4 unheralded free agents the Texas Rangers should sign

Free Agent #2- Joey Votto

At this point you might be sensing a pattern. Older players who are good clubhouse presences. Votto is another one of those players. He is very close to the end of his career, but is still wanting to play. I would not have a problem at all with Texas signing him to a contract to give him a chance to end his career playing for a winning team. Votto can still hit for power and he can still drive in runs. Votto will be entering the 2024 season healthy. He came into 2023 having had rotator cuff surgery near the end of the 2022 season. Whatever he has left in the tank will be shown out in 2024.

Votto in 2023 was a part-time player having missed the first two months recovering from shoulder surgery. He returned June 19th and played in just 65 games. He hit 14 home runs and had a .202 batting average and a .747 OPS. Texas would be signing Votto hoping that he can rediscover the form he had in 2021 when he hit 36 home runs, had a .266 batting average, and a .938 OPS. Votto being on a winning team and healthy might be able to find it again.

The potential future hall-of-famer is a great guy who loves playing the game. He would be a solid add to the lineup as a DH and sometime first baseman. If it does not work out then Texas can release Votto and let him retire or play out his career elsewhere. Then it can hand the DH job over to Wyatt Langford. Keep in mind that Texas is not looking for a long-term solution at DH. They are looking for a caretaker at the position until they feel like Langford is ready. That could be Opening Day, it could be the All-Star break, or not until 2025. If they did bring Votto in, it would allow Texas to delay adding him to the roster until he is determined to be ready.

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