Baseball’s biggest shopping bazaar, or at least what’s billed as such, comes back to Dallas for the first time in a decade on Monday when the MLB Winter Meetings invade the Hilton Anatole for three days of rumors.
And often not much else.
There is, however, optimism that some huge free agency deals for players such as Juan Soto, Alex Bregman and Corbin Burnes could be completed. Though the Rangers aren’t players in any of those talks, when deals at the top of the market get done, lower-level deals, which is where the Rangers are shopping this year, tend to start percolating.
Here’s a look at five free agents the Rangers could be connected with during and after the meetings:
RHP Nathan Eovaldi
Bringing back the leader of the rotation the last two years (and through the World Series run in 2023) was a professed top priority for the club heading into the offseason. The Rangers and Eovaldi have remained in contact throughout the winter and there now seems to be a pretty good comp for a contract: The 3-year, $63 million deal 33-year Yusei Kikuchi signed with the Los Angeles Angels. Including performance bonuses, Eovaldi, who will be 35 next year, earned $20 million in 2024. Even though he’s slightly older than Kikuchi, it would appear a deal of similar length and a modest rise in AAV would get the job done. It remains uncertain if the Rangers administration will be given that kind of disposal from ownership without a TV rights deal signed.
RHP Max Fried
If the Eovaldi market goes significantly higher, then the Rangers might want to weigh a risks vs. rewards situation. If they are going to have to spend $25 million or more for a reliable starting pitcher, Max Fried is four years younger and has logged over 100 more innings than Eovaldi in the last six years. Since 2020, Fried has the best ERA in baseball (minimum of 500 innings) at 2.81. Fellow free agent Corbin Burnes (2.88) is second. A fortuitous turn in the TV negotiations might push the Rangers to think a little bigger.
DH Justin Turner
The Rangers could use a right-handed bat to slide into games against lefties, allowing Bruce Bochy to either sit Nathaniel Lowe occasionally or center fielder Leody Taveras, a switch hitter who struggles against lefties. Turner could play some first base and DH to level bad platoon numbers against some lefties. He walks and hits homers. But he just turned 40. Can a team with limited resources and multiple pitching holes afford to spend any capital on a part-time DH? Another way to approach it: Lefty Joc Pederson could give the Rangers a way to get Adolis García more regularly off his feet.
RHP Andrew Kittredge
The Rangers have multiple needs in the bullpen and limited dollars to address them, so they need to find value in bulk. Kittredge, who turns 35 in March, might be a candidate to replace David Robertson as setup man at half the price. In 2021, the year before elbow issues arose, and 2024, after he returned from elbow surgery, Kittredge posted a composite 2.34 ERA, 1.05 WHIP with a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk rate while averaging 71 innings. He’s got a turbo sinker and relies heavily on a slider.
LHP Colin Poche
Left-handed relief was a real issue for the Rangers last year. There might be a fix in the neighborhood. Poche, who attended Flower Mound Marcus and Dallas Baptist, has had good splits against both lefties and righties for his career, allowing a .646 OPS. He was expected to rise above $3 million in salary arbitration, so he was non-tendered by Tampa Bay, making him a free agent. He has elite extension on his fastball, a trait he shares with one-time Ranger reliever Brock Burke. But he’s got a better strikeout rate and has allowed fewer hits and has closed out a dozen games. He did have two stints on the IL in 2024 and his fastball was down a bit, but if the Rangers are looking for potential bullpen value options (read: below $3 million), he certainly fits the profile.
Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
