Rangers Rumors: Star free agent pitcher unexpectedly lands on Texas' radar

In what has felt like no time at all, the Texas Rangers have gone from World Series champions to sub-.500 team. During the 2024 campaign, they finished at 78-84, 10.5 games back from the division-winning Houston Astros. It was not a good look, and the Rangers now have their work cut out during the 2024-25 offseason.

With Nathan Eovaldi, Max Scherzer, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc, Jose Urena and Kirby Yates all departing via free agency, there are a boatload of holes around the Rangers' pitching staff that need to be addressed. They remain primarily interested in bringing Eovaldi back into the fold, but The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon also shared that Texas is aiming even higher.

According to Rosenthal and Sammon, the Rangers are "in contact" with left-handed starting pitcher Max Fried, who would immediately improve their current rotation tenfold. The two insiders mention that the Rangers may be financially inflexible while they figure out their future local media revenue, which is understandable as they're the only club with an uncertain future regarding their local TV rights.

Rangers targeting Max Fried as part of pitching staff revamp

Nobody is able to say the Rangers aren't trying to improve their roster this offseason, so that's got to count for something. Aiming big in the starting pitching market is a great place to start, especially with a pursuit of Fried.

Fried, 30, just wrapped up his eighth season leading the rotation of the Atlanta Braves and is headed for a major payday. The southpaw is a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner and has been one of the most consistent starters in the game for years now. This past season, he went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA, 3.33 FIP and 128 ERA+ across 29 starts.

As of right now, the Rangers' rotation will consist of Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Cody Bradford and Kumar Rocker. So basically a handful massive injury question marks, an unproven prospect ... and Cody Bradford. The need for reinforcements in the rotation could not be more obvious, but it remains to be seen if they can outbid any of the other big spenders around the league.

Rangers pursuing multiple bullpen upgrades

Alongside Fried, it sounds like the Rangers are also eyeing a pair of free-agent relievers to bolster their decimated bullpen.

According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, left-handed reliever AJ Minter, another long-time member of the Braves, is one of the pitchers Texas is interested in. The 31-year-old has been a reliable and oft-used weapon out of Atlanta's bullpen for almost a decade and is now a free agent for the first time in his career.

He's coming off of a season in which he posted a 2.62 ERA across 39 relief outings. Over the course of his career, he's filled a variety of different roles, including closer, so it's easy to see why he'd be of interest to Texas.

ESPN's Jorge Castillo also mentions that the Rangers are looking at ex-Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga. The right-hander only made three (scoreless) appearances in 2024 and 17 the year before, but he has a lengthy track record of being a flamethrower who mixes a high-90s sinker with a deadly curveball, which is a two-pitch mix that many other relief pitchers around the league are able to make work.

Loaisiga is recovering from an internal brace procedure that took him out of action in April of this past season, but the expectation is that he'll be ready for Opening Day and Castillo mentions that he's likely going to land a big-league contract this winter.