Hi and welcome to another edition of Right

on Rangers Live coming at you.

Week two of the offseason and we are

ready for a great show, ready to talk

some ball with you guys.

We have, look, a little bit of a

slow start I would say to the offseason

always when we're talking about playoff baseball still

going on.

And by the way, we will be talking

a little playoff baseball.

We know today, Guardians, White Sox, and then

later tonight you have Padres, Brewers, Padres.

Fighting for their playoff lives.

You've got the Braves and the Dodgers series

going on.

You've got the Rays and the Yankees.

We got a little bit of everything.

So we'll definitely be talking playoff ball along

the way, but definitely want to take all

of your comments and questions as we get

into this Rangers offseason.

Clearly we'd love to still be playing baseball

right now, but the end of the day,

the Rangers not good enough in 2026.

And so leading in to the offseason, leading

into 2027, what needs to happen?

What can the Rangers actually realistically do moving

forward?

I think you could say a lot of

things out loud.

You can talk a big game.

You can talk well in front of media

and reporters at a press conference, but what

actually is going to get done?

I think that is what I am most

interested in really unhashing and unpacking today.

But first, you know the drill.

Here at Right on Rangers, we cover everything

Texas sports, but we put a huge emphasis

on the Rangers during the offseason and of

course during baseball season.

And we thank you for choosing Ride On

Rangers for all of your Texas Rangers content.

Drop a comment, drop a question, and we

will surely try our best to get to

it as much as possible.

You guys kind of know in the offseason,

it's like part podcast, part, you know, just

me reading through the comments section.

So bear with me.

If I miss a comment, miss a question,

please feel free to copy and paste that

and we will get to everything of substance

eventually.

That is for sure.

So with that, let's go ahead and let's

dive right into this one.

Now, we had an article come out.

I have kind of dabbled a little bit

into writing and those of you that have

followed me over the last few years, you

know, writing definitely something I enjoy doing.

Fun fact, way back when, English major.

I don't know if I ever shared that

or not, but writing is a passion of

mine and I do really enjoy doing the

articles.

It's long and it takes a while to

do.

The short form videos are much, much easier

for me, along with just sitting here and

shooting the breeze with you guys.

But I am going to try this offseason

with baseball slowing down a little bit, at

least for the Rangers, to do more long

form articles on X pretty exclusively.

I just don't know if I want to

throw one more medium into the mix of

things I have to post to, like I

know sub stacks out there, maybe one day,

I don't know.

But for now, I'm going to post articles

through X.

So I know not everybody's on X, but

if you're really dying to read, you definitely

can hit me up in the comments section.

I can send you the file or send

you the short version.

Maybe I'll get an email list out eventually

and I can do it through that if

you don't have X or don't like using

X.

But that's where I'm going to post most

of the long form for now.

And so we're going to follow up on

that Skip Schumaker evaluation.

That's going to be the plan here.

We're going to follow up on that.

We're also going to talk about the roster

next year.

We're going to talk money.

Money matters.

We definitely are in a spot right now

with this franchise where we're not spending a

ton.

We spent a lot a few years ago

right before that World Series.

We're not spending a ton anymore.

What is the Rangers payroll looking like?

What have we heard about what the payroll

is going to look like in 2027?

I will definitely do a little bit of

everything in the show.

I know some of y'all want to

probably talk football.

I definitely am going to also be gearing

up with some Dallas Stars content.

Some of you guys have been asking me,

man, when are you going to start doing

hockey?

I cover like every DFW sports team, professional

sports team minus the Stars.

I mean, look, I don't think I'll be

firing up the Dallas Wings content.

I hope that that is OK and not

too disappointing to some of you.

I definitely support women playing in pro sports,

but I cannot say I am a connoisseur

of the women's basketball game.

Enjoy watching very, very casually from time to

time, but do not be firing up the

Wings coverage anytime soon.

But Dallas Stars coverage, we will be doing

a little bit more of that.

Not sure we'll do lives, but I do

plan on doing some longer form videos and

also some short form videos with the Dallas

Stars too.

So we definitely are going all in on

pretty much all men's pro sports teams in

the DFW area.

Excited about that.

With the lockout coming up for baseball, and

I do anticipate there's going to be some

games missed.

Just being totally transparent with you guys, I

want to keep my options open a little

bit.

And so we'll be firing up Dallas Mavericks

coverage.

We've been doing that on the show for

a while.

We'll be firing up the Stars coverage as

well.

Let's keep rolling.

So here's kind of the main thing today

that was on my mind as I prepped

for the show, got ready for the show.

Can Texas really afford meaningful change?

Can they afford it?

I think it's going to be determined what

Ray Davis is going to be willing to

allow Chris Young to spend.

I don't know that that has been laid

out perfectly as of yet, but it is

going to be interesting.

Are you going to see the Rangers pony

up a little bit?

Even a little bit, man.

Because right now, as it stands, the Rangers

do have pretty close to a top 10

payroll.

It's not like they have some penny pinching,

not paying anybody staff.

They actually have a lot of payroll invested.

Unfortunately, it's invested into a few guys at

the top.

You've got Corey Seager getting paid a lot

of money.

You've got Jacob DeGrom getting paid a lot

of money.

You definitely had Joc Peterson getting paid a

nice healthy chunk of change, but he is

no longer on the books, technically speaking, unless

the Rangers want to agree to a mutual

option with him.

I would not, and I have not been

very shy about that.

Joc Peterson would not be on my list

of guys to bring back.

Now, could you bring Joc back at a

more team-friendly deal?

Yes, I would be open to that.

Not open to paying Joc $18.5 million.

That to me would be a very unwise,

stupid thing to do.

You definitely could see Joc going for maybe

double-digit millions.

I think he could definitely get a $10

-15 million contract somewhere.

I don't think Joc is going to have

a tough time finding work.

I really don't, and that's why I don't

feel like he's going to be back with

the Rangers.

There's too many teams that are close and

are maybe a playoff team right now that

could use that kind of bat.

Joc, if placed on a contender, I think

could be a really valuable weapon.

Unfortunately, with the Rangers, we really needed more

out of Joc than just, hey, we only

need your power and we need that one

big swing every once in a while.

We needed a little bit more from Joc.

We needed more everyday player-type vibes for

what we were paying him, and unfortunately, that's

just not what we ever got.

Hey, DuckDeuce, what's good?

Gary, appreciate the gift.

A couple of you guys sent a gift,

didn't you?

I'm not bad on that.

What else did I get?

Hey, NextDeck, you appreciate the rose.

Thank you.

Hey, not needed, but much appreciated.

And Gary, thank you again, man.

It means a lot.

DuckDeuce, move Seager to third base, JJ to

first.

It is going to be very interesting what

they do with Jake Burger next year.

I think Jake should be a pretty prime

trade block candidate.

That doesn't mean you necessarily move him, but

I do think Jake Burger is a guy

you probably would be wise to explore trade

options for.

I think you've got a number of candidates

that you could move to first base.

Josh Jung is one of them.

You could also move Corey Seager to first

base.

