3 Free Agents the Rangers Must Sign to Repeat as World Series Champions
By Tyler Maher
The Texas Rangers finally reached the top of the mountain in 2023, winning their first World Series in franchise history.
While celebrations are certainly in order, the Rangers still have some work to do this offseason if they want to win again next year. After all, no team has won back-to-back World Series since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.
Most of Texas' core will return intact in 2024, so that's already a great start. However, the front office should still be aggressive in free agency this winter to position the team for another championship run next fall.
With that in mind, here are three free agents the Rangers must sign this offseason if they want to repeat as World Series champions.
1. Shohei Ohtani
A lot of teams are going to try to sign Ohtani this winter, but the Rangers have a pretty compelling case to land him.
For starters, Texas needs a designated hitter. The Rangers' primary DH this year, Mitch Garver, is going to be a free agent. While he was awesome for us this season, he's going to be 33 next year and has a lengthy injury history (no seasons with over 102 games), so it's probably a good time to move on before his performance starts to decline.
Ohtani could take Garver's spot and would make our already potent lineup even better. A batting order with him, Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia, and Marcus Semien at the top would be absolutely lethal. He'd also join the pitching staff in 2025 once his elbow recovers from surgery.
Texas is a good fit for Ohtani for other reasons, too. He's never played in the postseason and wants to win a championship, so the Rangers give him a great chance to do that. He'd also get to stay in the AL West and wouldn't have to move too far from Anaheim after spending his first six seasons with the Angels.
Texas has spent big in free agency recently on Seager, Semien, Jacob deGrom and others. If GM Chris Young really wants to maximize the Rangers' title chances for next year, now is the time to go all-in and get Ohtani.