Rangers news: Texas declines options for Jakob Junis, Kyle Higashioka, signs Cuban pitching phenom

A day after Joc Pederson declined his side of an $18.5 million mutual option with the Texas Rangers, the club is back to making more critical decisions that will shape how the roster plays out in 2026.

The deadline for options and opt-outs is five days after the World Series, which in this case puts us at November 2. After Pederson's decision, the Rangers were left with two more choices to make: Jakob Junis and Kyle Higashioka. Like Pederson, these two veterans were under mutual options, meaning no matter what Texas decided to do, they'd have to agree to stick around. We never got to that point.

Rangers open up a huge bullpen hole by declining Jakob Junis's option for 2027

It's not surprising that Junis is hitting free agency, but it is a bit of a shock that it is the Rangers who are paving the way. Texas decided to decline the $5 million mutual option, ensuring that the 34-year-old righty hits the open market.

While mutual options are rarely picked up by both sides, this seemed like a situation where it made sense for all parties involved. Junis filled a valuable role for the Rangers, serving as one of the primary bridges to Jacob Latz in 2026. He posted a 3.64 ERA over 54 1/3 innings pitched, though that number is slightly inflated as he dealt with injuries and ran out of gas during the stretch.

After making just $2.75 million in 2026, going to $5 million was a reasonable raise and could have given Texas a valuable middle-relief arm at a small discount over the going market rate, though in an ideal world, the club would also sign a more traditional setup man to bump him down the pecking order a tad.

For Junis, $5 million seemed like a reasonable expectation of what he could make in free agency. While he's always been a consistent performer, his soft-tossing pitch-to-contact skill set isn't often rewarded on the market.

The Rangers will likely turn to one of the young arms in the system in hopes of finding an impact reliever in 2027, which would've needed to happen anyway. Of course, this also doesn't close the door on a return to Arlington for Junis, though if he comes back, it's likely because he couldn't find a deal of $5 million or more this winter.

The Rangers unsurprisingly move on from Kyle Higashioka

The other big option decision that was remaining was that of 36-year-old catcher Kyle Higashioka. As expected, the Rangers declined to pick up the tab for his $7 million salary in 2027, which would have represented just a modest raise over the $6.75 million he made in 2026.

With Danny Jansen set to make $8 million next season, Higashioka was a bit of a redundancy, especially following the trade for Logan O'Hoppe at the trade deadline. Higashioka also hit just .218/.306/.370 with seven home runs over 58 games, and had his season cut short by a right forearm flexor strain suffered on July 20.

Higashioka was also outplayed at times by scrapheap pickup Elias Diaz, who was a much superior defender and had a few moments with the bat. Hopefully this is a lesson for Texas, as the club spent significant money on two borderline backup catchers when the money could have been combined to get a more impactful starter, getting relatively mediocre results considering the size of the investment.

Rangers sign 19-year-old Cuban pitcher Edenis Cruz

The Rangers signed 19-year-old right-handed pitcher Edenis Cruz to a $145,000 signing bonus over the weekend, representing a continued shift toward heavier investment in the pitching side of the international amateur free-agent market.

Cruz measures in at six-foot-four and sits 91-94 miles per hour with his fastball, with many believing that his frame and age will allow him to add velocity in the coming years while polishing his command. While it's not the seven-figure investment that most star teenagers get, it is a significant enough deal to believe that there's some potential here.

Cruz drew a lot of attention during the 2025 U-18 World Cup in Okinawa, Japan, where he pitched for the Cuban National Team and notched six wins while posting 44 strikeouts over 38 innings and posted a 1.47 ERA.

While most of the top talents sign in January and are typically a couple of years younger, coming out of Cuba poses unique challenges for youngsters with MLB dreams. The tense relationship between the United States and Cuba means they can't be signed directly out of their homeland, and instead must leave the island and establish residency in a third country, with the nearby Dominican Republic being the most frequent landing spot.

Cruz did just that, leaving Cuba in June of 2026 and training at the Dan Reverte Academy in the Dominican Republic. The bonus pool money that the Rangers spent on the young righty was set to expire at the end of this IFA period on December 15, though a lockout on December 1 would've ended the club's ability to sign international free agents prematurely. Cruz is a lottery ticket, but one with some intriguing tools that will inject some talent into a system that sorely needs it.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow