough that he only had a 2.8 bWAR. He has accumulated negative bWAR since then, and has also not had more than 341 plate appearances in a season, though that 341 PA season was last year, split between the A’s and the Reds. He’s struggled to stay on the field due to both health reasons — he spent over a month on the injured list last year — and productivity reasons.
Andujar has beat up on lefty pitchers of late. He had a 986 OPS against them in 2025 and a 995 OPS against them in 2024. He’s also pretty much just a DH at this point — the A’s tried him at third base for the equivalent of about 25 games last year, the first action he’s had at the hot corner since 2021, and he had a -6 DRS and -3 FRV, which is both pretty abysmal and pretty much in line with his past defense performances there. He has played some left field in recent years, and is not good defensively there either, though he isn’t as bad as he is at third base.
Andujar, who turns 31 at the start of the 2026 season, makes some sense as a platoon partner for Pederson, depending on his price (and willingness to accept a part-time role). The question is whether you want to devote two roster spots to DH-only guys who bring no value defensively or on the basepaths, given the reduced flexibility you then have.
Rhys Hoskins
The former Phillies first baseman put up a 127 OPS+ heading into his final season of arbitration eligibility in 2023, and appeared poised to cash in with a lucrative free agent contract if he kept that up. Instead, Hoskins missed all of 2023 due to a torn ACL. After the 2023 season, Hoskins ended up signing a 2 year, $34 million deal with Milwaukee that included a team option for 2026. That option was declined, with Hoskins coming in at replacement level in 2024, then bouncing back some in 2025, but seeing playing time disappear after he suffered a sprained thumb and then returned from the injured list to see Andrew Vaughn ensconced at first base.
Hoskins has a career 882 OPS against lefties, compared to a 797 OPS against righthanders, though he hasn’t had significant platoon splits the past two seasons. Hoskins is the homeless man’s Goldschmidt, a veteran with playoff experience who could DH against lefties and play some first base. He seems more likely than Goldschmidt to accept a part-time role, and would be much cheaper, though he would also be expected to not be as good.
Nick Castellanos
Another former Phillie — well, technically, current Phillie, though that is not expected to last. Pursued in the past by the Rangers, “right fielder” Castellanos is entering the final year of a 5 year, $100 million deal that has not, to put it mildly, worked out. It is rare, after all, for a team president to say that the team is committed to make sure a veteran under contract GsTFO before the season start, as Dave Dombrowski said recently, and it seems unlikely Castellanos will still be with the organization when camps open next month.
The Phillies are hoping a desperate team will give them something — anything — in exchange for making Castellanos, who turns 34 at the start of the season, another team’s problem and the Phillies eating virtually all of the $20 million he is owed for 2026. Its a tough sell for a guy who put up a .250/.294/.400 slash line last year, a 100 OPS+ for the entirety of his four years in Philadelphia, and is beyond terrible defensively (bottom 1 percent last year, per Statcast, after being bottom 4% in two of the three previously). Oh, and did we mention that Castellanos was benched for making an “inappropriate comment” to manager Rob Thomson in September after being lifted for defensive purposes, an incident which Matt Gelb reported “left players and coaches alike disgusted”?
So, no defensive value, hasn’t hit well, wants to play everyday, and left a turd in the Phillies’ playoff push punchbowl, to the point that the organization has made it clear for months they aren’t bringing him back? Oh, and he hit worse against lefties (680 OPS) than righties in 2025, though he did put up an 830 OPS against them in 2024. Not great, Bob.
Still, he’s worth mentioning. Maybe the Rangers give a non-prospect to the Phillies and have the Phillies cover his $20 million less league minimum in 2026 to give him a look in spring training and see if there’s anything worth trying to salvage. Maybe he gets released and Texas brings him in on an NRI to see what’s what. I think it is unlikely, but I figure he’s an option worth mentioning.
Marcell Ozuna
Dude’s career has been a roller coaster. He had a 5.7 bWAR 2017 season that led to him getting traded to the Cardinals for a package that included Sandy Alcantara AND Zac Gallen. Two middling seasons for the Cards resulted in him doing a one year deal with Atlanta for 2020. He put up a 1067 OPS and was sixth in the MVP race, resulting in the Braves signing him to a five year deal. He was then bad and hurt the first two years, raked the next two years (including a 4th place MVP finish in 2024), and was okay in 2025, slashing .232/.355/.400.
