Texas Rangers: Trade Deadline Preview
What will the Texas Rangers do prior to the trade deadline on August 1?
The Texas Rangers find themselves in a very familiar position in recent years; atop the AL West. Not only that, they have the top record in the American League. It hasn’t been all rainbows and butterflies for the team this season though.
They have dealt with a ton of injuries to key players, but thanks to a deep farm system built by GM Jon Daniels and the front office, the team has been able to withstand those injuries and keep playing good ball.
Robinson Chirinos, Shin-Soo Choo, Yu Darvish, Keone Kela and Tanner Scheppers have all missed time. Josh Hamilton won’t play at all for this club this year (maybe ever again).
The Rangers are in an unique position to not only win now, but keep winning for years to come. They made the big deal last season for Cole Hamels which helped lead them to the division crown last year and still have chips to use to add more pieces to the big league club.
The Rangers are going to be one of the bigger buyers come the deadline, it’s just a matter of what exactly they are going to buy. Will it be an arm? A bat? Both?
Before we talk about that, let’s take a look at the team as a whole and evaluate all the part of it as we try and figure out where the Rangers should add to their already impressive club.
Next: Starting off
Starting Rotation
The starting rotation has done a great job so far this season despite injuries, however, I might worry about them in a playoff series due to a lack of power arms. Even though the Kansas City Royals won the World Series last year without the best rotation, they had guys like Johnny Cueto, Yordano Ventura and Edinson Volquez who could strike you out.
One guy who certainly can is Cole Hamels who is pitching like the ace the Rangers thought they were acquiring last year at the deadline. Hamels is 7-1 with a 2.88 ERA, though his FIP is almost two runs higher.
Colby Lewis hasn’t lost all year and continues to be a consistent winner for the Texas Rangers. Martin Perez hasn’t gotten a ton of run support this year, but he continues to be solid. Yu Darvish and A.J. Griffin are both injured right now. Griffin may be a week or two away from returning but he can’t really be counted on to stay healthy. While the Rangers have had Nick Martinez and Cesar Ramos fill in in the rotation at times this year, but that is probably less than ideal for them.
Next: A mighty pen?
Bullpen
This is the spot the team knows it needs to address. Shawn Tolleson was the closer last year. He’s out of that role due to an ERA over 7.00. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in from Seattle to be a piece to the pen. He was DFA’d and chose free agency. Keone Kela and Tanner Scheppers are both injured and may return down the road.
The back end of the bullpen is built on two small acquisitions and someone who was the number one pick at a different position.
The other part of the Cole Hamels trade was lefty Jake Diekman and Diekman has a 1.35 ERA and is holding lefties to a .120 batting average. Sam Dyson was a pickup from the Marlins before the deadline and has become the team’s closer after Tolleson was demoted from it.
The other part is Matt Bush who was the first pick in the 2004 draft as a shortstop, is now a reliever who can hit 100 MPH.
Jon Daniels has done a great job of putting together some pieces, but he’s gonna need one more big arm to wrap it all together in a playoff series.
Next: The O
Offense
The Rangers are ninth in homers, seventh in runs, eight in average and 10th in slugging. This is without Josh Hamilton and for the most part, Shin-Soo Choo.
The Rangers have had one of the more productive catching trios in the game, which is surprising when the names are Robinson Chirinos, Bryan Holiday and Bobby Wilson and with Chirinos only playing in 11 games due to injury.
Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland have not gotten it done in 2016 like they did in 2015. The Rangers home run leader is second baseman Rougned Odor who’s been their cleanup hitter at times. Adrian Beltre continues to be productive and even earned himself a contract extension.
With the injuries in the outfield, it’s lead to the emergence of two players. Nomar Mazara came up in April and will more than likely become the Rookie of the Year winner. Ian Desmond has taken to centerfield after all of his years at shortstop and is the team leader in WAR.
Former top prospect Jurickson Profar has come up and given the Rangers a boost as a super utility infielder.
Next: what they should buy
Deadline Outlook
The Rangers are clearly buyers and are looking for what every other contender is going to be looking for; arms. The Rangers are going to have their choice in bullpen arms. If the Yankees make Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller available, they should be aggressive and all in to get one of them.
I think a back end of the rotation arm would help them as well. They don’t need an ace type of guy. They need to bring in another guy who can eat innings and get them wins. If the Reds make Dan Straily available he could be a nice fit, and won’t cost too much in terms of prospects unlike Rich Hill (if healthy). Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies could be another option in the same vein.
The Rangers are in a great position to win the AL Pennant for the first time since 2011. With two more arms they could be the team to beat in the American League. They are playing as well as anyone. They don’t need a major overhaul. Just a stopper in the bullpen and another arm for depth in the starting rotation.
Next: Pirates trade deadline overview
Come October, it wont just be Dallas Cowboys football taking up the fans of Arlington. Baseball will be right there again.