Predicting the Texas Rangers 26-man roster as spring calendar switches to March

The Rangers head into the 2026 season with a lot to prove after back-to-back seasons missing the playoffs. Not only did they have one of the worst offenses in the league during that stretch, they have also had to rebuild the bullpen and need to find a way to get back to a dominating force. About to flip the calendar to March, the Rangers have a few weeks to find the roster that clicks together.

Here's my best guess at the group heading to Philadelphia on March 26th:

Prediciting Texas Rangers 26-man roster before calendar strikes March

Catchers (2): Kyle Higashioka, Danny Jansen

This is about as much of a lock as the rest of the Rangers' roster construction. Higashioka and Jansen are the duo that Skip Schumaker wants to enter the 2026 regular season with and the hope is to get them each anywhere between 80-90 games this season.

Infielders (5): Jake Burger, Josh Jung, Corey Seager, Josh Smith, Tyler Wade

It's believable that all four infield spots will be occupied by Burger, Jung, Seager and Smith but Smith might have some competition for the second base job despite Cody Freeman's recent injury. All that leaves is finding a bench role and from the first week of spring it looks be the 31-year-old California native Tyler Wade. He's started the spring 6-for-11 (.545) with a homer, two RBIs and a 1.524 OPS.

Outfielders (5): Evan Carter, Sam Haggerty, Michael Helman, Wyatt Langford, Brandon Nimmo

The three starters are set: Nimmo in right field, Carter in center and Langford manning left field. Haggerty and Helman will be the likely options to fill the bench roles because of their versatility. They both play terrific defense at all three outfield spots and this spring, Schumaker is even getting them reps around the infield too.

Designated Hitter (1): Joc Pederson

It's do-or-die season for Pederson. The 33-year-old had the worst season of his career in 2025, hitting .181 with a career low nine home runs. A lot of people have him listed as a bounceback candidate coming into the season, now he needs to answer the call. If Pederson can find success, this lineup gets a massive boost of production and confidence to get back to the postseason.

Starting Pitchers (5): Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore, Jacob Latz, Jack Leiter

Entering 2026, this is one of the best rotations in MLB anchored by two-time Cy Young deGrom and potential Opening Day starter Eovaldi. Then Texas went out and traded for Gore to lift them into a conversation as a top 1-2-3 rotation duo. Follow that up with an emerging Jack Leiter and Jacob Latz, opposing offenses are going to hate when they have to play the Rangers.

Bullpen (8): Tyler Alexander, Ryan Brasier, Alexis Diaz, Robert Garcia, Jakob Junis, Chris Martin, Kumar Rocker, Cole Winn

The most controversial rebuild off the winter is the bullpen. Texas decided to fill the spot with a few projects like Alexander, Brasier, Diaz and Junis but they did get some stability with a few returners. Ultimately, what stands out about this is the addition of Rocker as a bullpen arm. It wouldn't surprise if they did start Rocker in Triple-A to work him as a starter but he provides a lot of value in the big league bullpen and imagine the confidence boost he gets when he does well.