Rangers News: Joc Pederson's decision, Aidan Curry saved, and a potential Ray Davis error

Happy Halloween, Texas Rangers fans! The World Series is behind us, so it's time to start turning the page, stop licking our wounds, and prepare for November. And November means that it is Hot Stove Season! Unfortunately for us, this will be one of the more chaotic and ultimately worrying offseasons that we've had in some time.

The stove, though, doesn't care about potential lockouts or salary caps, and it certainly won't be stopped by a group of billionaires quibbling with an even larger cohort of millionaires over what everyone's "fair share" should be. No, the stove is fed by the architecture of the past system, not the vagueness of what's to come. With that in mind, we've got some Rangers-themed tricks and treats as things are set to really take off.

Joc Pederson declines his side of the mutual option with the Rangers and will become a free agent

One of the big questions this offseason, and one that is still mostly unanswered, is what the plan with Joc Pederson would be. After an abysmal first year with the club, his 2026 performance showed why Texas signed him in the first place.

The slugging DH had become an unexpected sensation as the Rangers' leadoff hitter and a force against right-handed pitching, batting .245/.338/.496 with the platoon advantage this season. Finally showing his worth, it made one wonder if it was worth keeping him around for the $18.5 million his mutual option would have guaranteed him in 2027.

It won't matter now, Pederson decided that he believes he can get more (probably in years, not dollars) on the open market and declined his side of the option to become a free agent. There are some who believe that the Rangers should bring him back, but while there's some merit to that line of thinking, there's also value in having an open DH slot to protect Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford, Brandon Nimmo, and the rest of the older and/or injury-prone players. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Former undrafted free agent Aidan Curry has his contract selected by the Rangers

Right-handed pitcher Aidan Curry signed with the Rangers as an undrafted free agent back in 2020, a rarity for a high school player. Since then, he has shown some promise in the lower levels, putting up a 2.30 ERA over 82 innings (18 appearances, 15 starts) as a 20-year-old in Single-A in 2023 as the highlight.

Curry would go on to struggle in Hi-A over the next couple of seasons, but seemed to have a breakthrough in 2026, posting a 3.48 ERA over 31 frames in Hub City, earning him a call-up to Round Rock. There, he struggled a bit with a 5.82 ERA, but Texas saw enough of the now 24-year-old to select his contract, adding him to the 40-man roster and protecting him from both minor league free agency and the Rule 5 Draft.

In doing so, the Rangers are sending a message that they believe Curry could have a future MLB role, and that the youngster is one step closer to realizing his big league dreams.

Ray Davis's salary cap desires could lead to a disastrous offseason for the Rangers

Many around the industry expect November to be especially hot, with many teams wanting to get business done before a potential lockout on December 1. That could mean that we're foregoing the drawn-out period where there's a lot of smoke but not a lot of fire, and a free-agent feeding frenzy more like what happens in the NFL and NBA could be in store. With a thin crop of top talent hitting the market, any free agent worth his salt could be snapped up before November comes to a close.

Don't expect Texas to get in on the action, though. The Rangers' budget is in rough shape, and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported that Ray Davis may want to wait until after a new CBA is ratified before giving Chris Young a clear allowance to spend.

Per Grant, Davis has been heavily involved in the league's salary cap proposals, which shows where his true priorities lie. If he really waits until after the labor situation is resolved to unleash Young, we could see a situation where the top talent is all spoken for, even if Texas has money to spend.

In a way, this feels like a repeat of the trade deadline when the Rangers had no clear vision for how they wanted to improve the roster down the stretch, and it could lead to another season of mediocrity in Arlington.

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