What the Rangers' list of Gold Glove nominees tells us about the team

The complete list of 2026 Gold Glove finalists has been released, and the Texas Rangers are well represented. Four Rangers made the cut, tying the team for the second-most nominees with the Kansas City Royals and sitting behind only the Toronto Blue Jays, who had five.

The Rangers who made the cut were Wyatt Langford (left field), Evan Carter (center field), Jacob deGrom (pitcher), and Ezequiel Duran (utility). There aren't a ton of surprises here. We expected Duran to be nominated (and win) the utility Gold Glove. For all of Evan Carter's faults, he's a superb defender. So, too, is Wyatt Langford. Jacob deGrom's inclusion is a nod to his veteran savvy.

The funny thing is, while none of these are surprises, they say a few things about Texas's roster construction. Thinking about that could also give us some indication of what Chris Young will be looking to do as he retools the roster this winter.

The Rangers Gold Glove finalists tells us these four things about the roster

1. The defensive performance is really uneven

One would think that, given the large number of Rangers players getting nominated, the club would be one of the best defensive teams in baseball. That's not really the case. Texas produced -8 defensive runs saved, which ranked 19th. The team's -4 FRV ranked 17th. By outs above average, the Rangers ranked fifth with 21.

Brandon Nimmo was tied with Kyle Tucker for the worst performance in defensive runs saved with -9 among qualified right fielders. Josh Jung didn't log enough innings to qualify, but his -12 DRS would've been the worst mark in the league, too, confirming just how poor his glove work was.

2. The Rangers need to let Joc Pederson walk and have Brandon Nimmo become the primary DH

One of the top offseason decisions for Young and the front office is what to do with Joc Pederson. Pederson and Texas have a mutual option, so neither has complete control of the situation. The Rangers, though, could decline his option and decide to move on. They probably should.

Nimmo's defense in right field has been bad, and with him turning 34 on March 27, it's only going to get worse. On top of that, Nimmo's bat is important to the Rangers, and there have been a few times when he got banged up in the field. He might not need to be the DH 100% of the time, but he should become the primary option there.

The Rangers should then take the $18.5 million that was going to go to Pederson if his option was exercised and find a new right fielder. Seiya Suzuki would be a great fit as both a strong offensive performer and the National League's leader in DRS among right fielders.

3. The Rangers pitching staff feeds into the strength of the defense in a weird way

It's obvious that the outfield defense was better than the infield defense this season. While Duran played everywhere and excelled everywhere, he got a decent amount of run in the outfield. Langford and Carter clearly are outfielders. Meanwhile, Jung was bad in the field, and the rest of the infield crew was mostly around average. That leads us to the pitchers.

There's a certain synergy between a pitcher and his defense. For example, a heavy ground-ball pitcher can really be hurt by porous infield defense. On the flip side, stellar infield defense can make a sinker baller appear better than he is.

The Rangers' staff was relatively fly-ball heavy. With a 40.1% ground ball rate, Texas hurlers ranked 23rd in baseball. Their 39.8% fly ball rate was the 10th highest in baseball. That's a good thing when Carter and Langford are roaming the grass.

Here's the weird part. With some exceptions like deGrom and Jacob Latz, the majority of Rangers pitchers are pitch-to-contact guys. The team overall ranked 16th in strikeout rate at 22%. Normally, fly balls and strikeouts go hand in hand thanks to the utilization of the high fastball to generate Ks. Texas defies logic here.

4. Kumar Rocker needs to spend more time with Jacob deGrom

Simply put, deGrom is a good fielder largely due to his experience. The grizzled vet knows where to be once the ball is put in play. Kumar Rocker, well, not so much. Rocker had his share of issues defensively in 2026, particularly when it came to covering first base.

The Rangers would be wise to pair him up with deGrom in spring training and give him a heavy dose of pitcher-fielding practice. We often don't think about the value of having a good fielder on the mound until we see what the consequences are of having a poor one out there.

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