2025 Season in Review: Sam Haggerty

With the 2025 Texas Rangers season having come to an end, we shall be, over the course of the offseason, taking a look at every player who appeared in a major league game for the Texas Rangers in 2025.

Today we are looking at outfielder Sam Haggerty.

Well that worked out okay, I think.

The Rangers needed a righthanded bat who could play the outfield for their bench in 2025. They signed Sam Haggerty — a switch hitter, but one who has been much stronger against lefties than righties in his career — to a minor league deal.

Haggerty started the season in Round Rock on the injured list, got healthy, then was brought up in early May to replace Dustin Harris. There was an open 40 man roster spot because the Mariners — Haggerty’s old team — had just claimed Leody Taveras on waivers.

Haggerty played well enough for his role when he was healthy. The healthy part was an issue, as he spent 10 days on the injured list in mid-July, then was one of the myriad of players who landed on the injured list in mid-August. He went on a rehab assignment in September, but ultimately was shut down for the season.

Both times Haggerty went on the injured list it was list as being due to left ankle inflammation. Seattle had non-tendered Haggerty after the 2024 season, which he missed most of due to a torn Achilles tendon. I thought maybe the ankle issues were related to that, but he tore his right Achilles tendon, so apparently not. Though it may be that the Achilles injury resulted in him putting more weight, subconsciously, on his left foot, thus impacting his left ankle.

I don’t know. I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on television.

And note that I said television, not TV, because TV is a nickname and nicknames are for friends and television is no friend of mine.

Anyway, when Haggerty was on the field, he was perfectly fine. Wasn’t great defensively, probably shouldn’t be playing center field, but needs must. 88th percentile in spring speed, per Statcast, so apparently he recovered pretty fully from the Achilles tear. 812 OPS against lefties, 575 OPS against righties, pretty much in line with his career splits (808/555).

Haggerty’s splits are so extreme, in fact, that one has to wonder if he wouldn’t be better off giving up switch-hitting altogether. For MLB as a whole last season, righthanders put up an OPS against lefties that was 44 points higher than against righties. When you are a switch hitter who hits very well against lefthanders and is unplayable against righthanders, at a certain point, don’t you have to consider giving up the switch hitting thing?

So Haggerty was useful in 2025, and likely will spend 2026 being useful in between trips to the injured list.

Previously: