A couple of days ago I got my hands on the full Spring Training roster for the Texas Rangers for the 2026 season.  It’s always a fun time for me, which means I can update my uniform number pages with the new stuff for the new season.  Been doing this site since the late 90’s, and while I stopped doing daily game updates ages ago, I still vigorously update the uniform numbers section. It’s always been a thing for me, so I focus a LOT on uniform numbers.

As I always do, when doing the first update for the season, I take notes as I update all the pages.  These notes cover several subjects – number changes, new guys, things not assigned, etc.  That’s what this post is.  My summary of all the uniform number assignments as we enter spring training in a scant few days in February.  Here goes…. [Read more…]

It occurred to me that with Jonah Heim not going to be with the Rangers in 2026 (what a fall, but that’s another story), I thought I’d take a look back at our catching situation since Pudge came up many a moon ago.  When Pudge was our primary catcher, he’d catch something like 140 games or so, and our backup would only catch like one day a week, or the day game after a night game type of thing.  Since then, we’ve never had a dominant catcher like that.  A few times I thought we might have someone who would fit that bill, and I really thought we had found it when we got Heim from the A’s in the Elvis Andrus trade.  Especially in 2023, I really thought that, but no, he’s back down with the rest of the pack after his peak that year.

I wanted to go through and create a list of everyone who has caught a game for the Rangers since the early 90’s.  I suspect it will be a long list. I can remember the majority of these guys, but the actual game numbers they caught was something I had to go research.  A quick note – the numbers caught don’t always add up to 162, because it’s “games at catcher”, not “games started at catcher”.  Defensive subs or injuries will result in more than one guy catching per game.

With that in mind…

[Read more…]

How the 2026 MLB National TV deals affect the Texas Rangers

I thought I’d take a look at the new national TV deals announced this past week for Major League Baseball.  First off, I want to stress this is NATIONAL coverage.  This doesn’t affect local coverage (which for the Rangers means Victory+ / RSN).  That’s something completely different.

Now, Victory+/RSN is sold as “all the local games” (not all the games which I’ve seen some fans claim) – which means if a game isn’t on one of the national carriers, it’ll be on Victory+/RSN/Ch 33 OTA as it was in 2025.  That’s not changing.  However, the national deals have moved around a bit for 2026, so I thought I’d break it down. 

It DOES mean that if you want to watch 100% of the games, you’ll need access to quite a few things.  The FULL broadcast list of games likely won’t come out until Spring Training starts.  As a reminder, the 2025 schedule was first announced in early Feb, then we got the national games later in Feb, and the “final” final TV schedule was published on March 3.  So we won’t have the full word on what Rangers games will be on national carriers until Spring Training is well under way.  And then there’s the flex concept, as you know a few times in 2025, games were “selected” to be on national broadcasts during the season, so things can (and probably will) change – but the vast bulk of the games will be on Victory+/RSN for viewing as they were in 2025. 

One other fun thing is that all of these deals are for three years, and expire after the 2028 season. This counts both the new ones announced this week, and the existing ones we’ve had for awhile (like FOX).  2029 will likely look radically different, but that’s a few years down the line at this point.

Anyway, here’s a look at the National baseball TV deals for 2026: [Read more…]

Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for awhile now (2025 is the 18th season I’ve kept track of this), and it’s worked out pretty well, and has been permanent for a number of years now. If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them with links at the bottom of the page.

Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2025.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 26 man roster officially.  Here goes:

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2025: 51
Total pitchers used in 2025: 25
Total position players used in 2025: 26
Total players making major league debut: 5

