Rangers last GM Meetings trade was an exercise in futility that can’t be repeated

Executives from all around the league have gathered in Las Vegas for the 2026 General Manager Meetings. They officially began on Monday night and will run through Thursday. Agents of current free agents are also in attendance at the meetings.

With the GM Meetings underway, there's a solid chance some trades will be made soon. The Texas Rangers are a hot team on the trade market and could be one of the clubs to make a deal.

The last time the Rangers made a trade at the GM Meetings, it didn't work out for Texas. During the 2022 Meetings, Texas acquired right-handed starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi from the Atlanta Braves for left-handed pitcher Kolby Allard.

Odorizzi was coming off a 2021 season in which he recorded a 4.40 ERA in 22 starts between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves. He held a career ERA of 3.99 through 241 outings (237 starts) at the time of the deal. Unfortunately, those ended up being his career stats at the time of his retirement, as Odorizzi never threw a single regular-season pitch for Texas.

Odorizzi underwent shoulder surgery before the 2023 season, which cost him the entire season. Obviously, the Rangers were just fine without the right-hander, winning their first World Series in franchise history.

The deal didn't work out for Atlanta, either, as Allard made just four outings with the Braves in 2023 before leaving the organization.

At the end of the day, it was a pointless trade for both teams involved. If Texas makes a trade during this year's GM Meetings, hopefully it ends on a more positive note.

Will the Texas Rangers make any trades during the 2026 General Manager Meetings?

If the Rangers make trades this month, it'll likely involve one of their stars on a big-money contract. A recent report from The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant suggests that the Rangers will consider trading big-name players such as Corey Seager and Jacob deGrom. The only problem with that idea is that both aging stars have no-trade clauses, so if they want to stay in Texas, the Rangers cannot move them.

The Rangers want to be competitive next year with a similar payroll, president of baseball operations Chris Young said. With Seager, deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi eating $92 million of the Rangers' roughly $190 million 2027 payroll, it's hard to imagine Texas being a top contender next year unless the organization gets rid of at least one of those contracts.

The lockout will begin when the CBA expires on Dec. 1. The owners want a salary cap, and the players do not. Because of that, the 2027 MLB season might be delayed or even completely canceled. The looming lockout puts the Winter Meetings in peril and ups the ante to get business done now at this GM convention. If the Rangers pull the trigger on a deal this week, it will have to be more impactful than the last time they struck the trade market this early.

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