Rangers front office sets 2026 playoff goal, but unanswered questions spark doubt

Obviously the goal for most big league franchise's is to find themselves playing baseball late into October every season but with only 12 available spots, it doesn't turn out for more than half the teams.

Therefore it should be no surprise that President of Baseball Operations Chris Young and General Manager Ross Fenstermaker still remain positive and committed to fielding a team that will get them back to the postseason in 2026.

While all that is well and good, it should even be a positive thing to hear for Rangers' fans. The truth of the matter remains that the organization has been saying that for two offseasons now and with the concerns regarding lowering payroll and circulating rumors of trades, it's seeming more like empty promises.

Rangers' fans getting tired of front office not meaning what they say

After winning the World Series in 2023, fans were optimistic about the future and would even not be insane to say the Rangers would be making consecutive playoff appearances in the 2020s.

That just hasn't been the case thanks to two underperforming seasons. The offense took a massive step backward in 2024 and while the pitching wasn't terrible, it wasn't perfect either. In 2025, the offense continued a downward trajectory while the pitching was one of the best in baseball.

Upon the completion of the '24 season, the front office went to work making upgrades they thought would fix the offense. They traded Nathaniel Lowe, acquired Jake Burger, signed Joc Pederson in free agency and were hoping for massive turnarounds from Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim.

Those moves did not play out as Garcia and Heim got worse, Burger went to the IL three seperate times and Pederson finished the season hitting .181 and only nine home runs.

Now, for the second straight offseason, owner Ray Davis continues the penny-pinching, seeming committed to lowering payroll to avoid another season of luxury tax payments. That will likely lead to little to no free agent signings and offloading of high-contract players -- even if they say no.

Glaring missing pieces make organization's 2026 goals lofty

Thankfully the Rangers filled the most pressing missing piece early in the offseason, their new manager. After Bruce Bochy and Texas parted ways, they officially made Skip Schumaker their skipper and most recently finalized his coaching staff.

Next glaring issues needing to be addressed are the bullpen and whatever offensive improvements they can find.

For the bullpen, it's a complete rebuild and with the questions surrounding payroll, they might try their hand at internal options and cheap, veteran one-year deals -- for the second season in a row. If Texas did want to spend, the options are there.

The bottom five offense needs a fixin'. While there are big options linked to Texas such as Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Luis Arraez and even Kyle Tucker, it might also be an internal fix. But if not, here's a dream lineup build to draw inspiration from Chris Young.

Those are the biggest issues staring them down in the face this winter. It's fixable but it will take some doing. Which is why fans might be tired of hearing the same thing over and over.

Because while talking is cheap. So is Ray Davis.