The Texas Rangers managed to win the World Series this past season even without Jacob deGrom and with a banged-up Max Scherzer.
They leveraged an impressive offense to take home their first title.
Pitching, however, was just good enough to take them there.
The team’s offseason priority became adding Shohei Ohtani and, in case the pursuit didn’t come to fruition, bringing in some impact pitching.
They were among the first contenders to fall off the Ohtani sweepstakes.
Ever since then, they have been asking around for pitching, either via free agency or trade.
MLB insider Jon Morosi offered some details of where they stand at the midway point of the offseason.
“They’re interested in both Montgomery and Hader, but it doesn’t look like they’re the favorites at this juncture to land either.” @jonmorosi weighs in on the Rangers’ at the midway point of the offseason,” MLB Network tweeted.
"They're interested in both Montgomery and Hader, but it doesn't look like they're the favorites at this juncture to land either."@jonmorosi weighs in on the Rangers' at the midway point of the offseason. #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/8StMDsZp8E
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 4, 2024
The Rangers traded for Montgomery before the deadline, and he was a true ace for them in the stretch run and the postseason.
He had a 2.79 ERA in 67.2 innings for the Rangers last season.
On top of that, he posted a cool 2.90 ERA in 31 playoff innings.
They would love to get him back, but he is said to be asking for more than $100 million.
Their other target is reliever Josh Hader.
Hader is perhaps the top left-hander in baseball and Texas would be thrilled to have him.
However, he is asking for a contract similar to that of Edwin Diaz: a five-year, $102 million pact.
That might be too much for Texas.
They could eventually get both deGrom and Scherzer back healthy at some point in the second half.
Getting to that point with concrete chances might be a challenge, though, and that’s why they want to reinforce the pitching staff.
NEXT: Rangers Add Intriguing Reliever On Low-Risk Deal