The Texas Rangers have a stated desire to cut payroll this year. But no one is sure what that means yet.
Texas certainly has significant money committed to veterans like Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jacob deGrom. Per Spotrac, the Rangers have a projected $149.7 million in veteran payroll spread among six players. From there, the site projects the Rangers will land at approximately $191.9 million based on arbitration and pre-arbitration players.
President of baseball operations Chris Young hasn’t provided specifics on what’s next, only that the payroll will shrink and the team will get younger. That could put some of their veterans on the move in trade.
While at the MLB general managers meeting in Las Vegas, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) referenced a time not so long ago when the Rangers trimmed a massive amount of payroll through various devices. It was the last time Texas trimmed significant payroll from one year to the next. It could be informative to this offseason.
The Rangers’ Most Recent Payroll Trim
The Rangers have been adding payroll for the past few seasons. But, back in 2020, Texas had a planned payroll of $171 million, per the Morning News. In 2021, that payroll dropped to $111 million. What drove that trim, aside from the COVID-19 pandemic?
As noted, the Rangers had planned on a payroll of $171 million in 2020. Per Spotrac, the payroll ended up being $144.1 million based on the total tax rate that season. The remainder was in dead money. The Rangers carried eight players that made more than $1 million on its final season payroll, led by left fielder Shin-Soo Choo, who made $18.5 million. Six other players that carried payrolls of more than $1 million finished the season on the injured list, led by pitcher Corey Kluber, who made $17.5 million. Shortstop Elvis Andrus made $15 million.
What happened in 2021? Plenty. Choo left as a free agent. Andrus was traded. Kluber signed with the New York Yankees. Texas also traded pitcher Lance Lynn and his $10 million salary to the Chicago White Sox. The Rangers traded pitcher Kyle Gibson, who was making nearly $10 million at midseason. That removed $71 million from the payroll.
The highest-paid player in 2021 was pitcher Jordan Lyles, who made just $8 million. Only five players made $1 million or more on the active roster at season’s end. The team had an active tax rate of $24 million and $103 million in tax space.
Texas had to keep the active payroll low because the Rangers had nearly $59 million in retained money, or dead money. That included $16.75 million to Khris Davis, $9.3 million to Gibson and $8.25 million to Rougned Odor, who was traded to the Yankees before the season.
The Rangers were clearly in the middle of a reset financially. After the 2021 season, Texas went out and signed Seager and Semien to deals that amounted to $500 million. A year later, the Rangers signed pitcher Jacob deGrom to a five-year deal worth nearly $200 million.
Will the Rangers cut that deep this offseason? Only Young knows for sure.
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