The 2025 Rangers and the CBT

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is July 31, 2025 — just over a week away. The Texas Rangers are on the fringes of the playoff race, and could end up being buyers or sellers, depending on how the team performs in the run up to the deadline and the state of the trade market.

One of the factors that will potentially impact the Rangers’ decisions at the deadline — particularly if they are buyers — is the Competitive Balance Tax. After being a tax paying team in 2023 and 2024, the Rangers have, since the past offseason started, indicated that they were going to be under the CBT threshold in 2025.

A quick primer on the CBT — teams that exceed the CBT threshold by $20 million or less pay a 20% tax on…