Texas Rangers Predicted To Re-Sign Relief Pitcher Despite Luxury Tax Situation

Will the Texas Rangers be able to make any more upgrades this offseason?

Sep 29, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher David Robertson (37) pitches during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Pitchers and catchers will be reporting soon for the Texas Rangers, and there is still hope they might add another piece of two before the start of Spring Training.

This offseason, the Rangers have seen plenty of turnover after a disappointing campaign in 2024. One of the strengths for the team, despite their overall struggles, was their bullpen.

Led by Kirby Yates, the relief staff was quite good.

Their All-Star closer was a huge part of that, but he will unfortunately be pitching elsewhere this coming season since he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving the reigning champions another excellent weapon out of their bullpen.

For Texas, this was a significant blow considering how well he performed for them.

But, he wasn’t the only veteran reliever who hit the open market after they pitched well in 2024.

David Robertson, unlike Yates is still a free agent, available to be signed by any team in the league, including the Rangers who could use a legitimate closer.

The right-hander has bounced around a lot of late, but he is still capable of pitching high-leverage innings for a contender.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently predicted Robertson would come back to Texas, which would be a nice addition to a bullpen that has seen a lot of turnover this winter.

Due to the luxury tax situation for the team, they have made it very clear they aren’t looking to spend too much more money with the aim of getting under the fist CBT threshold.

However, while the bullpen has a lot of new faces, some of whom have potential to succeed, adding a veteran like Robertson would be huge fit since the Rangers want to contend again this year.

In 2024, the 39-year-old pitched 72 innings with an ERA of just 3.00. it was a solid campaign for Robertson as the setup man for Yates.

While Texas surely would like him back, figuring out how to make a contract work is seemingly going to be the biggest obstacle. The relief pitcher market has been hot of late, and Robertson figures to make a nice chunk of change on a one-year deal based on how he performed last season.

If the Rangers want to improve their bullpen even more, they could try to make a trade or two to free up some money so they can allocate funds to land Robertson

The lack of financial flexibility makes things tricky, but not impossible.

For a team hoping to contend in 2025, the bullpen is still a question mark.

Adding some stability by signing a pitcher like Robertson makes sense, but the luxury tax threshold is top of mind for ownership.

Recommended Articles

feed