Why Jake Burger May No Longer Fit into the Texas Rangers’ Future

The Texas Rangers are trying to make the transition to become a team that is younger, more athletic and a little cheaper.

In addition, president of baseball operations Chris Young began a transition last offseason from a lineup that values slugging to a lineup that values on-base and versatility. It's a multi-year transition and the moves in 2026 yielded limited results.

The Rangers unloaded Marcus Semien to the New York Mets for Brandon Nimmo, valued for his on-base percentage and balanced splits against right-handers and left-handers. Holdovers like Josh Jung and Ezequiel Duran took to the new approach and had career best seasons in several areas.

While Jake Burger had a bounce back season in 2026 and led the Rangers in home runs and RBI, he may be hard to keep in 2027 due to other factors.

Why Jake Burger May No Longer Fit

Burger showed off the power, but when it came to his slash line for the season, he finished .228/.302/.421. His batting average was worse from 2025 (.236) and was the worst of his career. His on-base percentage did go up from a year ago (.269), but his OBP was more in line for his career. He’s only had an OPB higher than .309 once, which was 2021 when he had a .333 OBP in 15 games with the Chicago White Sox.

Burger also led the Rangers with 167 strikeouts, which was also a career worst.

His career OBP is .298. It’s possible the 30-year-old is at his max when it comes to getting on base. Is that enough for the Rangers? Among players that were considered everyday players for Texas, the only one with a worse OBP was center fielder Evan Carter (.288). To contrast, Nimmo’s OBP was .324. Jung was at .365 while Duran was at .320.

Those are the sort of numbers the Rangers are looking for. They want more basepath traffic, which will help them score more runs and win more games. Of course, the Rangers need players to bring those runners to home plate. So, is there a balance that allows Texas to keep him?

Two factors may help him. First, he’s under team control for two more seasons, so even though he doesn’t have the OBP the Rangers want, he’s cheap. Second, Texas traded away his potential replacement, Abimelec Ortiz, in the MacKenzie Gore trade last offseason. Those factors may require the Rangers keep Burger at least one more season.

But when it comes to the future, if this is the direction the Rangers want to go, his days may be numbered.