I don't think that's going to happen next

year, but the Rangers have a number of

players that you could convert to a first

base role.

That doesn't mean it's easy.

That doesn't mean it's a cakewalk, but I

do think it means you have some options

and you have some flexibility.

Now, there's a lot of people that really

love Jake Burger, and personally, I love Jake

Burger the guy.

I don't think anybody could not.

How could you?

The man is a community-involved legend.

I mean, he does so much stuff, not

just for the DFW area.

We know he's actively involved with Down Syndrome,

actively involved with a number of different charities,

and so nobody's questioning Jake Burger's character or

the contributions off the field.

Unfortunately, this is a business, and here on

the show, we do talk about it as

such.

I think some people who are overly, a

little overly invested emotionally into some of these

players, anytime you talk about trading them, it

suddenly becomes a really hot-button issue.

It's a business, and that is how we're

going to approach this offseason as much as

possible, and you guys hear me qualify all

the time.

Hey, love the player, love the guy, but

hey, look, as a fit on this roster,

not so sure.

You guys hear me say things like that

all the time.

A lot of people are going to fall

in love with Burger's RBI and home run

totals.

I think if you watched the day in

and day out, there was a lot to

be desired at first base.

I think that some people are going to

point to the error list streak that Burger

had.

You guys know how I feel about fielding

percentage and errors.

It's very, very misleading.

You often have a player that makes an

error, but it doesn't get charged with one.

The player is given a hit instead of

the fielder getting charged with an error.

Burger, to me, wasn't terrible at first base.

I think some people are a little too

harsh on Burger with the glove.

I don't think he was terrible, but I

don't think he was great.

You had the foul pop-up issues at

the beginning of the year.

You had a number of just weird plays

at the end of the year that were

kind of inexplicable.

Who could forget the one against the Mets

where Burger catches the foul pop, double clutches,

and the Mets score a run from third

base on a foul pop to first.

It's just stuff like that where you're just

like, hey, dude, what is happening out there?

I think some people are going to fall

in love with the homers and RBI and

forget about the day-to-day issues, forget

about the abysmal OPS against righties.

Jake could be a platoon weapon, but I

just don't think he's an everyday first baseman.

I think some people are going to push

back on that a little bit, and I'm

okay with it.

You don't have to agree with me, but

a day-to-day, everyday, I should say,

player, I don't see that with Burger.

I see nice power right-handed bat against

lefties, kind of like I see Justin Foscu,

but those guys, to me, are not everyday

players.

That's just me.

Healthy Joc leadoff all next year.

Blaine, if they re-sign him, and I

hope they don't re-sign Joc for $18

.5 million, I hope they don't.

I hope that what they end up doing

is rejecting the mutual option with Joc, and

you know what?

If Joc wants to come back on a

little bit of a cheaper deal, fine.

If he really likes it in Arlington, it's

not about the money.

He just enjoys playing for the Rangers and

playing in that clubhouse, playing for the guys.

Bring him back on a little bit of

a cheaper deal.

I'd be okay with it.

I mean, somewhere between $10 and $15 million

is what I think Joc is probably going

to be able to get on the open

market.

I doubt Joc on the open market is

going to get $18.5. That would surprise

me.

Maybe there's a team out there that is

willing to massively overpay.

I don't see it, but $10 to $15,

definitely.

I feel like the Rangers could definitely upgrade,

though, in the roster areas of one-trick

ponies.

We've talked about this a lot, right?

They have a lot of guys that can

only play or only play against one type

of arm, one type of player.

You've got Joc who can only face righties.

You've got Foscue that can only face lefties.

You've got Evan Carter that really can only

hit against righties.

You've got so many guys that are a

bit one-dimensional in their offense, and I

just want players that can handle a little

bit of everything.

I don't want all these platoon players.

I definitely think it was a reason why

the Rangers had issues last year.

Think about it this way.

A lot of people—we're talking about Skip Schumaker

a little bit earlier on the show—a lot

of people complain about how many lineups Skip

Schumaker had to go through.

I know Evan Grant, for example, brought up

that that's actually a positive for Skip.

He tried.

He was literally trying every lineup combination possible.

Skip tried.

Evan Grant used all the different lineups that

Skip would try out day-to-day basis

as a positive for Skip.

I don't know if I see that as

a big, big positive.

Hey, you came out with 25-plus different

lineups.

I don't really know what the number is.

I just totally made that up.

I think that if you have less guys

that are platoon players, you probably wouldn't have

to change the lineup every other day.

But because you have all these players that

basically are just one-trick ponies, you have

to change the lineup every day.

There's no other choice.

And so for me, I don't think that

that should be something championed for Skip.

Oh, he moved around guys, and he did

all he could with the lineups.

He kind of had to because of what

he had on the roster, which was a

lot of guys that could only face righties,

could only face lefties.

And it is what it is.

Keep going.

Comments here.

Zach, what's good, man?

Give Foscue more of a runway for an

everyday second base role.

I actually think Foscue probably will get a

shot to do that in spring training.

I'm not sure the Rangers are in love

with the glove.

I think that they are probably going to

need to see a defensive improvement from him.

And Foscue actually was not bad this year

defensively.

I think he might have been positive with

the OAA.

I think he actually had somewhat of a

positive year defensively, if you're just looking at

the advanced stats.

I don't think he's a gold glover, but

I don't think he was a negative out

there in the field.

He did have a couple of really bad

moments that just stick out to you.

Who could forget the Tejas night collision with

Corey Seager at the beginning of the season?

When was that?

In June or something?

I mean, and then who could forget the

bobble in LA where the Angel swept us?

Actually, maybe that wasn't the sweep.

Maybe we ended up losing that series.

Maybe it was a three-game set and

we lost on Sunday, but it was like

a walk-off error out in LA.

I mean, that was Justin Foscue again.

Foscue just had a couple of plays that

were really bad that just stick in your

mind, kind of leave a bad taste.

But I think as a whole, he actually

wasn't too bad defensively.

I think he probably will get an opportunity

if I had to guess.

I think he will get a chance to

show if he can be an everyday guy.

Now, let's be honest.

They did that with Evan Carter and look

how that went.

They tried to get Evan Carter to be

an everyday player.

It didn't work.

And so I have my doubts about whether

or not Foscue is going to be able

to pull it off.

And I think that there is a strong

rebuttal to the everyday role with Foscue, which

basically says in so many words, if it

ain't broke, don't fix it.

Foscue's mashing against lefties.

Do you really want to throw him in

the fire against righties and potentially mess with

what he was able to accomplish against Southpaws?

That is, I think, a pretty legitimate argument.

I'm not saying it's a reason why you

don't try to get JF into an everyday

role, but I do think that is a

pretty solid rebuttal to keeping Foscue in the

role that he's currently in, which is lefty

crusher.

DH, second base, lefty crusher.

If he ends up carving out an everyday

spot, great.

That would be the goal for a lot

of prospects like Justin Foscue, a first round

pick now in your sixth or seventh year

in the professional organization.

So let's see what happens with him, but

I'd imagine they would try and give him

a shot.

