Former Rangers coach surprises with his untouchable deadline picks

Former Rangers hitting coach Bret Boone wasn't here long. In fact, he lasted just one season before new management overhauled the coaching staff and elevated Justin Viele to the head hitting coach position. But there were a couple of Rangers who made quite an impression on him. Boone, who still follows the team closely, believes there are only two untouchable players when it comes to listening to trade deadline offers.

Not surprisingly, one is a hitter considered a cornerstone of the offense for years to come, but the other was a little bit of a shocker, only because he's a relief pitcher and never worked with Boone directly.

Bret Boone considers Wyatt Langford and Jacob Latz as the Rangers' only untouchable players as the trade deadline nears

The fact that Boone believes Wyatt Langford to be untouchable makes all the sense in the world. He has shown, when healthy, that he has 30-30 potential offensively and can be a plus defender in both left and center field.

Boone made the statement during an interview on 105.3 The FAN, and he did hesitate when asked, and the first player he mentioned was Latz. But his guy is Langford, and hitting is his field of expertise. The hosts asked for three untouchables, but Boone offered only two.

Any savvy, well-versed Texas Ranger fan would go with Langford not just based on his massive upside and potential, but because he's 24 years old and under the organization's control for three more arbitration-eligible seasons. There is no doubt that Langford will get paid because Ray Davis, Chris Young, and Ross Fenstermaker want him to be the face of this franchise moving forward. It's that plain and simple. However, injuries have already been an issue with Langford.

Boone mentioning Latz as the other player feels more like recency bias. Yes, Latz proved to be a versatile and effective swingman in 2025 and has been a steamroller as a closer in 2026, but should he really be untouchable? His unlikely, but well-deserved All-Star campaign says so.

He is still just 30, which is young by relief pitcher standards, and will become arbitration-eligible after this season. If he continues to mow down hitters in the process of earning multiple-inning saves all season, he will demand a nice chunk of change.

However, if there is one thing we know about Davis and Young, it is that they always undervalue closers and are never married to the idea of paying a proven game-over, game-ender. If anything, Latz's unexpected ascension proves their point and will make them less likely to protect him in any way, whether it's at the deadline or via extension next season. They will simply look to replace him with another live arm like Jakob Junis or a cheap retread.

Right now, Langford and Latz are arguably the most talented players on the team, with Corey Seager struggling and Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi both approaching 40. So, while we think Langford is a no-brainer as a first-round, 4th overall pick, Latz, while truly impressive and uniquely dominant, has maybe captured the admiration and the fan in Boone instead of the former hitter and coach.

The way things currently look, it's hard to believe that the Rangers will be sellers at the deadline, even if it's also hard to see aggressively buying as the best course of action either. Regardless of the direction, Latz and Langford should be as close to untouchable as possible.

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