Texas Rangers address needs by signing catcher Danny Jansen and reliever Tyler Alexander

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers finalized free-agent deals with catcher Danny Jansen and local left-handed reliever Tyler Alexander on Monday, night, addressing some of their significant offseason needs.

The addition of Jansen on a $14.5 million, two-year contract, plus a mutual option for 2028, pairs him with returner Kyle Higashioka to give the Rangers a veteran catching duo. Jonah Heim, an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 2023 when Texas won its only World Series title, became a free agent when he wasn’t offered a contract last month after two subpar seasons.

The Rangers, needing to bolster their bullpen with the departures of several veterans in free agency, have a one-year deal with Alexander that is reportedly worth $1,125,000, with an additional $1,125,000 of available performance bonuses.

Alexander was born in Chicago, but went to high school and college in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He was a second-round draft pick by Detroit out of TCU in 2015. He has a 22-42 record with a 4.63 ERA in 195 games (57 starts) over seven big league seasons with the Tigers (2019-23), Tampa Bay (2024), Milwaukee and the White Sox. The 31-year-old lefty was 5-14 with a 4.98 ERA in 52 games (five starts) combined last season for the Brewers and Chicago.

Jansen spent his first seven big league seasons with Toronto before playing for Boston, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee the past two seasons. The 30-year-old catcher has a .222 career batting average with 88 homers and 256 RBIs in 599 games. He hit .215 with 14 homers and 36 RBIs in 98 games this year with the Rays and Brewers.

Jansen was traded at the deadline each of the past two summers, and was also a free agent last offseason. He was traded from Toronto to Boston in 2024, went to Tampa Bay in free agency before the 2025 season, then was traded last summer to Milwaukee.

In 2024, Jansen became the first major league player to appear in the same game for both teams. He was with the Blue Jays and was their starting catcher June 26 against Boston before that game was suspended by rain in the second inning. When the game resumed Aug. 24, about a month after being traded, Jansen was behind the plate for the Red Sox.

Jansen became a free agent again when the Brewers exercised a $500,000 buyout of the $12 million mutual option he had for 2026.

Heim hit .258 with 18 homers and 95 RBIs the season the Rangers won their World Series title, but the switch-hitter had a .213 average with 11 homers and 43 RBIs this year.

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