• #51 – Jose Corniell (27 Sep – replacing Cole Winn (DL))
• #50 – Donovan Solano (27 Sep – replacing Josh Smith (Paternity List))
• #49 – Carl Edwards Jr (8 Sep – replacing Caleb Boushley (DFA))
• #48 – Dylan Moore (29 Aug – replacing Corey Seager (DL))
• #47 – Danny Columbe (1 Aug – replacing Kumar Rocker (AAA))
• #46 – Phil Maton (1 Aug – replacing Jake Latz (AAA))
• #45 – Merrill Kelly (1 Aug – replacing Caleb Boushley (AAA))
• #44 – Luis Curvelo (30 Jul – replacing Jacob Webb (DL))
• #43 – Cody Freeman (18 Jul – replacing Sam Haggerty (DL))
• #42 – Rowdy Tellez (18 Jul – replacing Jake Burger (DL))
• #41 – Billy McKinney (1 Jul – replacing Evan Carter (Bereavement List))
• #40 – Michael Helman (27 Jun – replacing Wyatt Langford (DL))
• #39 – Codi Heuer (1 Jun – replacing Nate Eovaldi (DL))
• #38 – Alejandro Osuna (25 May – replacing Joc Pederson DL))
• #37 – Cole Winn (15 May – replacing Caleb Boushley (AAA))
• #36 – Evan Carter (6 May – replacing Leody Carter (waivers to Sea))
• #35 – Blaine Crim (2 May – replacing Jake Burger (AAA))
• #34 – Tucker Barnhart (30 Apr – replacing Dane Dunning (DFA))
• #33 – Dane Dunning (28 Apr – replacing Daniel Robert (DFA))
• #32 – Nick Ahmed (23 Apr – replacing Corey Seager (DL))
• #31 – Jacob Latz (16 Apr – replacing Marc Church (AAA))
• #30 – Dustin Harris (9 Apr – replacing Wyatt Langford (DL))
• #29 – Caleb Boushley (8 Apr – replacing Gerson Garabito (AAA))
• #28 – Patrick Corbin (4 Apr – replacing Jack Leiter (DL))
• #27 – Jonathan Ornelas (30 Mar – replacing Josh Jung (DL))

#26 to #1: Adolis Garcia, Chris Martin, Corey Seager, Ezequiel Duran, Gerson Garabito, Hoby Milner, Jack Leiter, Jacob DeGrom, Jacob Webb, Jake Burger, Joc Pederson, Jonah Heim, Josh Jung, Josh Smith, Kevin Pillar, Kumar Rocker, Kyle Higashioka, Leody Taveras, Luke Jackson, Marc Church, Marcus Semien, Nathan Eovaldi, Robert Garcia, Shawn Armstrong, Tyler Mahle, Wyatt Langford

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• Of the opening day 26 man roster, nobody is making their major league debut, the third time in the last four seasons that’s happened.
• Of the opening day 26 man roster, 8 players are making their Rangers debuts (Hoby Milner, Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb, Robert Garcia, Kyle Higashioka, Jake Burger, Kevin Pillar, Joc Pederson).
• Previous years counts for major league debuts on opening day roster: 2024 (1), 2023 (0), 2022 (0), 2021  (2, Arihara, DeGeus), 2020 (1, Taveras), 2019 (2, Bird, Dowdy), 2018 (1, Tocci), 2017 (2, Hauschild, Robinson), 2016 (1, Barnette), 2015 (6, DeShields, Kela, Klein, Rua, Smolinski, Verrett), 2014 (1, Seth Rosin), 2013 (2, Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (2, Darvish & Ross), 2011 (1, Mason Tobin), none in 2010, 2009 (1, Elvis Andrus), and 2008 (1, Kaz Fukumori).
• Players with “xx” in front of their names on the list were players that were recalled, on the 26 man roster, but did not actually play.  The team doesn’t count those as players who played.  I do (because they were here).

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Well, as I write this on the 22nd of September, the Rangers have lost 7 in a row.  There’s apparently an ungodly tiny path left for playoffs (cue the Jim Mora clip), so with the season limping to a finish, it’s time to turn one’s mind towards 2026. I wanted to take a look at the 2025 Rangers and give my thoughts as to what I think will happen.

Is this going to be totally accurate?  Of course not.  It’s just my personal thoughts.  I’m nowhere near as on top of some things as others who write about the Rangers (Hey Jamey Newberg), but I do watch a lot of Rangers baseball, and like any other sports fan, I have opinions.  Basically what I’m doing is going over every single player that’s played for the Rangers in 2025, and give my thoughts as to what I think will happen next year with them.  I’m saying something about every player that has played at least one game in the majors in 2025.  Guys who have spent the entire time in the minors or are too young to come up are not what I’m doing here – this is solely for guys who have been in the majors this year.

As a point of reference, the MLB minimum wage in 2025 is $760,000.  In 2026, it will be $780,000.

[Read more…]

Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for awhile now (2024 is the 17th season I’ve kept track of this), and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them with links at the bottom of the page.

Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2024.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 26 man roster officially.  Here goes:

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2024: 54
Total pitchers used in 2024: 31
Total position players used in 2024: 23
Total players making major league debut: 10

• #54 – Dustin Harris (Sep 28 – replacing Josh Jung (DL))
• #53 – Marc Church (Sep 27 – replacing Jack Leiter (AAA))
• #52 – Kumar Rocker (Sep 12 – replacing Chase Anderson (DFA))
• #51 – Sandro Fabian (Sep 4 – replacing Corey Seager (DL))
• #50 – Chase Anderson (Aug 31 – replacing Dane Dunning (AAA))
• #49 – Tyler Mahle (Aug 6 – replacing Walter Pennington (AAA))
• #48 – Walter Pennington (Aug 2 – replacing Max Scherzer (DL))
• #47 – Andrew Chafin (Jul 31 – replacing Jonathan Hernandez (DFA))
• #46 – Carson Kelly (Jul 29 – replacing Andrew Knizner (AAA))
• #45 – Daniel Robert (Jul 8 – replacing Grant Anderson (AAA))
• #44 – Max Scherzer (Jun 23 – replacing Yerry Rodriguez (AAA))
• #43 – Gerson Garabito (May 26 – replacing Shaun Anderson (DFA))
• #42 – Jesus Tinoco (May 23 – replacing Jon Gray (DL))
• #41 – Derek Hill (May 21 – replacing Davis Wendzel (AAA))
• #40 – Shaun Anderson (May 15 – replacing Jack Leiter (AAA))
• #39 – Owen White (May 8 – replacing Dane Dunning (DL))
• #38 – Robbie Grossman (May 8 – replacing Jonathan Ornelas (AAA))
• #37 – Jonathan Ornelas (May 6 – replacing Wyatt Langford (DL))
• #36 – Grant Anderson (Apr 24 – replacing Austin Pruitt (DL))
• #35 – Jonathan Hernandez (Apr 23 – replacing Owen White (AAA))
• #34 – Nathaniel Lowe (Apr 20 – replacing Jared Walsh (DFA))
• #33 – Sam Huff (Apr 20 – replacing Jonah Heim (bereavement list))
• #xx – Owen White (Apr 19 – replacing Jack Leiter (AAA)) – did not play)
• #32 – Jack Leiter (Apr 18 – replacing Grant Anderson (AAA))
• #31 – Michael Lorenzen (Apr 15 – replacing Yerry Rodriguez (AAA))
• #30 – Cole Winn (Apr 14 – replacing Cody Bradford (DL))
• #29 – Austin Pruitt (Apr 13 – replacing Brock Burke (DL))
• #28 – Davis Wendzel (Apr 8 – replacing Justin Foscue (DL))
• #27 – Justin Foscue (Apr 2 – replacing Josh Jung (DL))

#26 to #1 (in surname alphabetical order): Cody Bradford, Brock Burke, Evan Carter, Dane Dunning, Ezequiel Duran, Nathan Eovaldi, Adolis Garcia, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Jonah Heim, Travis Jankowski, Josh Jung, Andrew Knizner, Wyatt Langford, Jacob Latz, Jose LeClerc, David Robertson, Yerry Rodriguez, Josh Sborz, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Josh Smith, Leody Taveras, Jose Urena, Jared Walsh, Kirby Yates.

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• Of the opening day 26 man roster, just one player is making their major league debut – Wyatt Langford.
• Of the opening day 26 man roster, 6 players are making their Rangers debuts. (Andrew Knizner, Jared Walsh, Wyatt Langford, David Robertson, Kirby Yates, Jose Urena).
• Previous years counts for major league debuts on opening day roster: 2023 (1 – Langford), 2022 (0), 2021  (2, Arihara, DeGeus), 2020 (1, Taveras), 2019 (2, Bird, Dowdy), 2018 (1, Tocci), 2017 (2, Hauschild, Robinson), 2016 (1, Barnette), 2015 (6, DeShields, Kela, Klein, Rua, Smolinski, Verrett), 2014 (1, Seth Rosin), 2013 (2, Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (2, Darvish & Ross), 2011 (1, Mason Tobin), none in 2010, 2009 (1, Elvis Andrus), and 2008 (1, Kaz Fukumori).
• Players with “xx” in front of their names on the list were players that were recalled, on the 26 man roster, but did not actually play.  The team doesn’t count those as players who played.  I do (because they were here).

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If you’ve been following me and my Texas Rangers fandom for any length of time, you should know that uniform numbers fascinate me.  I’m always looking up information on players, and it’s something I’ve been doing for awhile.

Some Background:

I grew up in Philadelphia, and when I was young, it was the era of Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, and Pete Rose.  To this day I can still recall their numbers without looking it up (32, 20, 14).  But it went further than that.  Unless they retired someone’s number, I would always think “Hey, that’s so and so’s old number”.   That mindset extended to when I moved to Texas in the early 90’s and because a fan of the Texas Rangers.

