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Don Strouble
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Updated at Jan 14, 2026, 03:10
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The Texas Rangers are closing in on the beginning of Spring Training, and there are still areas they must emphasize to ensure success.

The Texas Rangers are closing in on pitchers and catchers reporting in Surprise, Ariz., to usher in Spring Training. Recently, president of baseball operations Chris Young met with the media to recap moves the organization has made, and MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry broke down the club’s top three priorities. 

“Obviously, we're continuing to explore ways to add to our roster,” Young said. “But we feel very good about the work that we've done thus far in the offseason, and we're hopeful to not be finished and to continue to make this roster even more competitive as we hinge towards camp.” 

The first of the priorities Landry points out is pitching. 

“Obviously things can change before Opening Day, but it feels like the Rangers' position player group is pretty set,” she wrote. “More bullpen pieces and starting pitching depth will continue to be priorities in the new year.” 

The Rangers recently claimed right-hander Zak Kent off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals as their latest pitching edition. In December, they brought in arms such as Alexis Díaz and Chris Martin. Yet, the organization would like to bring in additional help on that front. 

“I think our focus right now is continuing to build out the depth of the pitching,” Young said. “I think from a position player standpoint, we feel pretty good -- but we feel like on the pitching side there are still a couple spots that we would like to try to improve the depth of.” 

“We're focused there, but obviously being open-minded and opportunistic on all fronts. But nonetheless, pitching is the main focus.” 

Díaz and Martin are additions to, as Landry points out, an almost entirely rebuilt bullpen. Last season, the Rangers struggled mightily to close games on the mound, which leads to the second priority she lists for the club. 

“For the second year in a row, the Rangers have had to almost completely rebuild their bullpen,” Landry wrote. “So far, they’ve added Tyler Alexander, Alexis Díaz, Chris Martin and Carter Baumler (via Rule 5/trade). But the Rangers also went 37-for-66 in save opportunities in 2025, which was one of the biggest flaws for what was a solid bullpen (3.62 ERA). 

“I think every team would love to have a bona fide lockdown ninth-inning, sure-thing closer that's never going to give up a run,” Young said. “But the reality is, most teams don't have that, and teams that go into the season that do have that, oftentimes don't have it by about halfway through the season. It's not as ubiquitous as maybe it's perceived to be in terms of the role.” 

Finally, Landry points to the team’s need for an offensive resurgence. 

“While the Rangers seem content with their position player core, the question remains: How will the offense improve from one of MLB’s worst units in 2025? In 2025, the Rangers ranked 25th in wRC+ (92), 26th in slugging (.381), 26th in batting average (.234), 26th in on-base percentage (.302), 22nd in runs (684) and 23rd in walk rate (8%).” 

Landry added that Young believes the improvements will come internally. 

“I think it's just an overall commitment to the mentality that we think is going to be successful as an offense,” Young said. “Commitment to the type of approach we want as a team. Just guys going up and having quality at-bats one after the next.”  

“We think Justin Viele is going to do a tremendous job with these guys. The buy-in is there. We've got a hungry bunch of players. Every single one of them is working their tails off right now in preparation of coming into camp and bouncing back and so we as an organization have a lot to prove, and these players are motivated.” 

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