The Rangers announced Friday that they have chosen not to offer the outfielder a contract through 2026 Adolis Garciacatcher Jonah Heimand relievers Josh Spotz and Jacob Weber. All four are arbitration-eligible for the last time and will enter their final year in control of the club. Instead, they will become free agents immediately without clearing waivers. Both Garcia and Haim were acquired by the Rangers in the early stages of the offseason. Apparently, no receiver showed their arbitration price. MLBTR writer Matt Swartz projects Garcia’s salary to be $12.1 million and Heim’s salary to be $6 million. Webb expects $2MM and Sborz expects $1.1MM.
For months, Garcia’s status on the roster seemed tenuous. While he is the focal point of an offense that helps the Rangers win their first World Series title in 2023, the slugging right fielder has had issues with his bat the past two seasons. He also became a symbol of an undisciplined, boom-or-bust offense that the Rangers have publicly expressed a desire to change since the end of the season.
Back in 2023, Garcia hit 39 homers and hit .245/.328/.508 while playing defensively in right field. That alone made him one of the savviest DFA picks in recent years, but it didn’t set the stage for him to become the centerpiece that many expected at the time. His numbers took a big step back in 2024 (.224/.284/.400), and in 2025 he slashed just .227/.271/.394.
The 33-year-old Garcia still makes thunderous contact on the catch, averaging 92.1 mph off the tee and hitting 46.7 percent of his shots. However, his catch rate on balls outside the plate has surged from 29.5% in 2023 to 35.1% in 2025. His overall contact rate in ’25 was about 5 percentage points below league average, and his 79.5 percent contact rate on pitches in the zone was 6 percentage points below average. Swinging more than one-fifth of his pitches in the strike zone is nothing new for Garcia, but the flaw has been exacerbated by the way he’s continually expanded the percentage of pitches he’s willing to swing at since that peak season.
Haim, who turns 31 next June, posted a .258/.317/.438 line (107 wRC+) and a career-best 18 homers in ’23. For a receiver who already has the strongest defensive record in the game, this offensive performance is enough to earn him a spot on the 2023 All-Star team. For the next 924 games, Haim’s bat disappeared. Since Opening Day in 2024, he’s slashed .217/.269/.334.
Haim also went from a good pitcher and hurler to an average pitcher and poor hurler. In 2023, he caught 29.3% of thieves, but has only caught 13.7% of thefts since. His average pop-up time has improved by two seconds, and his average velocity on throws to second base has dropped from 81.1 mph in 2023 (21st among 67 catchers) to 79.5 mph in 2025 (33rd among 63 catchers).
Weber, 32, is a somewhat surprisingly undignified man. He pitched 66 innings with a 3.00 ERA, fanned 21.7% of his opponents, and walked 7.1% of his opponents. Since 2023, he has totaled a 3.22 ERA with 33 walks and four saves in 176 1/3 innings between the Rangers and Orioles.
Sborz, 31, has not played this season due to shoulder issues. The right-hander had a strange season in 2023, pitching well for much of the season (3.83 ERA through mid-August), but he was allowed 13 runs in 7 2/3 frames toward the end, sending his ERA soaring to 5.50. Sborz then bounced back, even somewhat, in the postseason, becoming one of then-head coach Bruce Bochy’s most trusted relievers. He pitched a dozen innings, allowing just one run (0.75 ERA) on four hits and four walks. He fanned 13 times.
The following season, Sborz got off to a strong start, posting a 3.86 ERA in 16 1/3 innings before going on the injured list. He never came back. Sborz underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason. Initially, the Rangers suggested he miss the first two to three months of the 2025 season. Instead, Sborz pitched just 12 minor league innings in 2025, including 9 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 5.79 ERA.
Jesse Rogers of ESPN first reported the news that Garcia was not being tendered.
