This Jonah Heim moment is a core memory during Rangers' 2023 World Series title run

Another piece of the Rangers 2023 World Series team has hit the market, as the team announced Friday that catcher Jonah Heim was one of the five players to be non-tendered by the organization.

Heim, who caught 17 games for Texas en route to their first World Series championship in franchise history, spent five seasons with the team after being a throw-in piece for the 2021 trade that sent Elvis Andrus to Oakland.

End of an era For Rangers' fans and 2023 World Series team 

This week marked the ending of an era for both the team and fans as the club said goodbye to a handful of players that were instrumental in their run to the World Series.

Among them was of course, Heim, but also Adolis Garcia, who made a name for himself as part of that run by winning ALCS MVP and helping the club return to the World Series in over 12 years.

These moves were made in an attempt to shed some of the salary cap after going over the past two seasons, but also to reinvent Rangers baseball in hopes of getting back to the promised land after missing the postseason in both 2024 and 2025.

Whether these moves will pay off is yet to be seen as free agency begins but it may just be what Texas needed to be competitive.

Jonah Heim defines legacy with Rangers with a single throw 

Heim played 17 games during the 2023 postseason with the Rangers but his defining moment came early on when Texas bested Baltimore in the American League Division Series. Gunnar Henderson served as the tying run late in Game 1, with the shortstop getting on base with a chance to tie the game. 

He was thrown out by Heim to clear the bases and put an out on the board, shifting the momentum back into Texas’s favor after an early baserunner got the Orioles back in the game.

It truly was a defining moment for both the Rangers and Heim, because the team proved that they had what it took to win on the road. Heim, a four-year veteran at the time, showcased his ability to come up in big moments when the team needed him to, a special skill that not all catchers can harness when the moment is at its brightest. 

The play is remembered by Rangers fans in a big way, because beating the Orioles in the first game of the ALDS ultimately started them on the run that would end with the franchise’s first World Series title.   

All-Star catcher could find landing spot with a handful of teams  

The veteran catcher has a lot to bring to the table behind the plate, so I would be surprised if a team doesn’t reach a deal with him early in free agency. In looking at the free agent landscape, one of the best and most plausible options for the 30-year-old lie in the hands of either the Atlanta Braves or Boston Red Sox.

With regular catcher Sean Murphy struggling to find it at the plate in 2025, Heim could be a perfect candidate to reinvent the battery for the Braves with experience in high-profile contests. Murphy will enter the fourth year of a six-year deal with the Braves but his offensive production this past season created a cause for concern for Atlanta in a season that saw them miss the postseason for the first time in seven years.

The Red Sox also saw less than ideal production from their catchers in 2025 as Connor Wong hit just .190 in 63 games for Boston. Although Heim hit just .213 with 11 home runs, he might be a better offensive option, especially considering the offensive boost Fenway Park can offer.

It’ll be an interesting offseason and free agent journey for Heim regardless, but it would be nice to see him land a starting job on an team considering his contributions to Texas the last six years.