4 early offseason Astros rumors that should have fans very concerned

The Rangers are still going for it this offseason

Not every offseason rumor that could be bad news is strictly tied to what the Astros could do or not do. The Texas Rangers have been among the league's most aggressive spenders the last few years. Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, and Jordan Montgomery are just some of the guys they added in free agency or in trades that helped them win the World Series this past season.

Given the number of big names that they have gone after the last couple of years, one would assume that they could be running out of money to throw around? As it turns out, the Rangers are not done whatsoever. Not only have they already been connected to top free agents Aaron Nola and Josh Hader, but they are also among the favorites to land Shohei Ohtani this offseason.

While there is little chance that the Rangers land all of those guys unless the Rangers want to be in the Steve Cohen level of luxury tax penalties, having a team this good and this motivated in the AL West presents a significant challenge for the Astros. There is a real risk that while the Astros try to keep this roster together with duct tape and zip ties while making minor moves elsewhere, the Rangers could put some real distance between the two rosters in terms of overall talent.

Texas' strategy doesn't come without risk. The deGrom signing as well as the trade for Scherzer both look like they could not end well as deGrom was out for most of the season and Scherzer got hurt at the end of 2023. As the Mets taught us, baseball is hard and just throwing a ton of money at a roster does not instantly make a team a World Series contender. However, the Rangers have plenty of young, homegrown talent as well in Evan Carter and Josh Jung and they are looking to be even stronger going into 2024.