Texas Rangers gauging interest in “core-type players”

As the team continues to fall further back in the AL West standings and with a grueling portion of their schedule staring them in the eyes, the Texas Rangers have started to gauge potential interest in some of their key players. GM Jon Daniels has yet to give any indication that the team will be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline, but according to Evan Grant at The Dallas Morning News he is at least looking to understand what kind of market may be out there for his “core-type players”.

The Rangers are eleven and a half games behind the division leading Oakland A’s and have lost five straight. The team begins a series at home with the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, the start of a 20 games in 20 days stretch that will lead them up to the All Star Break. On the other side, as Grant notes, they’ll play 13 games against teams currently in line to reach the playoffs.

Texas’ struggles have been across the board this season, but injuries have certainly played their role in the team’s position. Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, and Jurickson Profar are expected to miss the remainder of the season. Geovany Soto and Kevin Kouzmanoff have missed significant time and have uncertain return dates. Derek Holland has yet to throw a pitch. Martin Perez was lost to Tommy John surgery, while Alexi Ogando and Tanner Scheppers remain sidelined with elbow concerns. Matt Harrison underwent back surgery and may never pitch again.

Luck hasn’t been on the Rangers’ side.

There are assets that this team could move, however, should Daniels find a move to his liking. There are hardly any guarantees that the team makes a deal though. Grant specifically points to five possibilities: Elvis Andrus, Alex Rios, Adrian Beltre, Joakim Soria, Yu Darvish. He discusses pros and cons for each, ultimately concluding that none of them truly make sense for this club to deal given the resulting ramifications that it would have on the roster (or the associated payroll concerns that would make completing a deal challenging).

Of the above group, Andrus would appear to be the most likely candidate to be made available. Texas is flush with middle infielders, but the team would likely need to eat a portion of his contract to get anything viable in return. Andrus is being paid like a superior offensive shortstop and hasn’t performed at such a level the past two years. There is always a market for shortstops, however, so someone may consider a deal if Daniels were to actually make him available.

The Rangers may make a move or two before the deadline, but they likely won’t be significant in nature.