We have known for a while that the Texas Rangers were planning on spending less on their team payroll in 2026 than they did the previous three seasons, when they were over the first Competitive Balance Tax threshold in 2023 and 2024 and were either close to the threshold or just over it in 2025. After being around $220 million in 2025, I think we anticipated a drop to the $200-210 million range.

In a piece that dropped yesterday afternoon, however, Evan Grant suggests that even that range is overly-aggressive. After noting that the Rangers’ “low-level” class of free agents signed last offseason cost a total of $12 million, Grant opines that a similar group would cost around $20 million this year. I am not sure I agree with that estimate, given that that’s a 67% increase in the salaries fo

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