Last season, the Texas Rangers shocked the world and won the World Series. This season they shocked the world and completely missed the playoffs.

They are now entering a new era of Rangers baseball where they have several paths forward, both including completely rebuilding their roster. They could opt for a quick rebuild that resembles that of the Yankees from a few years ago. This would include building around trades and free will for the most part. Or they could choose to build across the farm.

Regardless, they will need to make some changes to the roster. They have a few future free agents expected to hit the open market this winter, but those three players, one of whom is a future Hall of Famer, have likely played their last game with the Rangers.

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3. LHP Andrew Heaney

The Rangers probably aren’t looking for a big rebuild. They have the talent to be able to be aggressive in free agency for a year or two and be a competitive team again. When building a competitive team, they will need to make every dollar count, only paying big money for players who make a huge impact.

Unfortunately, this likely means Andrew Heaney won’t be on the roster moving forward. Heaney is set to enter free agency this offseason and he will likely ask for significantly more money than the Rangers should pay for a player of his caliber.

Heaney hasn’t been horrible in 2024, but, to put it simply, he was just an innings eater in an uncompetitive season. The Rangers have used him to go out there and take innings all season. He wasn’t there to dominate games like the Rangers would have liked their starters to be.

Heading into the winter months, the Rangers will look to add a starting pitcher or two to their rotation, which is a considerable upgrade over Heaney. They already have some solid pieces to build on.

2. BY Travis Jankowski

The Rangers have many free agents coming this offseason. Their squad could be quite different in 2025 than in 2024, especially since many of these players in contract years are struggling as much as they are.

One player the Rangers will absolutely look to replace is their veteran outfielder/defensive back, Travis Jankowski, who is a free agent after last season.

Over the course of the year, the veteran slashed .200/.266/.242 with an OPS+ well below 100. He has never posted an OPS+ of 100 or higher in a single season. Calling Jankowski a below average bat would be an understatement.

The Rangers simply won’t win as many games as they would like with a player like him on the roster. Jankowski had a decent 2023 season while being a part of the Rangers’ World Series run, but those days are now over. With him entering unrestricted free agency, the Rangers will look elsewhere to fill out their outfield rotation.

1. RHP Max Scherzer

And the last player on this list should be pretty obvious. Max Scherzer likely pitched his last game in a Texas Rangers uniform.

Scherzer, 40, is expected to enter free agency this winter. He’s made it clear his intention is to continue playing, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll be at the top of any team’s wish list this offseason.

Scherzer wasn’t bad last year, making nine starts and holding an ERA below 4.00. His WHIP was also good at 1.15. But he is 40 years old. Father time catches up with everyone and it’s hard to imagine that Scherzer will continue to be usable in the big leagues for much longer. Additionally, it is very difficult to predict his market since he has been paid very well for so long.

Either way, if any team decides to bring him in, it won’t be the Rangers. Texas has already made it clear that it is very interested in bringing Nathan Eovaldi back into its rotation next year. Jacob deGrom returned from injury late in the season and looks to be an important part of the rotation. Texas also has top prospects in Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker who they believe will be staples for the big league club in the future.

There’s simply no room for a 40-year-old Max Scherzer at this point.