Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers have announced today that they have agreed to terms on 2025 contracts with catcher Jonah Heim and outfielder Leody Taveras. Additionally, the Rangers have traded right-handed pitcher Matt Festa to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations.
With these agreements, along with the previous signings of right-handed pitchers Dane Dunning and Josh Sborz on November 22, the Rangers have now reached 2025 contract agreements with all arbitration-eligible players on their Major League roster. The deadline for teams to exchange salary figures for the arbitration process was set for 7:00 p.m. CT tonight.
Jonah Heim:
- Age: 29
- 2024 Performance: Heim batted .220/.267/.336 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI in 131 games. He made a team-high 110 starts at catcher, the 4th most in the American League. 2024 marked his 4th consecutive season with at least 10 home runs, joining Salvador Perez and Mitch Garver as the only primary catchers in the A.L. to do so in the last four seasons.
- Career: Heim has a career batting average of .228 with 57 home runs and 239 RBI over 484 MLB games with the Athletics (2020) and Texas (2021-24).
Leody Taveras:
- Age: 26
- 2024 Performance: Taveras appeared in a career-high 151 games, batting .229/.289/.352 with 12 home runs, 44 RBI, and a team-leading 23 stolen bases. He made 138 starts in center field and ranked T4th in the American League with nine outfield assists.
- Career: Taveras has a career batting average of .240 with 38 home runs and 160 RBI in 475 games over five MLB seasons, all with Texas.
Matt Festa:
- Age: 31
- 2024 Performance: Festa went 6-0 with a 4.37 ERA over 18 relief appearances for the Rangers. He carries an 8-3 record with 2 saves and a 4.60 ERA over 108 career MLB games (one start) spanning five seasons with Seattle, New York-NL, and Texas.
- Transaction: Festa was designated for assignment by Texas on Monday and has been traded to the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.
