The Texas Rangers spent money to try and compete for a playoff berth. It will likely be the last season they spend like that for the foreseeable future.
Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said during his end-of-year press conference that the team doesn’t not intend to spend above the first competitive balance tax threshold in 2026 which is $244 million.
Right now, the Rangers have $149.7 million committed to veteran players. The payroll will modulate based on what the Rangers do with current arbitration players, pre-arbitration players, trades and free agents signed. There’s also potential for a player like Wyatt Langford to sign a long-term extension.
The Rangers ended last season, one that ended with an 81-81 record, with a Top 10 payroll, one that saw the team ended the season on a weird note.
Texas Rangers 2025 Payroll
Per Spotrac, the Rangers had a total payroll allocation of $226 million. That was seventh in baseball and includes the payroll the Rangers took on at the trade deadline, mostly from pitcher Merrill Kelly. The team immediately ahead of them, the Houston Astros, also missed the playoffs with a payroll allocation of $232 million.
Texas’ payroll was in balance, but not the kind of balance the Rangers wanted. When the season ended the Rangers had $113 million on the active 26-man roster. Texas had $103.5 million on the injured list. It’s part of the reason Texas missed the playoffs.
Among the injured players on the payroll were shortstop Corey Seager ($32.5 million), second baseman Marcus Semien ($26 million), pitchers Nathan Eovaldi ($22.1 million), Jon Gray ($13 million) and Chris Martin ($5 million). The only free agent on the list is Gray, who just wrapped the four-year deal he signed before the 2022 season.
Assuming the Rangers hang onto the players they have under contract they have $149 million set aside for six players — Jacob deGrom, Seager, Eovaldi, Semien, Joc Pederson and Kyle Higashioka. Pederson has a $18.5 million player option for 2026 that he’s expected to trigger. With the arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration players on the roster, Texas would have a projected total payroll for opening day of $191.9 million.
Texas’ current veteran payroll ranks the Rangers at No. 11 overall for 2026, per Spotrac. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the top current payroll for 2026 at $240 million, not including arbitration and pre-arbitration players. Behind the Dodgers is the New York Mets, which have a payroll for $228 million. The only other team with more than $200 million allocated for 2026 are the Atlanta Braves at $213 million.