The Texas Rangers have set themselves up as strong contenders for a World Series push.
Earlier in the year, the Rangers acquired MacKenzie Gore from the Washington Nationals in a trade. The deal was heavily one-sided, with Texas sending five players—Gavin Fien, Alejandro Rosario, Devin Fitz-Gerald, Yeremy Cabrera, and Abimelec Ortiz—in exchange for the left-handed pitcher.
Although Gore posted a 4.15 ERA over 159â…” innings last season, his potential is evident in the 185 strikeouts he recorded.
Bringing Gore on board strengthens the Rangers’ starting rotation, which is led by 37-year-old, two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.
Together with those two, Nathan Eovaldi rounds out Texas’ formidable three-man rotation.
Eovaldi was especially impressive for the Rangers in 2025, finishing with a 1.73 ERA across 130 innings pitched.
The strikeouts also piled up in that stretch, notching 129 punchouts in 22 starts.
Even with the impressive numbers on the mound, Eovaldi was bitten by the Injured List bug twice with shoulder issues.
The start of the 2026 season is a stone’s throw away and, of course, the predictions begin to flood in, especially regarding the Rangers.
Greg Amsinger of MLB Network predicts that the Rangers will move deGrom in this year’s trade deadline.
“[Jacob deGrom] will be the No. 1 player moved, if not Skubal, at the Trade Deadline,” Amsinger said in a segment with analyst Yonder Alonso.
This move in itself would shake up the trajectory of where the Rangers want to be by the time the deadline hits entirely.
For one, deGrom is just as effective now as he was just a few years back.
Even at 37 years old and off a second Tommy John surgery, he still displays a dominant arsenal that has others foaming at the mouth.
DeGrom had himself a healthy 2025, notching 30 starts and an ERA of 2.97 in 172 2/3 innings pitched. Along with the abundance of starts, he also tallied 185 strikeouts.
Any success for the Rangers in 2026 is going to be highly dependent on their 1-2-3 punch staying healthy for the season.
The idea of “staying healthy” has been a recurring issue for the Rangers’ rotation. But depending on what their standing is in the AL West, there’s little to no implication that they move deGrom.
It goes without saying that anything can happen at the trade deadline, and there’s no telling how the Rangers will move pieces.
Whether they are buyers or sellers during the deadline period, if they decide to move deGrom, it will surely be one to remember.
