Rangers fans will love these 3 Sports Illustrated free agent predictions

The Rangers have some issues to address on their roster, and signing free agents this offseason is the best way to fix those issues. It's unknown which free agents the Rangers are interested in, making it a fun time to speculate. Sports Illustrated recently published an article that ranks the top 50 free agents with predictions on what team they will sign with, and predicts the Rangers as the landing spot for three well-known players.

Sports Illustrated connects Rangers to these 3 free agents

3B Eugenio Suárez

While Texas is likely set at the third base position with Josh Jung, signing Suárez could still benefit the team. With the Rangers, Suárez, a poor defensive third baseman, could primarily serve as the designated hitter and take turns playing first base, where he played for the first time this year, with Jake Burger. He will likely sign a short-term deal wherever he goes, as he turns 35 next season and regressed after being traded to the Mariners this summer. Still, he posted 3.6 bWAR and a 126 OPS+ with 49 homers this year; he could be the big bat the Rangers have desperately needed.

SP Justin Verlander

This would be shocking! It wouldn't be the first time the Rangers signed a former Astro Hall-of-Fame starting pitcher (Nolan Ryan) in his early 40s. Verlander would be a good veteran presence to have in the clubhouse, and he has proved he can still pitch at a high level, too. Verlander struggled at the beginning of the 2025 season but finished strong, posting a 3.85 ERA (3.85 FIP) with a 20.7% strikeout rate in 29 starts for the San Francisco Giants. Heading into his 21st MLB season, Verlander could be a solid back-of-the-rotation arm for Texas.

RP Brad Keller

Rebuilding the bullpen is one of the Rangers' most apparent needs, and signing Keller, 30, would be a good start. Keller failed as a starter with the Kansas City Royals, whom he played for from 2018-23, and pitched a bit for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox in 2024 before establishing himself as one of the league's best bullpen arms with the Chicago Cubs this past season. For Chicago (NL), Keller posted a dominant 2.07 ERA with a 27.2% strikeout rate and 8.0% walk rate in 69 2/3 innings. He relies on five pitches: a high-90s four-seamer (42.6%), high-80s slider (18.4%), mid-to-high-90s sinker (14.0%), mid-to-high-80s sweeper (13.3%) and low-90s changeup (11.7%).