By Tiffany Williams –
The Texas Rangers just dove headfirst into Rule 5 chaos and came out swinging, yanking right-hander Carter Baumler away from Pittsburgh minutes after the Pirates swiped him from Baltimore. Texas tossed Jaiker Garcia and some cash at the Pirates to seal it, and Baumler now slides onto a 40-man roster that’s so wide open it’s practically echoing — just 35 players deep.
Baumler is only 23, but his 2025 numbers scream “this kid bullied the minors.” Across three levels — Rookie FCL, High-A Aberdeen, and Double-A Chesapeake — he went 2-0, punched out hitters at a 10.4 SO/9 clip, walked off the mound with a 2.04 ERA, and didn’t give up a single homer in 39.2 innings. That 1.084 WHIP? Seventh-lowest among Orioles farmhands with real innings. This is what the Rangers call found money.
This is also a guy who lost 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he’s spent four seasons since then grinding through the Orioles chain, posting a 7-1 record and a 3.05 ERA over 49 games. Baltimore drafted him in 2020 out of Dowling Catholic in Iowa. Now he’s the latest “maybe we stole one” story in Arlington.
Garcia — the cost of doing business — turns 21 on December 23 and had a 4.66 ERA in 2025 for the ACL Rangers. A former position player converted into a pitcher, he’s been fighting uphill since 2023 and owns a career 7.22 ERA. The Pirates are rolling the dice, Texas clearly wasn’t.
And the Rangers weren’t done. They snagged Jonathan Brand in the Triple-A phase — a sneaky move that could end up being the quiet steal of the day. Brand, 25, carved up three Red Sox affiliates in 2025 with a 3.16 ERA, 59 strikeouts, and five saves in 51.1 innings. Boston drafted him in the eighth round back in 2022, and all he’s done since is churn out a 3.05 ERA across four seasons. Texas needed bullpen help at every level. Brand looks like a fit dumped right in their lap.
But Rule 5 giveth and Rule 5 taketh away. Chicago-AL poached righty Jackson Kelley off Texas’ Double-A roster, and Pittsburgh swiped Kyle Larsen in the third round. Kelley had been one of the Rangers’ quiet success stories — a 2.40 ERA in Frisco last year — and now he’s gone. Larsen, a 2021 pick, logged a 4.09 ERA across ACL and Hickory. Losing both on the same day stings, but that’s the Rule 5 game.
The mechanics? Brutal and simple. Major League phase costs $100,000, and if the club can’t keep the player on its 26-man roster all year, he goes on waivers and then back to his old team for $50,000 if he clears. Minor league phase? No returns — just a $24,000 payment, a handshake, and goodbye forever.
Texas walked into Wednesday with holes everywhere, and they walked out with Baumler and Brand — two live arms with actual upside — while losing guys they clearly think they can replace. This is the Rangers betting on ceilings instead of comfort. It’s risky, it’s loud, and it’s exactly how a desperate team behaves.
Say this for Texas: they’re not sitting still. They’re swinging at everything.
Sports Insider Daily 