4 Overlooked Free-Agents the Rangers Can Still Sign in 2024
By Evan Starr
2. Justin Turner
Yes, he is getting older now as he approaches 40 years old, but what Justin Turner proved last year with Boston is that he can still swing it. JT put up an .800 OPS hitting .276 with 23 bombs in 134 games with the Red Sox last season.
Texas could be a great spot for Turner to spend 2024 as a primary DH with Josh Jung being the everyday third baseman. Not much would be asked of him and Turner would be in a spot to quietly produce in a deep, contending lineup.
The Rangers lost Mitch Garver to the Mariners creating a hole in an already thin DH spot in the lineup. Turner could fill this void effectively in a short-term deal that is not going to require a lot of money.
3. Tommy Pham
Looking at the DH spot again, World Series foe Tommy Pham has produced everywhere he has been in 7 teams and counting. Throughout his career, Pham has always been a solid option at the plate and Rangers fans experienced first-hand Pham lighting up the fall-classic for Arizona.
The price for Pham wouldn't be too steep and Texas would be getting a solid veteran to fill the DH spot.
Pham is another avenue the Rangers could turn to to round out an already deep lineup. Pham had an OPS over .800 in 264 plate appearances with the Mets last season before moving to Arizona at the deadline where he posted an OPS over 1.000 in the playoffs. Pham is just another veteran option for the DH spot who wouldn't be asked to do much with the guys around him carrying the load.
Both he and Turner are affordable options to fill a spot in this lineup. They would be low-risk, reasonable-expectation signings that Texas would not need to lean on much. But both could provide production out of a DH spot that was thin all last season.