Dean, what's good, man?

CY said he wants to get younger, but

I don't think he has say in the

matter because they all have no trade clauses.

Yeah, I mean, I think that it's going

to be curious.

What is Jacob DeGrom, Corey Seager?

What are both of those guys willing to

do or not do?

Are Jacob DeGrom and Corey Seager willing to

accept trades to a number of different teams?

And perhaps those conversations are happening.

Maybe they have confronted DeGrom, Seager.

Confront's a little bit of a strong word,

but I think you get what I mean.

Maybe they have spoken to both players and

essentially asked, hey, I know you have full

no trade clauses.

Is there any possibility where you would be

open to an organization, a city, a place

where you can go finish out your career?

Or are you dead set finishing in Arlington?

And I think you can easily say, hey,

we appreciate you.

We love the contributions that you've made to

the club.

We just want to give you an opportunity

to play perhaps on a maybe more of

a sure shot.

I don't think the Rangers going into 2027

are a sure shot to be in the

playoffs, to go deep into the playoffs.

And I just keep it real with you

guys.

If they prove me wrong and they run

away with the AL West next year, look, I'd

be happy to eat crow.

You guys know this, but as of right

now, I don't see the Rangers as a

big time contender next year.

Could they be like a weird dark horse,

make the playoffs, make a little noise in

the playoffs?

That to me feels more right.

As I think about it, just on the

fly here, for sure, making the, you know,

the world series or the ALCS.

Yeah.

I don't know if I'm ready to proclaim

that quite yet.

I don't.

So maybe Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom are tantalized

by potentially going to a more proven winner

or a move or more proven winning franchise.

Maybe they're not though.

Maybe both of them have said, no, we

want to stay in Arlington, finish out the

contracts that we both signed.

And that is their prerogative.

I think that is going to be a

really big time cog in this whole thing.

Are deGrom and Seager willing to be moved?

If you could move Corey Seager, I think

you'd do it.

If you could move Jacob deGrom, I think

you also do it.

I don't think Corey Seager and deGrom are

definitely going to suck next year or be

really bad baseball players.

In fact, I think that both of them

could bounce back next year in a very

nice way, but that's a bet, right?

That's a risk.

And I don't know if it's a risk

the Rangers want to take after basically taking

that risk for three seasons in a row.

Like you've seen them do it in 20

and 24 and 25, 26, let's just say

25 and 26.

So for the 27 season, do you really

want to bet heavily on rebounds again?

You did that after the 24 season, missing

the playoffs.

You did that after the 25 season, you

really want to do three seasons in a

row betting on big time bounce backs.

I would say no if it was me

in the front office, but again, we don't

know what the payroll is going to be.

We don't know if Ray Davis is going

to be opening up the pocketbook even a

little bit.

It's a lockout off season.

It's definitely going to be interesting to see

what happens.

We're not going to be able to say

too much until then, just a lot of

different musing, a lot of different directions.

So I'll do what's good.

Langford and Carter need to take the next

step.

How much longer are they going to wait?

I think this is Evan Carter's, if Evan

Carter does what he does, let me start

over.

If Evan Carter has the same year this

coming season in 27, as he did in

26, I don't see him being with the

organization another year.

I don't think the Rangers are going to

hang with Evan Carter for multiple more seasons.

Now, could they find a trade partner in

the middle of the year?

Could they find a trade partner next off

season?

Possibly, but I don't think the Rangers are

going to put up with Evan Carter hitting

a buck 94 or whatever it was for

another year.

I do think this is a bit of

a make or break year for Evan Carter

coming up.

I think this is an important off season

for him to get the bat right, to

get back in the lab, really maybe start

from ground zero and build up the swing,

get it back maybe to some things that

were working in 2023.

Maybe, my suspicion though is Evan is doing

some similar things to what he was doing

in 2023, but the league has adjusted.

I think the league has an idea of

how to pitch Evan Carter.

And I think that Evan is lacking a

little bit of confidence.

Evan Grant talked about that in his Dallas

Morning News article that he recently published.

I do think Carter is in a place

where he's not overly confident right now.

And so I do think 2027 is a

big year for the little savior.

I don't have a crystal ball.

Don't know how he is going to come

out after a three month off season, but

I can imagine that the Rangers are running

out of patience with Evan.

I don't think they're going to be able

to slow play his development forever and ever.

And so Langford though, I think they're be

willing to give him a little bit more

rope.

And we have to be clear, Langford did

regress this year, but it wasn't a massive

step back.

The problem with Wyatt Langford was that the

expectations were crazy in the off season.

They were crazy.

And I was a part of that problem,

right?

30-30.

That was the sexy expression when it came

to Wyatt Langford, 30-30 guy.

And he did basically the exact opposite.

And so I think had you not had

Wyatt Langford so overly hyped coming into 2026,

I'm not saying you would have been happy

with his 2026, but I think you would

have been less upset about it.

But Wyatt Langford was supposed to take this

big jump and it just never happened.

It happened for like two weeks in June

or May, whenever it was, when he went

on that heater after he came back from

the injury.

And then he really took a dump in

July and August and September.

And he definitely finished the season on a

poor note.

He had a few nice games in there,

but by and large, the OPS was down

this year and the numbers in general were

down for Wyatt Langford.

I think Wyatt is going to get a

little more time than Evan, but I think

that next year is going to be a

big, important year for both players.

Now, let me keep going.

I want to actually scroll back a little

bit.

Big Game James, good to see you, man.

Doing well.

Wish both of our teams were playing in

October.

That'd be nice.

I'd much rather the Mariners make the playoffs

than the Astros.

I mean, I think we've talked about this.

I did enjoy seeing the Astros get the

boot, but yeah, look, I'd much rather see

the Mariners in the playoffs than the Stros,

that is for sure.

Let me see.

I'm just scrolling back.

I wanted to go back to a comment.

I just don't know if I'm going to

be able to find it.

Let me see.

Hey, what's good?

Let's see.

Comment from TikTok, Walcott are starting second baseman

next year.

I think they're probably going to roll with

a couple of different possibilities.

I think Walcott could potentially be a guy

that you use in the outfield.

I don't think you want to not utilize

his arm.

Second base could be interesting, but he's got

such a cannon.

I just don't know if you want to

waste his arm at second base.

Now, a lot of people have pushed back

a little bit on Walcott defensively.

Walcott still is a little bit of an

unfinished product in terms of his defense, and

so I do think that throwing him at

third base could be questionable.

I feel much more comfortable with Zeke Duran

at third base than Walcott at this point,

but Walcott, I think, is going to eventually

be on the left side of the infield

one way or the other.

Second base could be an option, but right

field could be an option.

Center field could be an option.

I think he's an athletic enough player.

You could have him play some outfield, and

I think you should continue to work him

at shortstop, obviously.

Look, you trade Corey Seager.

Now you got a shortstop opening.

That makes too much sense, but if Corey

Seager is on the team in 2027, my

preference would be maybe play him out in

the outfield.

Maybe make him a center fielder.

He's athletic.

He's got a good arm.

We need good arms in the outfield.

