Q&A: Are moves on the way for Rangers following Winter Meetings?

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers have been one of the more active clubs this winter, accomplishing their biggest goal of re-signing Nathan Eovaldi, as well as acquiring Jake Burger in a trade with the Marlins and adding a pair of bullpen arms in Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner.

There’s still a long way to go until pitchers and catchers report to Surprise, Ariz. on Feb. 12. Let’s answer a few questions regarding the club before the new year:

How many relievers do you see us signing? -- @feemster_s41008 on X (formerly Twitter)

The Rangers have already signed a pair of bullpen arms in Webb and Milner over the last couple of weeks. And while those two don’t exactly blow you away, they’re valuable arms for where the Rangers are at with the hole in the bullpen.

The bullpen could definitely use one or two (or three!) high-leverage arms, as well as more middle-relief options. Outside of Webb and Milner, the bullpen depth currently consists of: Dane Dunning, Walter Pennington, Grant Anderson and Gerson Garabito.

It goes without saying that the Rangers could use more experienced arms in there somewhere.

What does the team think was the cause of [Adolis] García’s downturn this year? What are they hoping he'll do to fix those? -- via Bluesky

Two-time All-Star outfielder Adolis García was one of many Rangers that struggled in 2024, and though he’s been rehabbing from a left patella tendon strain this winter, the club has noted multiple times that that nagging knee wasn’t the reason for his down year.

In 2024, García hit .224 with a .684 OPS, but seemed to right the ship at the end of the year when he slashed .293/.339/.500 over the last 15 games. The hope is that he’ll continue to work with Donnie Ecker and new hitting coach Justin Viele to return to his All-Star form, while his job is to remain fully healthy entering Spring Training.

“He was healthy [last year],” Bochy said at the Winter Meetings. “He was trying a lot of things last year that might have been what you saw. He got off to a good start, when things started going south on him, he was making changes. He was trying different things. I think it was a great learning year for him. We all can learn more from our failures than our successes, and I think that's the case with Doli, how he handles it mentally.”

Curious about if Lowe is available? -- @interPARASect24 on Twitter

It appears the Rangers are, at the very least, listening to offers on Nathaniel Lowe, but it would have to be for the right price.

I mentioned in a newsletter last month that I foresee Lowe being the Opening Day first baseman. But that was before the Rangers traded for Burger, who plays both corner infield spots and could also DH.

It feels like the Rangers will only trade Lowe -- who won a Silver Slugger in 2022 and a Gold Glove in ‘23 -- if it would lead to them acquiring a high-leverage arm or closer, whether via that specific trade by freeing up the money for a signing.

So available, sure. Is it likely? Well, they don’t have to yet.

Can you fix Evan Carter’s back? -- via Bluesky

I cannot personally fix Evan Carter’s back, but everybody hopes surgery will do that on its own. Carter had an ablation procedure on his back in October, hoping to alleviate some of the issues the 22-year-old had before he was placed on the injured list in May 2024.

Carter missed the majority of the regular season with a back strain, which he was initially planning to come back from. A return looked possible after the All-Star break, when he began to ramp up baseball activities, but he never felt healthy enough for a rehab stint and full return. He ultimately slashed .188/.272/.361 in 45 games.

“If Evan performs at the level he did in 2023, there's no doubt [that he’ll start on Opening Day],” Young said. “But I say this with all of our players, it's a performance based game. One, you have to stay on the field. And two, you have to perform. We have a high level of confidence in his ability to perform when he's healthy, and we expect him to be healthy. If he is healthy, we see him as a very important piece to not only our team this year, but for years to come.”

Are we going to let Kumar [Rocker] cook? -- via Bluesky

Top pitching prospect Kumar Rocker will no doubt have every opportunity to break camp with the big league club and will almost definitely be competing for a spot in the Opening Day rotation this spring.

The rotational depth at the moment begins with a group of veterans in Jacob deGrom, Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle and Jon Gray. Second-year pitcher Cody Bradford had an exceptional 2024 and should be included in that as well.

Rocker is right in that mix. The Rangers’ 2022 first-round pick missed most of the last two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2023, but when he’s on the mound, it’s been electric at every level. He breezed through every level of the Minors with relative ease before making his MLB debut on Sept. 12. He allowed five earned runs in 11 2/3 innings in September, and put himself in prime position going into 2025 to, as you say, “cook.”