Going into the offseason with an eye toward the 2026 season, the Texas Rangers are in a position where they face some decisions this winter that are going to be hard.

They are coming off a season where they missed the playoffs two years after winning the World Series. It was a disappointing 2025 season where they dealt with injuries, but now one big question facing the Rangers is how much money they will spend. President of baseball operations Chris Young hinted a month ago about potential payroll trimming.

That would hamper some of their abilities to make some offseason signings with their own pending free agents and other free agents. One of their free agents, right-handed pitcher Tyler Mahle, pitched well despite missing three months with an injury. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com listed one free agent each team could re-sign this winter, and his choice for Texas was Mahle.

Could the Rangers Bring Back Tyler Mahle in 2026?

Just how much payroll Texas will trim and how they spend remains to be seen, but Mahle is someone who won’t cost as much as other free agent arms. According to spotrac, he is projected to get a $5.5 million contract for next season. That would be well short of the two-year, $22 million deal he signed with the Rangers before the 2024 season, one that was back-loaded as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery.

His cost may come down because he missed three months with shoulder fatigue in the middle of the season. Before that he was one of the best starters in the game and he finished the season with a 6-4 record, a 2.18 ERA in 86.2 innings.

“Mahle could be an option to fill out the back end of Texas’ rotation,” Feinsand wrote.

Obviously, Texas would like to swing big for Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros or Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres, but that seems unrealistic if they are going to trim payroll. They need to fill out the back end of their rotation, and they know what they have with Mahle if he’s brought back.

There are going to be other options for Young to fill out the back end of his rotation through free agency. If Mahle isn’t an option, Merrill Kelly could be to return, but he could be heading back to the Arizona Diamondbacks as well after he was acquired at the trade deadline.