That wouldn't be the worst thing in the

world, and Walcott did play some outfield in

the minor leagues, but not a ton.

I'm not going to lie to you and

say he's got a wealth of experience out

there running around.

I think, though, he's an athletic enough player

that you probably could transition him to that

type of role, and if Evan Carter continues

to struggle, if Brandon Nimmo continues to look

less than average out there in right field,

that could be, I think, a nice alternative

to have an athletic player like Walcott in

your back pocket to move out there to

the outfield.

Again, I'm not saying it's my first choice.

I think the first choice would be Walcott

eventually takes over shortstop, and Corey Seager either

moves into more of a DH role, maybe

a first base role, but Corey Seager, I

think, is still a good shortstop.

I don't think he's elite with the glove,

but I do think Corey Seager is a

solid defensive shortstop.

Now, in a year or two, who knows?

I think that that could dip as he

continues to age, but nevertheless, I'm not sure

if Corey Seager is on the roster in

27 that he's relinquishing that shortstop role.

With Walcott not being on the 40-man

right now, is the best time to work

on the defense?

Absolutely.

Walcott, I would imagine, will get added to

the 40-man next year, assuming that everything

works out with the lockout.

I don't think there's any reason to not

have Walcott on the 40-man.

He's pretty clearly your best minor league player.

You've got a couple other guys that are

up there as well, but Walcott, to me,

needs to be on the roster unless he

totally soils the bed in spring training.

That, to me, is the only thing stopping

him.

A really, really poor spring training from Walcott,

I think, could potentially make you think twice.

If he tears it up in spring training,

think back to Wyatt Langford in 2024, how

Wyatt, you know, he had the, what, five

-plus homers, and I know Wyatt Langford is

kind of a, you know, a spring training

all-star.

I mean, he's kind of getting that reputation,

right?

A spring training all-star Wyatt Langford, he

balls out in surprise, and then he comes

to Arlington, and he gets knocked down a

couple of notches.

That's what Wyatt's MO has been.

Get you really hyped up in spring training,

and then the season starts, and you don't

feel like you're watching the same player.

And granted, surprise is deceiving.

You have a very high elevation in Arizona.

You have that dry desert air, and the

ball just jumps off the bat.

And so I do think really any type

of big performance in the spring, you do

have to take somewhat with a grain of

salt.

You really do.

There were a number of players that performed

really well for the Rangers in spring training

that really didn't end up panning out, and

it didn't end up translating when they got

back to Arlington and started playing in the

Major League Games.

A lot of you guys are asking about

Evan Carter.

Hey, Nicholas, what's good, man?

Evan Carter got to be used more as

a base runner.

He can't hit anymore like he did in

2023.

Well, you guys know a big part of

my knock on the Rangers this year, and

specifically on the coaching staff, is that they

came out, you know, chest puffed.

We're going to be aggressive.

We're going to steal bags.

We're going to take the extra base.

We're going to put pressure on defenses.

And then you ended up stealing about 50

plus less bases than you did under Bruce

Bochy in 2025.

That can't happen, man.

You can't come out and sing a bunch

of praises about how this team is built

for running around more and, you know, putting

defenses in the pressure cooker.

And then you end up being worse, stealing

bags and worse, taking the extra base.

I don't know how the Rangers did in

terms of contact, putting the ball in play.

Wish I would have looked that up before

I came on the show.

But to me, it's definitely something that Evan

Carter needs to do more of.

He needs to steal bases more.

Next deck, you appreciate the rose and the

heart.

Thank you so much.

If you have the players that the Rangers

do, you've got Evan Carter, you've got Wyatt

Lankford, you've got Ezequiel Duran, you've got Cam

Cauley.

Those are four of the fastest guys in

major league baseball.

So I don't really understand.

And I've seen a little bit of this.

Like, um, I know Jared Sandler talked about

this a little bit.

I think Evans even talked about it.

Like, well, it's the personnel, it's the roster.

Like, you know, that that's why the stolen

bases are a little bit down.

You know, you, you got rid of Marcus

Simeon, who definitely would steal some bags.

Dolly would steal some bags.

Jonah Heim didn't steal bases.

Like to me, I'm sorry.

You lost Simeon and Garcia and you added

Nimmo.

And now you no longer can steal bases.

I know Evan Carter.

He didn't even, Evan Carter didn't even play

that much in 2025.

He was hurt for like the last month

and a half of the year.

It felt like, I don't think there's really

any excuse with the roster.

Why the Rangers didn't steal more bags in

2026, you had cam Cauley for about half

the season, the fastest player in major league

baseball.

And that's not an exaggeration.

Cam Cauley is in the 100th percentile when

it comes to sprint speed.

I mean, he is one of, if not

the fastest man in the major leagues and

you barely stole cam Cauley.

You had Evan Carter.

I think Evan Carter only attempted, you know,

I think it was less than 20 bases

stolen.

That can't happen.

Like you can't have all these players that

are elite speed players and you barely steal

them.

Like it can be, you know, the, on

the player and the lack of confidence, getting

a good jump out there.

I mean, it is a skill.

It's not just about speed.

I think those of us that play the

game understand it's about confidence.

It's about getting good reads, getting good jumps.

It's not necessarily just about how fast you

are.

Nevertheless, when you have got that much speed

on your roster and the Rangers have a

lot of it, I mean, again, Carter Langford,

Duran Cauley, you had so much speed on

the team.

There's no excuse to be as poor as

they were stealing bags.

You have to find a way as a

coaching staff to harness that speed and use

it.

And I just will never accept or understand

the people that say coaching has nothing to

do with the stolen base thing.

Well, skip can't control if guys are comfortable

out there.

You're right, but he can coach it up.

He can 1000% coach up these guys

better.

So they are more confident stealing bags.

So they do get better jumps.

It look, you guys know, I didn't have

any illustrious baseball career, but I played in

high school, played in college.

We would work on jumps with stolen bases

all the time.

I had a coach, one of the assistant

coaches, literally as a part of our conditioning.

And there was a lot of that, a

lot of conditioning, a lot of weightlifting, a

lot of early mornings.

We worked on like running form.

I mean, it was ridiculously like meticulous and

all the things that we would do to

try and get better on the base paths.

I'm sorry.

It is something that coaches can help players

get better at.

And the Rangers had plenty of skill when

it comes to speed.

And when it comes to flying around the

base pass, base running definitely is something that

the Rangers have to do better in 2026.

No doubt.

So I don't know if you're still hanging

out, man.

I know this comments from about five minutes

ago, but it's a good one.

How do you fix the outfield issue?

No arms out there.

I do think Nimmo, I mean, realistically, I

think Nimmo moves into more of a DH

role.

I think you're going to see Brandon Nimmo,

D H a lot more next year.

And I do think that the team will

try and improve the outfield defense.

I think you will see either someone brought

in or go back to the Walcott theory.

Maybe you see Walcott take over in right

field.

Maybe the club gets a little creative temporarily.

I do think that's an option.

I think Nimmo B and D H against

righties and or lefties is something very, very

plausible.

