Ray Davis' penny pinching will hurt the Rangers and others will shoulder the blame

The Texas Rangers are about to enter a phase where it might get worse before it gets better as the 2025-26 Major League Baseball offseason officially kicks off this week.

Ever since the Rangers won the 2023 World Series, owner Ray Davis has been adamant about shrinking the annual payroll after dishing out over half a billion dollars to get that championship. It still doesn't make it right that after building a roster with a tremendous combo of proven vets and young stars, they would become complacent.

Owned by a billionaire, the Texas Rangers are worth nearly $3 billion and made approximately $446 million in revenue during the 2024 season. After missing the playoffs the last two seasons, fans would think Davis would want the team back in the playoffs and will do what it took but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Penny pinching will continue for Ray Davis, Rangers during 2026 season

Backed up against a thin line of the luxury tax, Dallas Morning News reporter Evan Grant believes that Davis will continue to pinch pennies as we head into the winter.

This is a devastating concept for Rangers' fans to hear. After glaring struggles on the offensive level, a managerial change and what has seemed like a revolving door of coaching departures since the regular season ended in early October.

There is clearly disarray among the organization as they search for an identity beyond 2023 and Bruce Bochy. The answer to those problems would be find any and all ways to fix them and rejuvniate the organization, anything but penny pinching.

According to Grant, the team is watching cost so much so that Colby Lewis will not be returning as a special assistant to the GM. While Lewis was one of the least involved in day-to-day business and the least compensated, it is a sign that they are doing whatever they can to save any money they can.

The next issues seem to be surrounding the uncertainity of the Rangers Sports Network. While they experienced success with a 37% increase in household viewership, the revenue is still unknown. Add that to a potential Collective Bargaining Agreement lockout in 2027, Davis is likely preparing for the worst.

On-field personnel set to suffer more from Ray Davis' frugality

Skip Schumaker already paid his dues managing a team where the owner was frugal with their spending. Yes, he did manage to get them to the postseason in his first year but all in all, Schmaker was set up to fail in Miami.

While he did sign a four-year deal with Texas, he would likely be one of the first people to go when everything starts to get bad. While that may be because of his managerial style but it will likely be because the product Davis puts on the field.

Once Schumaker goes, then follows the dump of all the players that have not only become the face of the franchise over the years: Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom, Marcus Semien, etc., but also dip into the future faces such as Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford.

Meanwhile while all this happens, Davis will continue to be the man in charge and the Rangers will rake in $300 to $400 million in revenue every year and once Rangers Sports Network gets going, that will only improve the franchise's value.