With the Surgeries Done, the Rangers Face a $38.3 Million Arbitration Bill, and Gore, Burger and Evan Carter Are the Tough Calls

Rangers fans, the medical updates are done. Now the offseason turns to money, and the arbitration list is long.

MLB Trade Rumors' annual projections, built by Matt Swartz's model, list 10 Rangers who are eligible for arbitration. The biggest numbers are MacKenzie Gore at $8.7 million, Jake Burger at $6.9 million, Josh Jung at $5.2 million and Ezequiel Durán at $4 million. Wyatt Langford ($3.3 million), Logan O'Hoppe ($3.1 million) and closer Jacob Latz ($3 million) are next. Evan Carter ($1.7 million), Cody Bradford ($1.3 million) and Robert Garcia ($1.1 million) round it out. SI's Matt Postins adds it up to about $38.3 million, and none of the 10 is projected under $1 million.

Postins went player by player. He says Texas should shop Gore but probably keep him. Gore led the staff with 34 starts but went 8-11 with a 4.58 ERA, and Postins notes his best career ERA is 3.90. He says shop and possibly trade Burger, who hit .228/.302/.421 with 167 strikeouts. He'd keep Durán, who had his best year at .260/.320/.419 with 17 homers and 83 RBI and is at least the 2027 second baseman. He'd keep Jung and Langford but hold off on extensions because of their injury history. Carter is the hardest call. He hit .194/.288/.315, still struggles against lefties and plays elite defense, so Postins says to listen to offers. His one extension pick is Latz, an All-Star who saved 30 games in 34 chances with a 2.13 ERA.

The bigger picture is payroll. Texas went 80-82 and missed the playoffs for a third straight year. Chris Young said the club needs to "get younger, we need to get more athletic, we need to get more dynamic," per MLBTR, and he promised answers on Opening Day payroll before free agency. The Rangers opened 2026 at about $185 million, down from well over $200 million in 2024 and 2025. Corey Seager is owed $31 million in each of the next five seasons, per MLBTR.

Timing is a wild card, too. Arbitration usually starts in January, but SI notes a possible lockout during CBA talks could push that back.

Track every decision on the Texas Rangers page. Radio question: keep Evan Carter and wait on the bat, or sell while teams still covet him?

Sources: MLB Trade Rumors — Projected arbitration salaries for 2027; SI (Rangers) — What the Rangers should do with each arbitration-eligible player; MLB Trade Rumors — Rangers' Chris Young on offseason, Seager, Jung; MLB Trade Rumors — Corey Seager undergoes elbow surgery.