A lot has been made about the Texas Rangers unloading payroll and while many are taking that to be a negative, the front office believes they can achieve all of their goals with the limited budget placed in front of them.

This past season, Ray Davis is having to pay an additional $190,000 for going over the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) threshold, a mark he’s surpassed the past couple of years. Heading into the 2026, the league-wide CBT is $244 million and Texas is aiming for a slash of $41 million to $200 million.

Currently, the Rangers are projected to be at a payroll around $189 million, which is well below the luxury tax. While they do have roughly $40-$50 million in budget to play with, I don’t imagine Davis will give the front office much wiggle room beyond the $200 million mark.

That gives them $11 million to play with, which is tough. Therefore, for this experiment, we will give a little wiggle room and spend a little extra of Davis’s money. If all of this is done correctly, Texas could fill three holes in their roster with a payroll nearing $220 million.

3 moves the Rangers can still make to keep payroll around $200 millionSign Luis Arraez to a three-year, $42 million deal

Projected to make an annual salary of $14 million, the 28-year-old is exactly what the Rangers need headlining a portion of their new look offensive strategy. While he doesn’t hit for power, drive in runs or frankly play top-notch defense what he does do is hit the ball and get on base.

From 2022 to 2024, Arraez won three straight batting titles and in a down season last year still hit .292 and led the National League with 181 hits. Of course that was paired with only eight home runs but he also did manage to drive in 61 runs.

Given that it’s almost the new year and pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than two months, Texas could find a way to get Arraez on a cheaper AAV and save a few bucks.

Sign Tyler Mahle to a two-year worth $11 million per year

Another item on the Rangers’ offseason list is a final starter for the rotation. The current leaders for the fifth spot are righty Kumar Rocker and southpaws Jacob Latz and Cody Bradford.

Mahle was rock solid in the limited opportunities he had with the Rangers over the past couple of seasons. Granted that was mostly because he was injured but his 2.18 ERA in 86.2 innings were exactly what Texas wanted from him. Returning Mahle would give a breath of life to a rotation that was already among the league’s best last year.

The 31-year-old did sign a two-year, $22 million deal ($11M AAV) with Texas prior to the 2024 season but he’s currently projected to make around $6 million annually, according to Spotrac. Imagine getting him for the next two or three years for that yearly price.

Add Taylor Rogers to headline the bullpen for $11 M annually

Now that Texas has seen multiple former relief options come and go, including three to the Chicago Cubs, the Rangers still need to find suitable replacements. Since one of those was the freaky throwing lefty Hoby Milner, go get one of those from the right side.

Rogers, 35, is coming off an up-and-down year sort of striking similarity to the former Mets’ reliever Ryan Helsley. The six-foot-three right-hander was still able to record a 3.38 ERA, 53 strikeouts and 23 walks in 50.2 innings of work with the Reds and Cubs in 2025 and only a few seasons removed from a 31 save season.

Fresh off a three-year deal that paid him $11 million a year, he could be had for around that same value. He could try and push his luck to get the $14 million AAV that Helsely got from Baltimore but Rogers is not as proven as him.