Rangers' bullpen remains the biggest threat to their 2026 success

Jared Bloom

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Rangers' bullpen remains the biggest threat to their 2026 success image

The Texas Rangers are coming off a frustrating 2025 season. While the talent was there, the club failed to make the postseason after going 81-81 during the regular season. 

One area of inconsistency that likely kept Texas from heading to the postseason was its bullpen. During the regular season, the bullpen posted a 3.62 ERA, which was fifth-best, but they had trouble closing out games. 

The club blew 29 saves, which was third-worst across the league, and the bullpen lost 30 games, the second-worst across the league. Turn a few of those losses into wins, and the Rangers could have found themselves playing meaningful October baseball. 

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Rangers' bullpen remains the biggest threat to their 2026 success 

The Rangers have addressed a few of their bullpen troubles already for the 2026 season. They went out and signed Alexis Diaz to a one-year deal and re-signed Chris Martin on a one-year deal as well. 

Diaz will likely become the club's newest closer with Martin being the set-up man, but Diaz's success is not guaranteed. He struggled this past season, resulting in him bouncing between the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves. 

ESPN's midwinter progress report shows there is still progress to be made, or the bullpen can be another weak point for Texas once again. 

"But the bullpen, egads, it looks like the game's worst from a forecast standpoint, unless you're into pitch-to-contact, fly-ball-allowing bullpens. Under president of baseball operations Chris Young, the Rangers have tended to crowdsource their relief staff without latching onto anyone for too long or for too much money. There surely is more help to come, but the bullpen crowd needs to get a little larger."

There are still some intriguing relief pitchers without a contract for the 2026 season. Maybe Texas can strike a deal with someone like Michael Kopech, but that would be dependent on how he looks coming off a torn meniscus last year. 

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Staff Writer