"Without Heim, the Rangers are down to two catchers on their 40-man roster. Kyle Higashioka is a solid player but he turns 36 years old in April. He has started between 68 and 77 games in four straight seasons. He can be part of the club's catching corps next year but should have someone to share the workload. The other catcher on the roster is Willie MacIver, a 29-year-old waiver claimee with 33 games of big league experience."
"Realmuto would certainly be a nice addition. He has been arguably the best catcher in baseball over the past decade. He is now about to turn 35 years old and isn't at his peak but he's still a solid contributor. In 2025, he had average-ish offense, stole eight bases and got mixed reviews for his glovework. All together, it was worth 2.1 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. He's averaged a bit above two wins per year for the past three years."
"Though he's the top free agent out there, his earning power is capped by his age. MLBTR predicted him for a $30MM guarantee over two years. It's possible he can secure himself a third year at a similar average annual value. The fact that a deal like that is too rich for the Rangers' blood doesn't bode especially well but they will have other options."
Rangers non-tendered a catcher and face limited payroll space that likely precludes signing top free agent J.T. Realmuto. Without Heim, the team has two catchers on the 40-man roster: Kyle Higashioka, who will turn 36 and has regularly started 68–77 games annually, and Willie MacIver, a 29-year-old waiver claimee with 33 major-league games who remains optionable and would ideally provide Triple-A depth. Realmuto remains a strong but aging option with recent value around 2.1 WAR and MLBTR projecting roughly $30M over two years. More realistic targets include Victor Caratini and Danny Jansen.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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