'He Will Make Us Better.' Texas Rangers Add Right-Handed Pop With Trade For Young Slugger Jake Burger

The Texas Rangers acquired young power-hitting first baseman Jake Burger in a trade with the Miami Marlins, giving the club a potential everyday DH option.

Aug 21, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins third baseman Jake Burger (36) rounds the bases after hitting a two -un home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers are not dilly-dallying this winter.

The club added slugging corner infielder Jake Burger via a trade with the Miami Marlins late Tuesday night.

The Rangers sent infield prospects Max Acosta and Echedry Vargas and left-handed pitcher Brayan Mendoza to Miami for Burger, who turns 29 on April 10.

Burger batted .250 with 29 home runs and 76 RBI over 137 games in 2024, leading Miami in hits with a career-high 134, 68 runs, and homers.

In four MLB seasons, he has 72 homers, 63 doubles, and 185 RBI. He's listed as 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds.

“He’s an aggressive hitter that makes a lot of hard contact,” manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com on Wednesday. “He’s just gotten better and better with his plate discipline, and he could do a lot of damage at the plate. And now I know it’s a [noticeable] difference from two years ago to last year with laying off some pitches. He’s just getting better. We're excited. He will make us a better offense and help get us back to where we were a couple of years ago, being one of the best offenses in the game.”

Burger was selected 11th overall by the Chicago White Sox in the 2017 MLB Draft and was traded to Miami for left-hander Jake Eder on Aug. 1, 2023. After limited action in 2021 and 2022, Burger hit 34 homers, 28 doubles and drove in 80 runs in 141 games in 2023.

Since 2023, Burger's 63 home runs are tied for 15th most in MLB, and his .573 slugging percentage on fastballs in that span ranks 9th in MLB, according to Baseball Savant.

Burger was born in St. Louis, Mo., and attended Missouri State.

Burger is likely to see most of his playing time as the designated hitter, but he can also fill in for Nathaniel Lowe at first base and Josh Jung at third base. In 2024, he played 69 games at first and 59 games at third. The acquisition of Burger also makes it easier for the Rangers to use Lowe as trade bait to acquire another starting pitcher or a desperately needed closer.

Burger is not only an up-and-coming power hitter in the league, his contract is controllable for the next four seasons, which undoubtedly made him very attractive to the Rangers.

To acquire Burger, however, the Rangers had to give up Acosta, 22, and Vargas, 19, along with Mendoza, who turns 21 in January.

Acosta batted .288/.353/.425/.778 in 104 Double-A games in 2024. He signed with Texas as an international free agent in July 2019. Vargas batted .276/.321/.454/.775 with 14 home runs, 24 doubles, and 48 RBI for Class A Down East in 2024. Texas signed him as a non-drafted free agent in January 2022.

With Corey Seager and Marcus Semien entrenched at shortstop and second base for the Rangers, neither Acosta nor Vargas had a clear path to the Rangers roster for at least four years.

Mendoza was 5-4 with a 2.32 ERA and 109 strikeouts over 101 innings with Down East and High A Hickory in 2024. He signed with the Rangers as a non-drafted free agent in January 2021.

Love this move for Jake Burger's value, going to Texas via trade.

Moving into a better lineup and a better park for RH power.

34/80 and 29/76 in the last two seasons, could legitimately go 35+/90+ in 2025.#FantasyBaseball pic.twitter.com/rKfGf91Es0

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) December 11, 2024

You can follow Stefan Stevenson on X @StefanVersusTex.

Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and X.