Nimmo can hit against lefties.

He can hit against righties.

He's getting older.

The defense is not really what it needs

to be.

Nimmo had a nice, had a few nice

plays who could forget the game winning catch

to seal that four game sweep of Toronto.

That was phenomenal.

Nimmo is capable of good plays out there,

but it wasn't consistent enough for me.

I would be moving Nimmo to more of

a DH role.

I think that is almost a no brainer.

Brandon Nimmo going more to a spot where

he can focus on his hitting, getting on

base, hustling.

I think that to me makes too much

sense.

And that gives you an opportunity to naturally

get better defensively, get a right fielder that

has a good arm out there.

Maybe Zeke Duran still stays in kind of

that super utility role where he's playing every

day, but it's not necessarily the same position.

I actually think you're less making Zeke Duran

less valuable by locking him down at one

spot.

I think Duran plays every day, but you

just have him be super utility.

He might play second one day.

He might play right field one day.

He might run around in center field.

He might play a little shortstop third base.

I think you just make Zeke Duran super

utility everyday guy.

That to me is a no brainer.

You don't limit Zeke Duran to one spot.

I think actually, think about Josh Smith, Miss

Smitty, by the way, what would you rather

have right now?

Smitty or Macko?

I mean, is it even a question?

And I'm not saying Josh Smith is some

all-star player.

Come on now.

But I love Josh Smith.

I'm a Josh Smith fan.

I don't think there was a great situation

that the Rangers really had with him last

year with Zeke Duran's emergence.

Smitty was kind of the odd man out

last year, unfortunately.

You'd probably have rather have had Cam Cauley

than Smitty just because of what Cauley brings

with the speed and the defense, the range.

Smitty though, I'll always love Josh Smith.

I'd much rather have Josh Smith than Macko.

But bringing the argument full circle here, they

tried to limit Josh Smith to second base

and I just feel like that was the

first mistake.

I think you should have gone into 2026

with Josh Smith as super utility player once

again.

I think that would have made all too

much sense.

But they kind of tried to nail Josh

Smith down to second base and they really

put some pressure on him.

And I remember saying going into the 2026

season, Josh Smith has never had more pressure

on himself than he has coming into this

year.

And maybe it got to him a little

bit.

I know he had obviously the meningitis and

he had some injuries that contributed to his

lack of production, at least at the beginning

of the year.

But man, I'd much rather have Josh Smith

than Macko right now.

Much rather.

Let's see.

Zeke would hit better, Duck Deuce says, if

he focused on one position.

I mean, let's just say things out loud,

Duck Deuce.

I mean, look, he had his best year

hitting and he played multiple positions.

I mean, I don't know if I can

make that leap with you.

I understand the idea, but that's what everybody

said about Josh Smith.

Remember?

Everybody said when it came to Josh Smith,

if you just let him play one position,

he's going to unlock something offensively and it

didn't happen.

In fact, the opposite was true.

And Josh Smith, people forget actually came out

and kind of said in so many words

that playing different positions kind of helped him

to be better up at the plate.

That was Josh Smith's experience.

I feel like Zeke, he just had this

career year at the plate playing seven different

positions.

I don't think you make the leap and

say he'd be better offensively if you only

had him play one.

I think it's more logical to say, keep

playing him all over the place.

He just had a career year doing that

again.

What's the motto of today's show?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If Zeke Duran is mashing the baseball, playing

all over the diamond, don't tinker with it.

Let him continue doing his thing.

Play in one position every other day is

not to me going to make a big

difference with his bat.

I would be surprised if that was the

case.

I am a fan of Zeke continuing to

be super utility.

He plays every day, but he plays in

different roles.

It's not like you have to play him

in a different position every day, but naturally,

I think that makes sense.

Play him at second one day.

Give Corey Seager a breather at shortstop.

Give Josh Jung a breather at third base.

I personally, we haven't even talked about Josh.

I think Josh is going to be another

interesting case.

Rangers, I think are a little bit at

a crossroads with Josh.

He had a great year, but he's continued

to just not be a player that can

stay healthy.

The conditioning gets worse every year, and he's

definitely not an asset out in the field

with the glove.

He had a really bad defensive year in

2026, juxtaposed by an amazing year offensively.

Josh Jung is another really interesting case.

He's a fan favorite, Texas boy, San Antonio,

Texas Tech.

We love everything about Josh Jung's background, but

man, he's another player in my mind that

is just a little too one dimensional.

You're talking about getting more athletic, more versatile.

Does that ring the Josh Jung bell in

anybody's mind?

I'm sorry.

Not trying to be disrespectful, but I do

think that if you're just going off of

what CY said philosophically in the exit presser,

I don't think those adjectives are describing Josh

Young very well.

Versatile, athletic, even younger.

Josh Jung's going to be 30 years old.

I mean, look, we definitely understand baseball age

is not the same as regular life age.

I mean, look, I'm in my thirties and

I feel like I'm getting old.

I can't imagine playing 162 game season right

now, but I mean, Josh Jung is not

a young 20 something.

He is, I think it'd be 30 in

2028.

I think he's going to be 29 coming

into this season.

Josh Jung's another curious case.

He really is.

What are we doing with Jordan Montgomery?

Monty is a free agent.

The Rangers did not sign Jordan to a

multi-year deal.

Now I do feel like he may come

back on a nice team friendly.

Maybe he wants to go out and try

and get another bag, but I think it

makes sense for Jordan to stay with the

Rangers.

Like if I was his agent, dude, you

just got healthy again.

You're in a comfortable place where the fans

love you.

I feel like you stay in Arlington on

a prove it contract.

It's not like you have to accept any

low ball offer the Rangers throw your way.

Like if they're paying you pennies and somebody

else is going to pay you five times

that.

Yeah.

I mean, at some point, dude, you got

to look out for yourself, go get paid.

But if it's all the same, stay in

Arlington, get even better next year, do another

one year deal.

And maybe just, maybe you have a really

good season and then you're able to go

and get that one last contract, maybe a

two or three year deal somewhere else.

I don't think Monty did enough this year

to attract other teams.

I don't think there's to be a bidding

war for Jordan Montgomery.

I don't think he's going to have a

tough time finding a job.

I think there's going to be somebody that

takes a flyer on him just based on

his past.

But I think that Montgomery in a perfect

world signs, a team friendly deal, approve it

deal.

And hopefully he has a really good 2027.

And then, you know what, maybe the Rangers

are going to have to pay him after

that.

Maybe you let him go and he signs

his, you know, ultimate contract two or three

year deal.

Or maybe he just keeps doing the one

year deals bouncing around everywhere.

Who knows?

But I would love to see Jordan Montgomery

back.

Just look franchise legend, 2023, never forget.

But also you need guys like Montgomery, veterans,

innings eaters.

Not everybody that you sign needs to be

my shutdown, ninth inning, eighth inning, late frame,

high leverage dudes.

Like you're not going to feel the team

that way.

You need to have guys like Montgomery that

are just going to be pretty solid for

you.

Maybe not going to have a sub three

ERA, maybe somewhere around four, but they're going

to pitch a lot for you.

