The Texas Rangers are poised to be one of the most active teams at the MLB trade deadline, but they have been on the fence about whether or not to buy or sell for the past few weeks.
However, as the July 30 deadline creeps closer, it's becoming more apparent that the Rangers will be buying to try and compete for the postseason instead of unloading some of their veteran pieces. The biggest reason why the Rangers are trying to go for it despite being under .500 is because of how much the division rival Seattle Mariners have struggled as of late, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. This has allowed the Rangers to stay in the postseason race even with their own injuries and poor play.
“The Mariners’ midseason fade not only gave the Houston Astros a chance to rebound from their 7-19 start, but also figures to end any possibility of the Texas Rangers becoming an outright seller,” Rosenthal said on Wednesday.
The reigning World Series champions have a 49-52 record and are currently 3.5 games back of first place in the AL West and 6.5 games back of the third AL Wild Card position.
Third baseman Josh Jung, left fielder Evan Carter and pitchers Dane Dunning, Cody Bradford, Tyler Mahle and Jacob deGrom are all expected to be coming back from injuries soon and will provide the Rangers a significant boost.
One option Rosenthal presents is that with so many starting pitchers returning from injury, the Rangers could trade one of them to either bolster their bullpen or add a bat, most likely a center fielder to try and get an upgrade over Leody Taveras.
Which pitcher would the Rangers make available?
Rosenthal suggested that that the Rangers would likely try and move Michael Lorenzen and Jon Gray, especially if they do not anticipate featuring them in a potential postseason rotation.
As of now, the Rangers postseason rotation, if they make it, would most likely feature Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, Max Scherzer and deGrom, making Lorenzen and Gray expendable.
Because the Rangers are appearing to go all in, Eovaldi is not expected to be traded according to Rosenthal. Eovaldi is one of the premier postseason pitchers, playing a key role on last seasons World Series team and the 2018 World Series champion Red Sox. Heaney, who signed a player option this offseason, is also expected to remain with the Rangers. Scherzer, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, recently said that he would not be waiving it and would like to remain with the Rangers.
The trade deadline is in less than a week. Let's see what moves the Rangers can make to try and make up some ground in the AL West.
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