The Texas Rangers will proceed into the franchise’s next era without multiple key figures of its last.
The Rangers non-tendered the contracts of outfielder Adolis García and catcher Jonah Heim before Friday night’s roster deadline, a person with direct knowledge of the decisions confirmed to The Dallas Morning News, and ended their multi-year tenures with the team.
Right-handed pitchers Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb were also non-tendered and became free agents alongside García and Heim. The club also avoided arbitration and signed outfielder Sam Haggerty to a one-year contract. Haggerty, 31, was signed as a non-roster invite before spring training of last season and slashed .253/.328/.370 in 64 big league games. He will continue to factor into the team’s strategy vs. left-handed pitchers.
The club’s roster now stands at 34 players.
Rangers
The decision to cut ties with both position players will save the Rangers a not-insignificant amount of money as they’re expected to make significant payroll cuts. García was projected to earn $12 million through arbitration, per MLB Trade Rumors, and Heim was projected to earn $6 million.
Their 2026 payroll was estimated to be between $192 million and $198 million, per various projections from FanGraphs and Baseball Reference, before the Rangers non-tendered the former All-Star duo.
The Rangers need to rebuild their bullpen, refine a bottom-five offense and slim the $241 million payroll number they worked under this season. The club has not specified what, exactly, its payroll limit will be next season. If it is low as $200 million, or even if it is as high as $220 million, the Rangers aren’t left with much wiggle room without drastic shakeups.
It’s ultimately more feasible to do that without upward of $18 million doled out to two players whose job status drew question marks this past season.
García regressed offensively in consecutive seasons after he was an All-Star and postseason hero two years ago. The 32-year-old’s .675 OPS since the start of the 2024 season is the fourth-lowest among all hitters who’ve accumulated at least 1,000 plate appearances and a steep drop from the career-best .836 OPS that he posted in the 2023 campaign that concluded with an ALCS MVP award and a championship.
He was a plus defender and a Gold Glove finalist this season, thanks in large part to better health, but could no longer be relied upon to anchor the heart of a lineup. García slashed just .224/.263/.399 in the cleanup spot as the Rangers searched for the pop that was promised from him and the rest of a lineup that was expected to hit for power. He remained a fan favorite — and was often serenaded with as many or more cheers than any other player during pregame lineup introductions — despite his struggles.
Heim was an All-Star and Gold Glove award winner two years ago but has been a below-average hitter for the better part of the last two-and-a-half seasons. He’s slashed .217/.271/.340 since the second half of the 2023 season began and his .656 OPS in that span is the 12th-worst of all qualified hitters. His once-stout defense was poor this season, too, and he effectively split time with Kyle Higashioka at catcher.
Texas Rangers pitcher Phil Maton celebrates with catcher Jonah Heim after recording the final out of a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees in a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
Sborz, 31, spent four seasons with the Rangers and recorded the final out of Game 5 of the World Series two years ago against the Arizona Diamondbacks on a called third strike. He pitched just 17 games in the 2024 season and missed all of 2025 after he struggled to rebound and re-discover his velocity after an offseason shoulder cleanup. He posted 4.86 ERA in four years with the Rangers but had a 0.75 ERA in 10 postseason games.
Webb posted a 3.00 ERA in 55 games as a largely low-leverage relief pitcher for the Rangers last season. The Rangers signed the 31-year-old to a one-year contract prior to last season. He and Sborz were expected to earn north of $3 million combined through arbitration.
The Rangers will need to replace the two position players in one manner or another. Left fielder Wyatt Langford is the only certified everyday outfielder currently on the roster and Higashioka has never played more than 94 games in a single season.
That may require high-impact acquisitions on the margins — something the Rangers have done rather well in recent years — given the financial restrictions they may face.
The two former starters that they cut ties with Friday are proof that it’s possible. The Rangers acquired García from the St. Louis Cardinals in a savvy claim after he was designated for assignment and parlayed that into three seasons of above-average offense. Heim was one of three players acquired from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for shortstop Elvis Andrus and wasn’t considered a high-profile prospect. He caught the seventh-most games in franchise history and the most of any Texas catcher this century in a five-year window.
The two acquisitions led to the club’s first championship.
The next quest will start without them.
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