Every season, teams across Major League Baseball have both things they are pretty certain they will get and things they wish to get in order to exceed expectations.

For example, in the Texas Rangers case, you know that if healthy, it’s highly likely that Corey Seager performs amongst the best shortstops in all of baseball.

Additionally, you feel confident that if both Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi can limit time on the IL, they’re going to be amongst the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball.

Perhaps, now more than in recent Rangers history, the team needs some of those wishes to come true in order to return to the postseason for the first time since winning it all in 2023.

Without any major offseason spending following an 81-81 season in 2025, the Rangers are looking to cash in on some of those hopes and surprise Major League Baseball.

Let’s take a look at three wishes that could unlock a season above expectations for the Rangers in 2026.

No. 1 -- Resurgent Offensive Seasons From Josh Jung and Jake Burger -- There’s no denying that the Rangers' offense was the main reason the team didn’t qualify for the postseason in 2025.

Ever since winning the World Series in 2023, the offense has taken a step backward despite having the same faces.

This year, that is not the case. Championship heroes Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, and Jonah Heim have all moved on, and the Rangers will be banking on others to help them rebound.

It’s tough to put a face on something that has been a collective struggle, but if you had to, then it might just be Jung and Burger.

Last season, both of the Rangers' corner infield duo were sent down for stints at Triple-A Round Rock despite having high expectations entering the year.

Both Jung and Burger figure to be candidates to provide some power in the 2026 lineup. Their performances could go a long way in dictating the direction of the Rangers' offense as a whole.

No. 2 -- Someone Grabs Onto the Closer Role -- The Rangers certainly don’t care which of their bullpen arms becomes the closer as long as someone does it and does it well.

Last season, the Rangers blew a league-leading 29 games in a season in which the team finished nine games out of first place.

Whether it’s Robert Garcia, Chris Martin, or one of the plethora of new Rangers reliever signings, such as Alexis Diaz or Jakob Junis, Texas needs someone to take hold of the role and keep a grasp of it to right a wrong of 2025.

No. 3 -- Jack Leiter Takes Another Step Forward -- For perhaps the first time in his professional career, the Rangers saw flashes of the Jack Leiter they drafted with the second overall pick in the 2021 draft.

Leiter stayed in the big-league rotation all season long after cracking the Opening Day roster and finished 10-10 with a 3.86 ERA in 29 starts.

If Leiter can take another team forward and establish himself as a guy who can win a ballgame on any given night, then the Rangers' rotation would turn from very scary to a guaranteed nightmare for opposing lineups.

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