As they try to stay atop the AL West with Jacob deGrom out for the season, these five pitchers should be on the Texas Rangers’ radar to trade for.
Entering Thursday’s action, the Texas Rangers have a 4.5-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West. That’s certainly a surprise, considering how little they’ve gotten from prized offseason signing Jacob deGrom amid him dealing with injuries.
The news deGrom was being moved to the 60-day IL on Monday this week was followed by worse news on Tuesday. He will have Tommy John surgery, and miss the rest of the 2023 season.
The Rangers should broadly be buyers on the trade market, even with the August 1 deadline feeling far away right now. Two straight losses to the Toronto Blue Jays entering Thursday have cooled the Astros a little, but they are coming with a 36-26 record for the season after sitting a 20-19 at the start of business on May 14.
The Rangers can’t sit back if they hope to pay off a nice start with a playoff berth or even a division title. To that end, these five pitchers should be on their trade radar with deGrom out.