3 relievers that have moved up the Rangers trust tree, 2 who've already moved down

Opposite of the last two seasons for the Texas Rangers, the bullpen is off to a strong start to the 2025 regular season.

As a unit, the bullpen is one of the best in the league, with a 3.86 ERA while the team's closer Luke Jackson leads the league with five saves in the first 11 games of the season.

Jackson is just one key piece to the bullpen, mostly the trio Bruce Bochy has taken the ball late in games to close it out. Those guys are leading the pen to success and it is not going unnoticed. However, there are a couple of relievers that have put together a tough first couple of outings.

3 players that have moved up the Texas Rangers trust tree to start 2025

Robert Garcia

The 28-year-old had a lot of expectations before putting on a Texas Rangers jersey due to being traded for a fan-favorite in Nathaniel Lowe this past offseason. But despite a tiny bit of control issues to start, he's answered the call.

To start the season he's typically been the seventh inning man in the 1-2-3 punch of Garcia, Martin and Jackson in the first 11 games of the year. Of his five innings, three of them have been in the seventh inning and holds a 0.00 ERA in those innings.

Texas knew he had the ability to be as good as he's showing despite a small sample size in the big leagues. He's advanced numbers are off the charts, as he generates a lot of swing-and-miss with a high strikeout rate. Bochy and the Rangers believed in him when they traded for him in December and Bochy has to be very pleased thus far.

Luke Jackson

This has been the biggest surprise to me this season. When Texas signed him to a minor league deal with spring camp was kicking off I thought he would be searching for a new home before Opening Day.

Ever since he took the field in spring, he started to prove me wrong, throwing six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts during Cactus League play. I thought we'd be screwed when Jackson was named the team's "unofficial" starter and he gave up the losing three-run shot to Wilyer Abreu on Opening Day.

Since then, he's been absolute nails, recording five scoreless innings and five saves since that moment. If you look at his box score, it doesn't tell the full story when you see he has a 5.50 ERA due to that tough first appearance that skyrocketed his ERA to 81.00.

Chris Martin

We all knew Chris Martin was going to be the most elite arm in the Rangers' bullpen this year. So far, he's delievering as the only pitcher on staff with a ERA that features three zeroes.

Martin was thought to be the closer for Texas going into the season but has served mostly as the eighth inning man, minus one ninth inning appearance that ended in a save. An Arlington, Texas native, Martin has proven his worth over his 352 career innings, with 366 strikeouts and 15 saves.

If anyone was automatically on the Bruce Bochy trust tree from day one, it was indeed Chris Martin. And so far he's showing exactly why that is the case.

2 players that have fallen off the Texas Rangers trust tree to start 2025

Shawn Armstrong

We use the term "fallen off" lightly when talking about a bullpen under a Bruce Bochy team. For better or worse, Bochy tends to stick with his guys, showing immense loyalty. It works at times, think of Josh Sborz during the 2023 postseason and sometimes it doesn't, see 2023 Jonathan Hernandez.

Armstrong will likely be on the Sborz path in Bochy's mind but the start of 2025 has been less than ideal. In four innings, Armstrong has surrendered five runs (three earned) but has been getting hit around a little bit with a WHIP of 1.50.

It's not a massive underperformance but with arms like Garcia, Jackson, Martin, Hoby Milner and Jacob Webb. It almost seems as if the team's trust value in Armstrong has fallen a bit, in favor of the other arms.

Gerson Garabito

Garabito has an amazing journey to the big leagues. He came up big in a handful of opportunities last season when the team was plagued with injuries but this season has been less than ideal.

The 29-year-old mostly works in long-inning relief roles with eight innings of work in three games. It still doesn't hit the fact that he's surrendered eight runs and 15 hits with opponents hitting nearly .400 off the righty.

Whether it's Leiter moving to the bullpen after getting re-activated from the IL or a April MLB Debut for Emiliano Teodo, I venture to say that his time with the big league club might be closing soon.