The Texas Rangers made a series of moves Friday night to address some of their weaknesses this offseason. According to multiple reports, they brought in catcher Danny Jansen as well as a pair of bullpen arms in Tyler Alexander and Alexis Díaz.
Breaking Down the Texas Rangers’ Latest Offseason Moves
Danny Jansen
The biggest move of the night was the acquisition of Danny Jansen, with Texas signing him to a two-year, $14.5 million deal. It was clear that the Rangers were going to make a move for a catcher when they non-tendered Jonah Heim. The Rangers also made it known that catcher was going to be a priority for them.
Rangers, catcher Danny Jansen agree to 2-year deal, per multiple reports including @MLBNetwork insider @JonHeyman. pic.twitter.com/gSuinwKlme
— MLB (@MLB) December 13, 2025
Last year, Jansen slashed .215/.321/.720 with 14 home runs and 36 RBI between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers, which produced a 2.8 WAR. This is pretty much what the Rangers should expect from him, as his career slash line is .220/.311/.726 with 11.5 WAR.
He still outproduced Heim last year, who only put up 0.4 WAR with a slash line of .213/.332/.602 with 11 home runs and 43 RBI.
The Rangers did not bring him in for his offensive production, but mainly for his defense, as he is near the top of the league in blocks. Last year, he had 14 blocks above average, which ranked in the 98th percentile in MLB. He leads the league with 72 blocks since 2019. Heim does not come close, as he had -1 blocks last year.
The only downside to Jansen is that he has missed time with seven trips to the injured list since 2021 and has only played more than 100 games once in 2019. The good news is that he will split duties with Kyle Higashioka, which will hopefully keep him healthy.
Alexis Díaz
Díaz had a year to forget in 2025 as he posted an 8.15 ERA in 17 2/3 total innings between the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves. Batters didn’t crush him with just a .219 batting average against him, but he really struggled with his command. He walked 12 batters while striking out 17.
The Rangers are looking to get him back to his 2022 and 2023 forms, where he had 2.9 and 1.9 WAR seasons and an All-Star nod. His command was a bit of an issue in those years, too, but he was able to strike hitters out and stop them from hitting too many fly balls.
Relief pitchers Alexis Díaz and Tyler Alexander are signing one-year deals with the Rangers, per multiple reports pic.twitter.com/4phaMZFHHU
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 13, 2025
Díaz’s fastball has fallen from 95.7 mph in 2022 to 93.5 mph this past year. His extension is at the top of the league at 7.6, which is definitely helping with his fastball and keeping the speed from dropping anymore.
This is a low risk high reward situation for the Rangers as they will try to turn back the clock on Díaz and could have him fill the potential closer role.
Tyler Alexander
Alexander was the other bullpen arm that the Rangers brought in. He didn’t have a great year with a 4.98 ERA in 97 2/3 innings with the Brewers and Chicago White Sox. He started out as a starting pitcher towards the beginning of the year before struggling and moving to the bullpen as a result.
Alexander posted a WAR of -0.5 and issued 30 walks compared to 82 strikeouts. The Rangers will most likely use him as a long man in the bullpen to help replace the production they are losing from the arms that are free agents.
They have a new pitching coach in Jordan Tiegs following the departure of Mike Maddux. Tiegs was previously the bullpen coach and was able to get the most out of Cole Winn, Jacob Latz, and Shawn Armstrong, among others.
The Last Word
The Rangers will look to get good defense and solid production at the plate from Jansen. They will look to get solid innings from Díaz and Alexander and hope that they can fill the gaps from free agents.
The Rangers will look to make more moves, but they will probably be similar to Diaz and Alexander, i.e., buy-low targets that could provide a boost to the team.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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