Whether you're up, whether you down and they're

just good presences in the dugout and in

the clubhouse.

I think that makes a lot of sense.

Jordan Montgomery.

We keep rolling, man.

Great show so far.

Continue to drop a comment, drop a question.

I would love to hear from you guys.

What do you want to talk about?

I've got stuff for days.

I mean, I hope you know that.

I think you've, you've understood that if you've

watched the show long enough, I can keep

going forever.

I love baseball, love Rangers baseball, and man,

I miss it right now.

I'm watching all of these playoff games going

on.

I'm making Rangers history videos.

I just put out the Jonah Heim throw,

uh, throwing out of Gunnar Henderson, mowing him

down Gunnar Henderson in game one of the

ALDS in 2023, led off the ninth inning.

It was a three, two ball game.

Rangers were up one.

Leclerc was in the game.

Henderson lead off single.

Heim mows him down at second base, cuts

him down, trying to steal.

And then after that you have Jose Leclerc

slamming the door shut.

Man, I just missed the Rangers in October.

I told you guys this, uh, we, we

mourned it.

We grieved it and we're trying to move

on, but it is tough not seeing this

ball club play October baseball.

I, I definitely will always watch October.

It's special.

It's a really amazing, incredible time of year

for the sport, but it still hurts not

having my Rangers, not having our Rangers playing

and watching what was back in 2023, back

in 2010, 2011, even 2015, 2016.

I know those were tough years facing Toronto,

but even so, at least you were in

it.

At least you were there.

All right, let's keep rolling.

So we've talked a little bit about what

Texas is going to be able to afford,

uh, by the way, DeGrom, Seager, Eovaldi and

Nimmo account for nearly $113 million in scheduled

salaries.

That is a lot of money.

That's a chunk of change.

And that kind of goes to our point

of, I think you got to have some

conversations with some players.

Would you be willing to be traded?

Who would you potentially want to be traded

to?

$113 million for Seager, DeGrom, Eovaldi, Nimmo.

That doesn't sound amazing as I just hear

it off the tongue right now.

And look, the full payroll picture, it's definitely

going to include other guarantees, other buyouts, ARB

decisions, the rest of the roster.

You know, we still don't really know what

ownership's actual spending plan is going to be,

what the ceiling is.

And arbitration increases definitely don't make players expendable.

I think that's important to say, but some

of these guys that are in arbitration and

there's a number of them right now, they

might be among the better investments than looking

out there in the free agency.

That being said, I think the Rangers need

a couple of key free agent ads.

We're going to do a lot on this

as the off season goes on.

Really, we'll start heating up with it after

the playoffs are over.

That's when you kind of have a much

better picture.

The reality is Texas finished 25th in runs

scored.

They were tied for eighth, I believe, in

WRC+.

That's mildly encouraging.

It's a fascinating difference between individual offensive production

and what the team actually scored.

I mean, you had some numbers that actually

weren't too bad offensively for Texas, but they

somehow managed to score less runs than they

did in 2025.

I think the bottom line is this, Chris

Young, he needs to find a way, has

to find a way to translate the talent

on this roster into more consistent winning baseball.

Has to find a way to do that.

Three years in a row, not making the

playoffs, it is not going to cut it.

Question from Zach, what do I think they

do at catcher next season?

I would love if they let Higgy go.

I think they will.

Not bringing Higgy back at the end of

2026 told you something.

I don't think Higgy's in the plans for

next year.

I think they wanted to get him healthy,

do him a solid in that way, and

I think he'll be a free agent.

Danny Jansen, I don't think he has much

of a market.

I would try and trade him.

I don't think they're going to release him.

Elias Diaz, I think you have to bring

back, but maybe he's going to be a

little bit too pricey because of what he

did for the Rangers, which was solid, I

think, backup type stuff.

I don't think Elias Diaz was bona fide

starter material.

I think with a lot of the performances

we got from Rangers players last year, the

bar was very, very low.

And so you immediately were hyped up by

anyone showing any remote activity of life with

a bat.

I think we all got lulled into that

at different points.

It's like the offense is so bad.

If anyone was even mildly swinging a good

bat, you automatically were kind of over-hyping

up that player in your mind.

And so look, Elias Diaz, I think if

you take a step back, very solid backup

catcher vibes for me.

I think he's a guy you could even

maybe do a 50-50 split with.

Maybe a guy that you could do kind

of a 75-25 or even a 60

-40 split with.

But I think in any of those scenarios,

it's Diaz being the guy that seeds a

little bit less reps.

He is getting older, but again, solid veteran

presence.

Definitely helped control the running game a little

bit for Texas.

They really, I don't think, trust O'Hoppe with

the glove.

I'm not sold on O'Hoppe either, by the

way.

I think O'Hoppe is going to have to

prove himself in spring training, and I think

that is going to be a big factor

in whether or not the club decides to

have him on the major league roster.

Because right now, I don't think he can

play really anything else besides that.

Maybe he's done some first base reps, not

sure.

But I think catcher is going to be

interesting next year.

I don't love the catching situation minus the

Elias Diaz backup role idea that I just

threw out there.

Not in love with Danny Jansen continuing on

in a starter role, but you're paying him

$7.5 million next year.

Don't really love O'Hoppe in a major role

next year.

I think he has some talent.

I think he's got some pop, but he

hasn't really shown you enough either.

We'll see what they decide to do.

Now, moving forward, who deserves to be part

of the next roster?

Who deserves to be on the team next

year?

Who do you part ways with?

That to me is probably my biggest question

as I'm sifting through a lot of names.

Gore, by the way, is projected to make

$9 million next year after making 34 starts,

which is nice.

But for what you traded for him, it's

not just about making 34 starts, man.

458 ERA, not really the number a lot

of us were hoping that we were going

to get with Gore.

There's real value in those innings, but you

definitely would like better results.

Ezequiel Duran, by the way, is projecting at

about $4 million.

He hit 17 homers, drove in 83 runs.

He played seven different positions.

That is the player that you want to

keep around for $4 million, and it's literally

the exact type of player that Chris Young

said he wants more of.

Athletic, versatile, check, check for Zeke Duran.

Absolutely.

Jung and Burger project around $6 million each.

Jung definitely had a terrific offensive rebound, but

health is a concern, and Burger definitely supplied

the power.

He had 28 bombs, 90 RBI, and he

has a player.

I don't think Burger is an everyday player.

He struggles against righties.

He mashes a lot against lefties.

He's an elite hitter against lefties.

I think he was close to, if not

over 1,000 OPS against lefties last year.

But Burger's not necessarily the athletic, versatile type

of player Chris Young's talking about either.

I don't think either one of those guys

really fits super great within those descriptors that

CY mentioned at the press conference.

So what they do with Jung and Burger,

to me, is going to be the most

intriguing.

Now Frank says trade Jung.

I do think Jung is going to be

a player that is thrown around a little

bit on the trade block.

I think there would be teams interested in

Josh Jung.

I don't think Jung is necessarily like third

baseman of the future.

He's 29 years old.

