Taking a look at the Texas Rangers’ 40 man roster in the lead up to the trade deadline
The MLB trade deadline is just three days away, so it is a good time to take a look at the state of the Texas Rangers’ 40 man roster. 40 man roster considerations are going to come into play in clearing spots for potential trade additions, as well as in what players in the Rangers’ organization may be more likely to get sent out via trade.
Along with the current 26 man active roster, the Rangers have the following players on the 40 man roster:
Minor leagues
Marc Church
Jose Corniell
Luis Curvelo
Codi Heuer
Winston Santos
Emiliano Teodo
Blaine Crim
Justin Foscue
Cody Freeman
Dustin Harris
Michael Helman
Alejandro Osuna
10/15 day injured list
Chris Martin
Jake Burger
60 day injured list
Cody Bradford
Tyler Mahle
Josh Sborz
So the 40 man roster is full, and there are three players on the 60 day injured list who will have be added to the 40 man roster when they are activated. Bradford will not be activated until after the end of the season, since he is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Sborz is going to be activated in the next couple of weeks. Mahle isn’t eligible to return from the injured list until August 10, and likely won’t be activated until late August or September.
The Rangers do not appear to be in a situation where they would have significant issues opening up 40 man roster spots at the deadline for any additions. I thought Codi Heuer would be designated for assignment when Jon Gray was activated — Luke Jackson was instead — and he would seem to be a potential roster casualty, either when Sborz gets activated or if a roster spot is needed for a trade acquisition. Blaine Crim is a 28 year old first baseman with an 889 OPS in AAA who would probably clear waivers. Dustin Harris is on his final option and hasn’t done much to suggest he’d have a secure grip on a 40 man roster spot this winter. Michael Helman has provided useful depth but was a waiver claim just a couple of months ago. Rowdy Tellez could be a roster casualty if the Rangers add a bench bat, especially with Jake Burger expected back in August.
Of the 43 players on the 40 man roster (including 60 day i.l. guys), the following players will be free agents:
Tyler Mahle
Jon Gray
Chris Martin
Hoby Milner
Shawn Armstrong
Patrick Corbin
Rowdy Tellez
That leaves 36 players who would still be on the 40 man roster at season’s end. My guess is that any players the Rangers go after at the deadline would most likely be rentals, and thus wouldn’t affect the end of year 40 man roster calculations. Sure, maybe they get a reliever with team control beyond 2025…should they do so, that would have to be factored into the considerations.
With that in mind, what minor leaguers in the Rangers’ system are 40 man eligible this offseason, and who would have to be added to the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft this winter? As always, I recommend you check out Scott Lucas’s Rule 5 eligibility spreadsheet here.
First time eligibles this offseason generally are going to be 2022 college picks, 2021 high school picks, and 2021 international free agents. The only college picks of note from 2022 are Kumar Rocker — who is already on the 40 man roster — Kohl Drake, who was just promoted to AAA and seems a lock to be promoted, and Luis Ramirez, who has missed all of this season due to injury and is not going to be protected.
Among 2021 high school draftees, Mitch Bratt appears to be a lock to be protected at this point, given his strong season for AA Frisco. Cam Cauley has had a nice season for Frisco, but would seem to be unlikely to be protected at this point. No one else from that group would seem to be a serious option.
As far as international free agents go, there are a couple of pitchers who would garner consideration. David Davalillo has had his second straight strong season in full season ball, earning his second mid-season promotion in as many years and performing well for AA Frisco since being moved up. He’s the type of pitchability guy who oftentimes gets passed over in the Rule 5 Draft, but if he excels for Frisco the rest of the way, the Rangers will likely think long and hard about whether to expose him.
Leandro Lopez, meanwhile, missed most of 2024, but has rebounded with a quality 2025 season that has seen him also earn a promotion to Frisco. Lopez just turned 23 and his stuff could make him more attractive as someone who could be stashed in the bullpen than Davalillo.
Gleider Figuereo and Yeison Morrobel are the other notable first year eligibles from the international signee group. However, neither would appear to have done enough to be protected, or to be selected if they weren’t.
Among the players who have been previously eligible, pitchers Josh Stephan and Bryan Magdaleno were the subject of much discussion after they were left off the 40 man roster last winter. There was a fair amount of angst over the prospect of losing one or both of them — however, neither was selected, and neither has pitched well enough this year to lead one to believe that the Rangers would protect them this year.
Dane Acker was discussed as a possibility after a solid season in Frisco in 2024, but he’s had a bad year for Round Rock, and wouldn’t appear to be a candidate to be protected.
Robby Ahlstrom was also considered a possibility for the 40 man roster last offseason, but didn’t get tabbed. He’s basically repeated what he did in 2024 this year, though with more innings at AAA and fewer at AA. He’s a lefty reliever, which is always intriguing, but he also has issued a lot of walks and, well, there’s a lot of lefty relievers out there.
There’s a variety of repeat eligible guys who are in the category of “interesting, but not going to be protected” — Aidan Curry, Abi Ortiz, Aaron Zavala, D.J. McCarty, Dylan MacLean, Thomas Ireland, Larson Kindreich.
Finally, we have players who are going to be free agents after this season if they aren’t added to the 40 man roster. Cody Freeman was the most notable in this group before the Rangers added him to the active roster (and thus the 40 man roster) earlier this month. Pitchers Gavin Collyer and Jose Gonzalez are the other players of note in this category, though neither would seem to have done enough to warrant a 40 man roster spot to keep them from hitting the free agent market.
So at this point, I would guess that there are two to four players protected from the Rule 5 Draft this offseason — Drake, Bratt, and maybe Lopez and/or Davalillo. With the pending free agents, that would mean the Rangers would have 38 to 40 players on their 40 man roster before making additions this offseason — and the Rangers will be looking to make a number of additions this offseason, given four members of their bullpen and two starting pitchers are leaving. You’d figure Texas will be in the market for three or four relievers, at least, this offseason, as well as a starting pitcher, before even getting into the issue of potential position player acquisitions.
So fringe guys currently on the 40 man roster, along with players who are Rule 5 eligible this offseason but that the team isn’t inclined to protect, are players the Rangers would seem more likely to look to move, particularly in a minor deal. As a point of reference, in the deals the Rangers made last year at the deadline, two players the Rangers traded — Tyler Owens and Chase Lee — were protected by the Tigers (but almost certainly wouldn’t have been by the Rangers), and another, Liam Hicks, was selected by the Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft.