Texas Rangers Need Help with Their Pitching Staff

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The Texas Rangers need pitching help. Even with Yu Darvish returning, there may be a couple of trades that could help the team going forward.

If you are a Texas Rangers fan, congratulations and sorry for your loss. Congrats because you will soon have stud pitcher Yu Darvish back in your rotation by the beginning of June, where he will favorably pair up with Cole Hamels to make your starting duo one of the best in the MLB.

Sorry because your 29th ranked bullpen has been dropping wins for you left and right while your starters are unable to do anything about it. This situation came to a head on Tuesday when Scott Tolleson was unable to close in the ninth and proceeded to give up a walk off win for the Athletics.

However, there is always hope when you have the third best farm system in the game, as the Rangers do, and you have a GM who is crazy enough to do a blockbuster move at the drop of a hat. Plain and simple, the Rangers need help with their relief pitching.

Below I have listed two teams (coincidentally both from New York) who need what the Rangers have, but also have what the Rangers need.

Disclaimer: None of these are based in fact or even rumors at the moment

Next: To the Bronx

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New York Yankees:

Why It Would Make Sense For The Rangers: The Yankees have far and away the best bullpen in the MLB. The triple threat of Betances, Miller, and Chapman would be deadly…. if the Yanks could keep it close in the beginnings of their games. Due to the Yankees suffering and a full scale rebuild nearly inevitable, the Rangers could probably acquire one of those pieces for a pretty good deal. If this acquisition went through, the Rangers would have two aces on the mound and one ace in the pen. This would make them favorites to win the AL West, at the very least.

Why It Would Make Sense For The Yankees: As a fan of the Pinstripes, we can basically call this season quits. As I have already (vocally) called for, we want a rebuild so that instead of being a dark horse challenger for a Wild Card spot every year for the next ten years, we are serious challengers for a World Series in five.

With the Rangers in need of a relief pitcher and with the Yankees in need of a few young players, this pairing seems to be made in heaven. The front office should give us what the fans all want, which is good young players that we can watch turn into superstars instead of watching Chase Headley, A-Rod and Mark Teixeira play out their final games with a shadow of the talent and athleticism they once possessed.

Trade Situation: As I wrote in a previous article, the Yankees will soon be needing a few positions, among those is an outfielder and a third baseman. 3B Joey Gallo is the #1 prospect in the Rangers farm system and the #10 prospect in the entire MiLB. Combine him with #5 prospect OF Jairo Beras and that seems to be more than fair compensation for a top tier closer candidate such as Betances or Miller.

Verdict: Andrew Miller to Texas/ Joey Gallo and Jairo Beras to New York

Next: Off to Queens

Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

New York Mets:

Why It Would Make Sense For The Rangers: Jeurys Familia is a young stud who can only get better from here (unless he does a Matt Harvey.) However, barring an injury or some unexpected turn of events, Familia will probably be one of the better relievers in as little as the next three seasons. With a high 90’s fastball and some nasty breaking stuff, he seems like a safe bet for the future of a franchise.

With the Mets starting pitching being so good, they only need a few more bats to put the icing on top of the cake and make themselves almost unbeatable. And the Rangers have said bats to offer in surplus.

Why It Would Make Sense For The Mets: The same way that the Yankees bullpen is amazing, the Mets rotation may be comparatively better. If the Mets just had one more elite batter in their lineup, they would be even more crazy good then they are now. Since the Rangers are a team filled with both MLB and MiLB hitters who can make a difference, the Mets can look to capitalize this trade deadline.

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Trade Situation: There is admittedly a huge flaw in this trade that every MLB fan should have seen by now. Unlike the Yankees, the Mets have no elite relief pitchers behind Familia. However, the Mets have Antonio Bastardo and Addison Reed, both of whom are quite capable as relief pitchers. The Mets need hitting, so who better than rookie sensation Nomar Mazara to take over for veteran Curtis Granderson?

Also on the block in this theoretical trade would be a solid catcher, one of the positions that the Mets are lacking in. Bryan Holaday is still a young player with a ton of upside and who has never been seriously injured.

Another crazy move would be to trade the injury riddled Steven Matz for a big time pitching prospect, such as Dillon Tate or Brett Martin. As of right now, Tate maxes out at around 98 MPH, which is elite for a starting pitcher. Martin is a crafty lefty with a large frame that he can grow into as time progresses. With Matz, Texas would have three good starting pitchers and with either Tate or Martin, New York would have a great player to develop for as long as they see fit. With David Wright getting on in years and the Mets not having a 3B prospect in their top 10, Joey Gallo would again be on the trading block.

Next: Jorge Soler an emerging piece of Cubs puzzle

Verdict: Jeurys Familia and Steven Matz to Texas/ Bryan Holaday, Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara and Dillon Tate to New York.

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