He is not great defensively.

At least he wasn't in 2026.

He's injury prone, bad luck or not, he's

injury prone, and he also is not giving

you a lot on the base pass.

Not a fast player, in fact, getting slower

each and every year.

I already spoke a little bit on Joc.

I do not think that they're going to

bring back Joc at all, Dean.

Higgy and Junis, I think they're going to

let Higgy go.

If they would have brought back Higgy from

the IL at the end of the year,

that would have told you I think they

were more interested in picking up his option.

But I don't see them picking up Higgy.

Junis, I thought Junis was a one-year

deal.

Am I mistaken on that?

Does Junis have some kind of option?

I'll look up Junis on Spotrac real quick

and see if I can get a feel

for this.

But it was my impression that Junis was

a one-year deal.

I mean, look, wouldn't mind having Junis back

by no means.

One-year contract for Junis.

Mutual option for 2027, though.

So $5 million.

I think would be willing to pay Junis

$5 million.

I would be.

I think you definitely could bring him back

if he wants to come back on that.

In mutual option, Junis has to agree.

But I would be willing to bring back

Junis for $5 million.

What say you?

What do you all think?

Let me know.

Junis for $5 million.

I think Junis had a solid enough season.

There were times after the injury where he

faltered a little bit.

But bringing Jakob Junis back for $5 million

seems like a pretty easy decision.

I mean, look, you were willing to give

Chris Martin $4 million at the beginning of

2026.

Junis for $5 million feels like a pretty

good deal to me.

Look, in Junis with the advanced stats, we'll

definitely roll through some of those.

97th percentile in barrel percentage.

I mean, this was a guy that was

not hit very hard in 2027.

73rd percentile in average exit below.

84th percentile breaking run value.

71st percentile pitching run value.

He would probably be a guy that could

make more than $5 million on the open

market.

Not a lot more, but I think a

little more.

But if he likes Texas, I think you

bring him back.

I think that to me feels like a

no-brainer, especially considering you tried to give

Chris Martin $4 million to be a big

-time contributor.

You did give him $4 million.

He was not a big-time contributor in

2026.

All right.

We keep on going.

We are getting close to the hour mark,

and so we will be wrapping up the

show shortly.

Let's talk about Skip.

You guys know I published my full one

-year evaluation a couple of days ago.

My conclusion on Skip, more concerned than encouraged.

I don't think he needs to be fired.

I know there's a lot of fire Skip

going on.

I don't think Skip needs to be fired.

The Rangers need to be more aggressive on

the base paths.

That's something that I have banged the drum

constantly about, both in the season and since

the season has ended.

They went from 134 stolen bases to 78,

and the team made more errors last year

as well.

That just wasn't the identity that we were

promised at the beginning of the offseason, at

the beginning of spring training from Skip, as

the media interviewed him and asked him about

the things that he really wanted to see

take shape with the club in 2026.

There were positives.

Duran and the versatility, and Skip giving Duran

the opportunity to be that type of player.

I think you got to give some credit

there.

He put Jacob Latz in leverage spots and

continued to utilize him in a multitude of

ways that helped the team to win a

lot of games.

Jacob Latz was very, very effective.

You got to give credit first and foremost

to the players.

I don't think you give Skip a majority

of the credit for Duran becoming a really

solid player, Jacob Latz becoming an all-star

closer.

I don't think you give the credit to

Skip primarily, but I think he's a part

of it, right?

Look, there were injuries.

I don't think there's any denying Skip had

a little bit of a bad hand with

Corey Seager, with Wyatt Langford getting hurt early

in the year.

Nevertheless, it's something that you've got to be

able to weather and work around, and eventually

with the injuries mounting up the way they

did, it became a bit insurmountable.

The Rangers were right there though.

At the end of the year, they were

in first place.

What, the last week, week and a half

of the season, they were clear in first

place.

They controlled their destiny.

Didn't last long, but they still had an

opportunity despite all of that.

Now, the AL West being really, really bad

has a lot to do with that.

Let's not get it twisted here.

And of course, when it comes to Skip,

the roster construction doesn't stop with him.

That being said, everybody that's kind of excusing

Skip Schumaker, like, you know, well, he didn't

have any control over the roster.

He got, you know, handed a bad deck

of cards.

And even I have kind of lazily fallen

into that.

Did we magically forget that Skip was in

the front office in 2025?

And that CY said that they essentially talk

daily about all things, Texas Rangers baseball.

So are we pretending that the relationship, the

front office relationship between CY and Skip just

disappeared into thin air when he stepped into

the manager role?

I highly doubt that.

And so the point is Skip, I think

had more influence over the roster than what

people think.

It's not nothing.

It's just not nothing.

You don't go from senior advisor to manager

and just totally get cut off from the

role that you were in, in the senior

advisor spot.

Skip, in my humble opinion, had some influence

on the roster, knew what he was getting

into, knew the players that he was getting

into.

And so I don't fully buy the excuse,

Ray Davis, CY, you know, it's not at

all Skip's fault.

And he had no control over what type

of players that he had.

He was in the front office in 2025.

Come on now.

Come on now.

Let's just be honest about that.

The role did not magically disappear into thin

air.

I do think if Skip gets more of

the type of player that Chris Young was

talking about, athletic, versatile, I do expect to

see some cleaner baseball, better base running, and

more consistency from the young core.

If Skip can get more Ezequiel Duran type

players that are good defensively, good on the

base pass, put the ball in play, that

is going to make a big difference.

100%.

Where should the next dollars go?

I do think an established everyday hitter would

go a long way.

This isn't rocket science, by the way, especially

if Texas can upgrade a position that currently

lacks really dependable production.

And there's a number of places that my

mind goes to immediately.

Centerfield.

Centerfield is definitely a spot that did not

have consistent offensive production.

And there was so much made about Evan

Carter's defense, so many people defending Carter's spot

in the lineup because of the defense.

I think now you're seeing the beats.

You saw Evan Grant come out with an

article recently, basically said point blank.

The defense is not so valuable that you

put up with the bad offense.

And I've said that all year.

I fought people on this left and right.

I'm sure there's still some people that feel

like Evan Carter needs a spot based on

just defense alone.

They can't do it.

I think going out and getting another outfielder

would be huge.

That would be the place that I would

start in the infield.

First base could be another and catcher, I

think, could be another as well.

I'm not sure the Rangers are going to

do a whole lot else, though, beyond that.

Big time Texan.

What's good?

I don't think EC is gone.

That's a comment from TikTok.

I think he should be given an opportunity

to show what he's got in spring training,

but I think spring training should definitely be

competition mode for Evan Carter.

And if he doesn't perform, I think you

could maybe still use him as a bench

player.

Maybe you could send him down to AAA.

There's a couple of different ideas and options,

but I think it should be competition season

for Evan Carter.

100% it should be competition for EC

based on what he's given you the past

few years.

This isn't just a bad 2026.

He wasn't great in 24.

He wasn't great in 25.

And then he got worse in 2026.

All right.

Team Pulse here.

Sebastian Walcott back in the Arizona Fall League

following elbow surgery.

