When things are going bad in Major League Baseball, they're going really bad. And that still applies to the defending World Series champions Texas Rangers.
It's been a brutal season for the Rangers, who have felt all the effects of a classic championship hangover. After suffering their sixth-straight loss Saturday, they have a 37-46 record, eight games out of a playoff spot in the hotly contested American League. And as if things weren't bad enough, Corey Seager had to leave early on Saturday after being hit on the wrist by a pitch.
Though it's not over for the defending champs, time is running out. At some point, general manager Chris Young will have to decide whether to sell at the MLB trade deadline. And if it does come to a sale, the Rangers have many players to entice other teams to re-stock their farm system.
Max Scherzer, starting pitcher
If the Rangers do become sellers, they'll be very glad Max Scherzer was able to return from his herniated disk surgery as quickly as he was. Two starts into his 2024 campaign, Scherzer looks as good as ever, and any playoff-bound team would be happy to have the three-time Cy Young winner's services.
When you're less than a month away from your 40th birthday, there's no such thing as “wait 'til next year.” Every opportunity to win another World Series matters to Scherzer at this point, exemplified by last season, when he arrived in Texas and found championship glory. This time around, though, an exit from Texas might be the only way Scherzer gets a shot at another ring.
Scherzer passed Greg Maddux for 11th on the all-time strikeout list on Friday, reaching 3,375 punchouts in his storied career. He's allowed just two runs in the first 10.1 innings of his 2024 season, and although it's never certain how many innings are left in a 17-year veteran's career, all indications are that the innings will continue to be high-quality.
Obviously, Scherzer's age, past injury concerns, and contract all come into play when teams factor in the risks of making the trade. But the Mets were smart enough to eat nearly half of the money Scherzer was owed this season, which netted them better prospects in the return from the Rangers. That means Texas likely doesn't have to eat any money in this trade deal, which would give them some payroll relief in a year
Kirby Yates and David Robertson, relief pitchers
We'll group these two because they're in the same situation this season. They've been by far the two most reliable relievers in the Texas bullpen, helping them secure the precious few close wins they have this season. And if the Rangers end up selling at the deadline, they're both as good as gone.
The Rangers might well have expected Kirby Yates to be good when they signed him to a one-year contract this winter, but they can't have expected him to be this dominant. In 28.1 innings pitched, he's held opposing offenses to just three earned runs, with an opponent batting average of .138. He's won the closer role and saved all 11 of his save opportunities. Not bad for a former 2005 26th-round pick.
Robertson, meanwhile, is proving himself to be an ageless wonder. A couple of blowup outings have inflated his season ERA to 3.34, which is still quite strong, but his 2.46 FIP and 14 strikeouts per nine innings tell us he can be one of the best relievers in baseball on any given day. Plus, he struck out Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman in order on back-to-back nights, so that has to count for something.
Veteran relievers are the first pieces to move when a team decides to wave the white flag. If you pitch well enough on a non-contending team, you earn the right to pitch for a contender instead. And that's exactly what Yates and Robertson are in the process of doing.
Ezequiel Duran, utility
We could always talk about other pitchers. Andrew Heaney is an impending free agent, so he could easily be traded. Jon Gray and Tyler Mahle come with another year of control, so they're more likely to stay, but you never know. A more interesting player to discuss, though, is the prospect Texas got in the Joey Gallo trade with the New York Yankees, Ezequiel Duran.
At this time a season ago, we were looking at Duran as a potential foundational piece for the Rangers' future. He was 24, playing all over the diamond and crushing the baseball, putting up a .308 batting average and .870 OPS in the first half of the season. Since then, though, things have cratered, and Duran has been so bad this season that the Rangers recently sent him back to Triple-A.
Anywhere you look on the diamond, Duran appears to be blocked out in Texas. He won't see time in the outfield once Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford settle into long-term starting roles. And with Josh Smith emerging and Josh Jung on the mend, there's no spot for him on the infield. But plenty of other teams might well have a spot for a 25-year-old with very intriguing raw tools.
All in all, Duran is a fantastic change-of-scenery candidate. The Rangers could include him in a trade package along with a relief pitcher and get younger, higher-upside prospects in return. And Duran could reset his career, away from the pressures of an organization where he's seen lots of ups and downs.
Follow Us
Subscribe