The Texas Rangers went to Las Vegas this week with two positions on the field that need more than a patch, and a shorter calendar than usual to address them.
Baseball's general managers meetings opened Monday, and the current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. If owners and players reach that date without a deal and a lockout follows, clubs cannot sign or trade players until it ends.
That leaves Chris Young, the Rangers' president of baseball operations, roughly three weeks of open business on a 2027 payroll he has said will look much like this year's, which Sports Illustrated's Rangers site put at about $193 million.
Catching innings to fill
MLB.com identified catcher as the position where the club needs depth most. With Kyle Higashioka's mutual options declined, Danny Jansen and Logan O'Hoppe are the only catchers on the roster heading into 2027, MLB.com reported.
The Dallas Morning News put the gap in innings. Rangers catchers worked 1,419 1/3 innings behind the plate in 2026, and the club needs to replace 918 of them, about 65%. Jansen handled all but one inning of the remaining 502 1/3, and the newspaper noted he has averaged a little more than 80 games a season over the past six years.
O'Hoppe, acquired from the Angels at the trade deadline, caught just one inning in the majors for Texas and spent the rest of his time at designated hitter. His defense is the concern: Baseball Savant credited him with minus-11 framing runs, last among all catchers, according to The News.
Young acknowledged the work still ahead. "There's still some things that we need to continue to improve in terms of his framing," he told MLB.com. "But his work ethic is second to none."
Jansen offered a better finish than start. After he returned Aug. 18 from a right forearm strain, he hit .257 with a .500 slugging percentage over 26 games, per MLB.com.
Among free agents, ESPN projections cited by The News put Tyler Stephenson at one year and $10.5 million and Carson Kelly at two years and $17 million.
A hole in center
The second need arrived early in the offseason, when Evan Carter had right hip surgery that is expected to keep him out at the start of next season. Young has called center field a "primary focus," MLB.com reported.