His playing time, his defensive assignments and health,

that's all going to give us useful info

going into 2027.

Sunday, a few days ago, he was two

for three with two RBI in his debut.

Really just picking up where he left off

in Frisco, right?

We have to talk about a little bit

with the health stuff.

Seager and Jung both have offseason health decisions.

I don't think there's been a lot of

updates with whether or not either one of

those guys is going to be getting surgery.

That is an option for each player.

And then, you know, we talked about Joc

Peterson already 18 and a half million dollar

option.

You've also got Jakob Junis with a $5

million.

Both of those, by the way, mutual options.

Salary isn't automatically on the books, but I

think with Junis you would do the mutual

option with Joc.

I don't think you even think twice.

You don't want to pay Joc 18 and

a half million.

Come on now.

How could you be penny pinching like they

were and then turn around and give Joc

another 18 and a half million when you

have the option to get out of that?

I mean, that to me would be really

unwise, just really nonsensical with what the Rangers

have done in their decision making over the

last couple of years.

You're trying to cut payroll, but you're going

to give 18 and a half million out

to Joc for being a part-time player

that can only hit against righties.

That doesn't make sense.

Now we go to the postseason and look,

we're over the hour mark.

So we're going to start wrapping things up

here.

You've got Dodgers and Braves tied at one

in the top of the seventh.

You've got the Yankees and the in the

top of the first, zero, zero Milwaukee and

San Diego.

They will square off at 9 PM central.

And then earlier today you had Cleveland stay

alive.

They won nine to three over the White

Sox.

And that was a slug fest.

And so more divisional round baseball coming your

way.

And right now, I don't know if I

have a super big dog in the fight.

I think I told you guys, I'd like

to see the Padres make some noise.

Just a new team winning it all would

be fun.

The Brewers would be another team.

I really wouldn't mind seeing when at all.

I just like the idea of teams that

have never won it.

You know, Tampa Bay winning at all.

Wouldn't mind that either.

I do think that the teams that have

already won a championship, especially recently, you know,

the Dodgers, the Braves, you know, the Yankees,

it's been a while, but nobody ever wants

to cheer for the Yankees.

Wouldn't mind Will Venable winning it in his

second year as White Sox manager.

Cleveland, of course, I mean, that would be

fun.

They haven't won it in so long.

There's a lot of fresh blood in the

playoffs, which is great.

So really, as I'm thinking about it, no

on the Dodgers, Braves and Yankees.

And I really wouldn't mind any of the

other teams.

I really wouldn't mind that.

Hey, Chrissy, what's good?

Thanks for the thanks for the comment.

Appreciate the kind words.

I would love to do that.

I would love it.

Look, I think, though, based on based on

some of my interactions, I'm not sure the

Rangers want to hear what I have to

say right now.

I think they are in a little bit

of denial.

I think my my getting blocked by Skip

Schumaker speaks volumes.

And look, I'm not even vile or nasty

in my commentary of Skip.

I definitely speak my mind and I will

be critical of Skip, no doubt.

But look, there's a lot of people out

there being a lot more vulgar towards Skip

than I ever will be.

But yeah, Skip spent quite a bit of

time blocking people on social media this offseason.

I think that's pretty well documented.

A lot of screenshots have been sent my

way over the last six months.

I say, welcome to the club.

I don't really get it.

Kind of weird energy from Skip.

If you ask me, I would tell him

that.

Why are you wasting time blocking people on

social media?

For the record, I don't block anybody.

The only time I would block somebody, maybe

if there was some kind of weird threat

on my family or it was getting to

like violent levels.

You know, just the messaging I was getting

was really disturbing.

If I get somebody criticizing me, which I

get a lot of here, a lot of

DMs, a lot of comments, dude, what a

bad take.

Oh, dude, you don't know ball.

I mean, look, if I had a dollar

for every one of those comments, I'd be

a very rich man.

But I surely don't have the time to

go through and block all those knuckleheads.

So I don't really understand how Skip does

being the manager of a major league team,

but it is what it is.

It's not a choice I would make, but

Skip is in a free country as we

all are.

He can do whatever he wants.

He did.

Christy, he did.

Dead serious.

Dead serious.

All right.

What's up next here?

First of all, we're going to be waiting

on contract options.

What are the Rangers exercise?

What do they decline?

Junis jock.

We're going to think about the arbitration deals

that that may be made or not made.

I think the Rangers would be wise to

move forward with quite a few of those

players.

You know, the Gore at nine million doesn't

feel great, but I don't know if they

have a choice.

I think they're going to pay Gore the

nine million Gore could be maybe a trade

block guy.

I think there's a lot of teams around

the league that would be interested in Gore.

That's for sure.

And then let's see what rumors might be

flying around.

Rangers rumored with certain free agents, certain trade

candidates.

It's going to get fun.

And by the way, we will be live

anytime a big move happens.

And I mean a big move, like I'm

not going to necessarily hop on with, you

know, a small ventral guy getting signed to

a minor league deal.

Right.

But if the Rangers signed someone to a

major league contract, if they make a trade,

if they fire somebody, if they hire somebody

big, we'll definitely go live and talk about

it.

That will be the plan for sure.

Christy, thank you so much for the gifts.

Not needed, but much appreciated.

Very, very kind of you.

And look, we're going to wind this down.

We're going to wind this thing down.

I appreciate everybody that was hanging out today,

talking offseason ball, smaller show today.

But I always tell you guys, look, sometimes

I like the smaller shows.

That's how we started humble beginnings, like two

or three people tuning in.

And it just got a little bit bigger

over time.

Brings back the humble beginnings, the good old

days of right on Rangers back in 2023.

When I first started this thing, look, just

always say this, appreciate you guys and all

the ways you've helped to grow the show

over the years.

Even just hanging out, commenting, just listening in.

I know some of you guys listen, but

don't necessarily hop in the comment section.

Thank you so much.

It means a lot.

I started this, just wanting to talk ball

of all different kinds, baseball, football, basketball, hockey.

Now, definitely don't ever want to take for

granted the job you guys have done in

making this bigger and bigger.

So thank you so much.

Much appreciated.

Tomorrow, we will be live for Cowboys.

So if you want to talk NFL, you

want to talk Cowboys football tomorrow, we will

be live after the Bucks Cowboys game.

That should be good stuff.

Hopefully another Cowboys win on the way, riding

high off their win against the Texans.

Nice little comeback win.

And then Saturday, we will be live for

the Red River shootout, Oklahoma, Texas, squaring off

in the cotton bowl.

So we'll be live three of the next

or two of the next three days.

Should be good stuff, man.

Come out and hang, even if those aren't

your favorite teams, come and talk college football,

come and talk NFL.

It'll be great.

We'll have some content out to you guys

over the next 24 hours, probably another post

coming your way tonight, a little bit later

on in the evening.

And then we will also have more for

you tomorrow leading up to the Cowboys game.

It's going to be great.

Thank you for hanging out.

Appreciate your support.

Have a great rest of your Wednesday.

And as I always say, attend every show

God bless and go Rangers.