ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers apparently aren't sitting on the sidelines this offseason. With the MLB winter meetings happening in Dallas, the local club is having an active week -- after already locking down a few moves ahead of time.
The biggest deal was the reported re-signing of starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, who inked a three-year, $75 million deal, according to the Associated Press and others.
Locking down Eovaldi was the Rangers' top offseason priority -- and no small task, given that Eovalid was one of the top free agent pitchers on the market.
Texas wasn't done Tuesday. A few hours after the Eovaldi news broke, the Rangers reportedly landed Marlins slugger Jake Burger in a three-for-one trade, sending a pair of prospects and a pitcher.
With the Rangers' activity picking up, here's a tracker of all of their offseason deals, so far:
Tuesday, Dec. 10
1B/3B/DH Jake Burger: Traded from Miami Marlines for prospects Echedry Vargas and Max Acosta, and pitcher Brayan Mendoza
RHP Nathan Eovaldi: Re-signs to reported three-year, $75 million deal.
Details: The big one here is Eovaldi, who was among the top available pitchers this offseason but a necessary signing for the Rangers' rotation depth. More than that, Eovaldi became a clubhouse leader in his first two years in Texas, the first of which resulted in a World Series title with Eovaldi gutting out a win in the clinching Game 5 in Arizona. Eovaldi, who will turn 35 in February, has battled injuries and also has two elbow surgeries in his past. But he's also still really solid, throwing 170.2 innings with a 3.80 ERA in 2024 after an All-Star campaign in 2023. Despite concerns over wear and tear, Eovaldi has increased his workload in each of the last three seasons. Keep him healthy and Eovaldi will be a major piece of any success Texas has in 2025.
As for Burger, this was not a deal seemingly on anyone's radar, though it's good for Texas on multiple fronts. Burger is a 30-homer slugger that will plug into the middle of the lineup, likely as a designated hitter. And though he'll turn 29 next year, he won't become a free agent until 2029. So Texas was able to upgrade the lineup, and do it on the cheap.
Friday, Dec. 6
RHP Ruben Medina: Signed to minor league contract
RHP Mailon Felix: Signed to minor-league contract
Details: Medina is a low-minors pitcher, and Felix pitched the last three seasons in Japan.
Tuesday. Dec. 3
RHP Adrian Houser: Signed to minor-league contract
Details: Houser had a solid run with the Brewers from 2015-2023, before getting traded to the Mets. Houser will be one of the depth pieces to the Rangers' rotation or bullpen. His best season was in 2021, when he threw 142.1 innings to a 3.22 ERA for Milwaukee.
Monday, Dec. 2
C Kyle Higashioka: Signed to reported two-year $13.5 million contract
Details: Jonah Heim is still the Rangers' full-time catcher, but the Higashioka signing shows the Rangers are looking to bolster the position, if nothing else. Higashioka posted a solid 2024 with the Padres, hitting 17 homers and finishing with a .739 on-base plus slugging percentage. Heim, an all-star in 2023, was one of the worst hitters in baseball in 2024, with an on-base plus slugging of just .602.
