Free agency is in full swing across Major League Baseball, which means several players, including some Texas Rangers, will be joining new teams over the next few months.
While most of Texas’ World Series championship lineup remains under contract with the club for the 2024 season, 12 players are set to hit the open market and could be playing elsewhere next season.
One player who could be on the move is catcher/designated hitter Mitch Garver, who is listed as MLB.com’s Top Underrated Free Agent after spending two years with the team and coming in with some clutch hits throughout the championship run.
Injuries have played a part in his career and forced his role to evolve.
“It’s hard to say Garver is truly ‘under the radar’ when he just won a World Series as a regular with the Rangers, but he might be undervalued due to his injury history and lack of a position,” MLB.com writes. “Garver last played at least 100 games in a season back in 2018, and he made only 42 defensive appearances behind the plate during his two seasons with Texas.”
Garver played in just 141 games with the Rangers and missed the majority of the 2022 season with a forearm injury. Upon his return, he was relegated to a backup catcher and designated hitter role after the emergence of Jonah Heim.
Sports Illustrated added that, while designated hitter remains a need for the Rangers, the team may focus its resources elsewhere, like improving a bullpen that allowed the 11th-most earned runs in the MLB during the regular season and re-signing starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery.
Montgomery is among the rest of Texas’ free agents, along with fellow starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi (who missed the 2023 season with an injury); outfielders Brad Miller, Travis Jankowski, and Robbie Grossman; backup catcher Austin Hedges; and relievers Aroldis Chapman, Martin Perez, Chris Stratton, Will Smith, and Ian Kennedy.
Montgomery has generated the most interest of the group after being linked to the New York Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Boston Red Sox in addition to a potential return to the Rangers.
Texas has spent much throughout the last two free agency periods to build its championship roster but has yet to sign anyone during this cycle, which will continue until spring training begins in February.