Ozuna is 35, slow (3 stolen bases in the past five seasons), and hasn’t played in the field since 2023, when he logged 14 innings in left field. He also doesn’t have big platoon splits over the course of his career. He provides a better option as a regular DH if Pederson gets hurt or is terrible, but is also going to be more expensive than someone similar, such as Andujar, and probably doesn’t want to accept a part-time role right now.
Austin Hays
Another popular name in the LSB comments, the 30 year old Hays spent several seasons as a pretty solid regular left fielder for the Orioles due in no small part to his glovework, but wasn’t good in 2024, when he was shipped to Philadelphia for Seranthony Dominguez (who just got 2/$20 million from the ChiSox, so good on him, I guess), and Cristian Pache, the hobo’s Leody Taveras. A free agent after the season, Hays got a 1 year, $5 million deal with Cincinnati for 2025 and slashed .266/.315/.453 in 103 games.
Both DRS and FRV indicate his defense has declined the past couple of seasons, to the point he’s a little below average defensively in left field, and he hasn’t had significant time in right field since 2022. However, he raked against lefties in 2025 (.319/.400/.549 slash line), and has an 819 OPS against lefties for his career, compared to a 717 OPS against righties.
I suspect part of the reason Hays is still out there is because he is looking for a full time role, and isn’t going to accept a deal as a platoon or bench guy until camps are about to start. A repeat of the 1/$5 million he received last year would seem to be palatable for the Rangers to pay, though I suspect other contenders will also be pursuing him.
Mitch Garver
One of the heroes of the 2023 team, Garver’s two year deal with Seattle after the 2023 campaign went poorly, to the point that Garver reported receiving death threats. He put up a .187/.290/.341 slash line while catching and DHing for the M’s.
The 35 year old has never had a good track record of staying healthy, and his bat disappointed the past two seasons. He did hit okay against lefties, though, and as a platoon DH/third catcher, he might be a viable option, especially if he wants to return to a place where he seemingly felt comfortable after the unpleasant experience in Seattle.
Andrew McCutchen/Starling Marte
Lumping them together. Two former stars turned role players/veteran clubhouse influencer types in their late 30s, who were teammates together for more than a half-decade in Pittsburgh, where they had their best seasons. McCutchen, 39, has spent the last three seasons on one year deals with the Pirates, though the Pirates appear to be not that interested in bringing him back for 2026. Marte, 37, just finished up a four year deal with the Mets where he maxed out at 370 PAs the previous three seasons.
Each of them is probably best utilized as a part-time DH who can play the outfield in a pinch. Marte’s career splits are negligible, while McCutchen’s got a 104 point OPS advantage in his career against lefties versus righties. Not sure how much interest either would have in Texas — they’ve each spent most of their careers in the National League East, and each only has a couple of months in the American League in their careers.
Wilmer Flores
Flores is 34 and has spent most of his career as a bat-first role playing infielder. He has spent his entire career in the National League, including the past six seasons with San Francisco. He has a .229/.296/.359 slash line the past two seasons without big splits and is pretty much limited to first base and DH. Maybe an NRI option if you can’t find anyone else.
Ty France
France had a couple of big seasons with Seattle in 2021-22. Since the start of 2023 he has slashed .247/.322/.364 with a 94 OPS+ and no real platoon split. Won a Gold Glove at first base last year. Maybe an NRI option if you can’t find anyone else.
Carlos Santana
Santana is a switch hitter who turns 40 in April. He won a Gold Glove at first base in 2024. No splits in 2025, but hit lefties a lot better in 2024, and has hit lefties better over the course of his career. Not sure if he’d accept a short-side platoon role at this point of his career, and not sure how much value he’d have as a short-side DH.
Randal Grichuk
34 year old corner outfielder who has hit lefties well throughout his career, but didn’t hit anyone well last season. He’s from Texas, which might help if he’s weighing NRIs.
