The Texas Rangers have agreed to terms with right-hander Jacob Webb on a one-year contract for the 2025 season. News of the signing was first reported by Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today. It is reportedly worth $1.25 million with another $1.5 million in incentives. This marks the third move that the Rangers have made in the past 24 hours to wrap up the 2024 Winter Meetings in Dallas. They re-signed righty Nathan Eovaldi and traded for infielder Jake Burger on Tuesday.
Non-Tendered
Jacob Webb was a somewhat surprising non-tender by the Baltimore Orioles several weeks ago. He pitched 56 2/3 innings for the O’s in 2024, allowing 3.02 earned runs per nine. His 11.4% walk rate was elevated but he also struck out 24.5% of batters faced.
The Orioles could have kept him via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting Webb for a fairly modest $1.7 million salary next year, but they evidently didn’t want him back at that price. Webb was non-tendered and therefore sent to free agency without being exposed to waivers, which allowed him to sign this deal with the Rangers.
Bargain for Rangers
Jacob Webb is a fairly low-cost addition to the Rangers’ bullpen. It’s a logical move for them as relievers are a key need and the budget is a concern. Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc, and José Ureña threw the most innings for the Rangers in 2024. All four are now free agents. On top of that, Josh Sborz underwent shoulder surgery. He’ll be out of action until June at the latest.
On the financial side of things, the Rangers are hoping to avoid the competitive balance tax next season. That could mean the most expensive relievers aren’t options for them. RosterResource pegs their CBT number at just a bit above $220 million right now, meaning they are still about $20 million away from the $241 million base threshold, but they probably want to save a bit of wiggle room for in-season moves.
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