ARLINGTON, Texas — In an early free agency outlook published Thursday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan projected that every mutual option in Major League Baseball will be declined this offseason. He named Texas Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson and catcher Kyle Higashioka among the players who would become free agents as a result.
Right-hander Jakob Junis, whose one-year contract with Texas also includes a mutual option for 2027, appeared in the same piece on Passan’s list of the top relievers in the class. All three are in the final guaranteed year of their deals with the Rangers.
Passan built the outlook around 10 questions and around Tarik Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who turns 30 in November. Passan wrote that Skubal is expected to break the record for a pitching contract, which stands at $325 million, and that the talent behind him is thin. By his count, the class includes only one 30-homer hitter.
The collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, and Passan wrote that a lockout is expected less than a month after the free agent market opens. With the league pushing for a salary cap system, he wrote, owners could choose to wait for a new agreement before they spend.
Passan pointed back to the days before the last lockout, which followed the 2021 season, when a run of big-money deals got done. Texas signed Corey Seager and Marcus Semien for $500 million combined in that window. Seager signed a 10-year, $325 million contract, and Semien signed a seven-year, $175 million contract. Seager is still the Rangers’ shortstop and homered Tuesday and Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners. Texas traded Semien to the New York Mets last November with three years and $72 million left on his contract.
Joc Pederson’s $18.5 Million Mutual Option For 2027
Pederson was one of five players Passan singled out as notable additions to the class once mutual options are declined. Earlier in the piece, Passan grouped him with three other veteran hitters he credited with at least one clear strength, in a section on the depth of the hitting market.
Pederson signed a two-year, $37 million contract with Texas in December 2024 that included a $5.5 million signing bonus. He made $13 million in 2025. Last November, he exercised an $18.5 million player option to stay for 2026, MLB.com reported, and the mutual option for 2027 is also worth $18.5 million.
This season, Pederson is hitting .233/.328/.479 with 25 home runs and 50 RBIs in 133 games. Most of his starts have come at designated hitter, with 9 at first base.
In 2025, Pederson hit .181/.285/.328 with 9 home runs in 96 games. He was hitting .131 through his first 46 games, a stretch that included an 0-for-41 slump, when a pitch broke his right hand May 24 in Chicago. He missed 52 games. Pederson, a two-time All-Star, turned 34 in April. He won World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 and the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
Kyle Higashioka And Jakob Junis Also Carry 2027 Mutual Options
Higashioka was on Passan’s list of other players with mutual options who will become free agents. Higashioka signed a two-year, $13.5 million contract with Texas in December 2024. He is making $6.75 million this season, and his 2027 mutual option is for $7 million with a $1 million buyout.
Since July 20, Higashioka has not played for Texas. The Rangers placed him on the 10-day injured list the next day with a right flexor strain near the elbow on which he had Tommy John surgery in 2013, when he was in the New York Yankees’ system. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock on Sept. 4. MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry reported that the injury will limit Higashioka to pinch-hitting and designated hitter duty once he returns. Before the injury, Higashioka, 36, hit .218/.306/.370 with 7 home runs and 18 RBIs in 58 games.
Junis signed his one-year, $4 million contract with Texas in January. Passan wrote up five relievers individually, then listed Junis among the other top right-handed relievers available.
Junis threw 66 2/3 innings over 57 relief appearances for the Cleveland Guardians in 2025, allowing 64 hits, 22 earned runs, and 18 walks with 55 strikeouts for a 2.97 ERA. It was his first season working only out of the bullpen. With Texas, he has 5 saves this season and returned from the 15-day injured list Aug. 15. Junis turns 34 on Sept. 16.
Texas entered Thursday at 72-74, two games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West. The Rangers close their three-game series at Seattle on Thursday, with first pitch at 3:10 p.m. CT, then open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday at 8:40 p.m. CT.
