{"id":280882,"date":"2025-11-13T18:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T18:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/280882\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T18:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T18:12:13","slug":"the-perfect-rangers-off-season-signing-has-never-played-in-the-mlb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/280882\/","title":{"rendered":"The Perfect Rangers Off-Season Signing Has Never Played in the MLB"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Texas Rangers<\/a> didn’t have the 2025 season they envisioned when the year began; in fact, it was the total opposite of their expectations, just two years removed from winning their first World Series in 2023. <\/p>\n

A season spent battling injuries and carried by their pitching staff, they were never able to put it all together, finishing 81-81 and third in the AL West. Now in the off-season, they will look to retool, hoping to add a spark to their lineup<\/a> that can push them back in the conversation for the division. <\/p>\n

Jeff Passan<\/a>, the most well-known MLB reporter at ESPN, shared his off-season predictions and identified who he thinks will be the perfect fit for various teams. Which is why it’s no secret that he picked an offensive player for the Rangers; it was a shock that he picked Munetaka Murakami, the highly sought-after infielder from Japan. <\/p>\n

International Bound\"Munetaka<\/p>\n

Mar 21, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan third baseman Munetaka Murakami (55) hits a home run against the USA in the second inning at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Murakami is one of the most polarizing free-agent signings this offseason for every MLB team. His power is otherworldly, and he is well regarded as one of the best actual power bats in the world, showcasing effortless power combined with an exit velocity that would make even the Light Tower of Power, Joey Gallo, jealous of his home run ability. <\/p>\n

Even then, he has the same downsides as Gallo, an uncanny ability to play towards the actual three-outcome playstyle that has taken over baseball, and is well known to Rangers fans from Gallo’s time in Arlington. <\/p>\n

His strikeout rate raises concern, finishing with a 28.6 percent and 29.5 percent<\/a> rate in 2025 and 2024, respectively. Both would have been marks that made him among the league’s worst in the MLB, but an ability to play a flexible position, and a lineup in need of power, like the Rangers, might be willing to take the risk.<\/p>\n

“Texas could run back what it has and hope things break more like 2023 than they did 2024 or 2025,” Passan says about the Rangers signing the Japanese Star<\/a>. “Or the Rangers could get bold and pursue a high-end bat. With their payroll likely to stay beneath the competitive balance tax threshold, it’s something of a juggling act that takes them out on Tucker and perhaps Schwarber. Dipping into the relative unknown, with a player who can help address the question marks in a number of places — third base, first base, DH — would be a perfectly reasonable, if not risky, solution. It’s also the best.”<\/p>\n

His homerun numbers are elite; there is no denying that. Despite playing in only 56 games in the NPB last year while dealing with an oblique injury, he hit 22 home runs, which would have tied Wyatt Langford for the team lead, despite him playing 134 games. <\/p>\n

The issue for the Rangers is not knowing which version of him they will get, because if it’s the swing-and-miss version, then that is precisely what the signing will do for a struggling lineup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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