Back in 2006, I happened upon this book, which was a list of uniform numbers for every team.  It was a goldmine!  Yeah, the internet was around at this point, but things like Baseball Reference were not.  This was an awesome book, I picked it up, and used the data on the Rangers as a starting point to launch uniform number history on my website.  Back then it was far more spartan than what I have now, but I’ve spent over a decade working the numbers now. [Read more…]

Usually towards the end of the year, we always hear about how many players the Texas Rangers have used overall in any particular season. The Rangers are usually towards the high end of that list. Injuries, callups, usually make for a long list, and you tend to forget the guys who are here so quick that they don’t even have time for the proverbial “cup of coffee”. I’ve done this for awhile now (2023 will be the 16th season I’ve kept track of this), and it’s worked out pretty well. I’ve also gotten some positive feedback on it, so it’s become a permanent feature here.  If you’d like to see the final tallies for the other years I’ve done this, you can still see them with links at the bottom of the page.

Anyway, this post will get bumped whenever there is a player who is making his first appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2022.  I am going to count guys who get called up, but don’t play immediately (or sometimes don’t play at all), as they will be part of the 26 man roster officially.  Here goes:

The most recent additions will be on the top of the list.

Total players in 2023: 45
Total pitchers used in 2021: 26
Total position players used in 2021: 19
Total players making major league debut: 5

• #45x – Matt Bush (Sep 30 – replacing Alex Speas (DFA)) – Bush Did not pitch
• #45 – Jake Latz (Sep 16 – replacing Ian Kennedy (DL))
• #44 – Evan Carter (Sep 8 – replacing Adolis Garcia (DL))
• #43 – Jonathan Ornelas (Aug 7 – replacing Josh Jung (DL))
• #42 – Austin Hedges (Aug 2 – replacing Bubba Thompson (optioned to AAA))
• #41 – Max Scherzer (Aug 1 – replacing Spencer Howard (traded to NYY))
• #40 – Jordan Montgomery (Aug 1 – replacing Cody Bradford (optioned to AAA))
• #39 – Chris Stratton (Aug 1 – replacing Yerry Rodriguez (optioned to AAA))
• #38 – Alex Speas (Jul 19 – replacing Taylor Hearn (DFA))
• #37 – Aroldis Chapman (Jul 1 – replacing Yerry Rodríguez (optioned to AAA)
• #36 – Glenn Otto (Jun 30, replacing John King (optioned to AAA))
• #35 – Owen White (Jun 13 – replacing Cole Ragans (optioned to AAA))
• #34 – Grant Anderson (May 29 – replacing Cody Bradford (optioned to AAA))
• #33 – Joe Barlow (May 16 – replacing Cody Bradford (optioned to AAA))
• #32 – Cody Bradford (May 15 – replacing Yerry Rodriguez (optioned to AAA))
• #31 – Sam Huff (May 9 – replacing Travis Jankowski (DL))
• #30 – Yerry Rodriguez (Apr 29 – replacing Jacob DeGrom (DL))
• #29 – Josh Sborz (Apr 14 – replacing Taylor Hearn (optioned to AAA))
• #28 – Leody Taveras (Apr 12 – replacing Corey Seager (DL))
• #27 – Sandy Leon (Apr 10 – replacing Mitch Garver (DL))

#26 to #1 (in no particular order): Mitch Garver, Jonah Heim, Nathaniel Lowe, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Adolis Garcia, Robbie Grossman, Bubba Thompson, Travis Jankowski, Brad Miller, Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran, Jacob DeGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Martin Perez, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, Taylor Hearn, Jonathan Hernandez, Jose LeClerc, Brock Burke, Will Smith, Cole Ragans, Ian Kennedy.

Players making their Making Major League Debut are bolded

Roster Notes:

• Of the opening day 26 man roster, nobody is making their major league debut. That’s two years in a row now.
• Of the opening day 26 man roster, 6 players are making their Rangers debuts. (Robbie Grossman, Travis Jankowski, Jacob DeGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, Will Smith).
• Previous years counts for major league debuts on opening day roster: 2022 (0), 2021  (2, Arihara, DeGeus), 2020 (1, Taveras), 2019 (2, Bird, Dowdy), 2018 (1, Tocci), 2017 (2, Hauschild, Robinson), 2016 (1, Barnette), 2015 (6, DeShields, Kela, Klein, Rua, Smolinski, Verrett), 2014 (1, Seth Rosin), 2013 (2, Leury Garcia & Smokin’ Joe Ortiz), 2012 (2, Darvish & Ross), 2011 (1, Mason Tobin), none in 2010, 2009 (1, Elvis Andrus), and 2008 (1, Kaz Fukumori).
• Players with “xx” in front of their names on the list were players that were recalled, on the 26 man roster, but did not actually play.  The team doesn’t count those as players who played.  I do (because they were here).

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