5 Texas Rangers trade targets with Jacob deGrom out for the season

5. Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants

The Giants are 31-30 on the season, and 5-5 in their last 10 games, entering Thursday. They may not be equipped to make a real run, toward even a Wild Card spot, so they are likely to be a seller.

If not for a rough outing a couple starts ago, Cobb’s numbers would be even better than they are so far this year (2.71 ERA). Take out that outing (seven runs allowed over four innings) and his ERA in his other 11 starts is 1.92. Maintaining his current level may be a challenge though, with a 3.71 FIP entering his Thursday start against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field pointing to some good luck.

Cobb is making $9 million this year, with a $10 million club option ( $2 million buyout) for 2024. So he makes sense as someone the Giants would be open to moving, and the Rangers broadly should be paying attention

4. Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs

Stroman is putting together one of the best seasons of his career so far (2.39 ERA, 59.9 percent ground ball rate). He’s also in a contract year, and with the Cubs not looking incredibly competitive as we roll into June he makes sense as someone they would deal.

Stroman has said he’d like to remain a Cub long-term. But age and potential regression are real things to consider moving forward, and the Cubs shouldn’t necessarily be inclined to overpay/over-commit.

For the Rangers, Stroman falling off beyond this year doesn’t have to matter one bit. If he can be good this year, and even if he falls off some his varied pitch arsenal should keep him afloat, that’s all they have to truly care about.

3. Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox

Over his last five starts, Kopech has a 2.32 ERA with 43 strikeouts and just 12 hits allowed over 31 innings. Narrowng to his last four starts, he has a 2.05 ERA with 38 strikeouts and just four walks while going at least seven innings in three of them.

The White Sox certainly have some bigger names they could trade. But as Mark Feinsand of MLB.com suggested, Kopech might have the right combination to bring back the best return of anyone they could move. He’s relatively young (27), cheap this year (making $2.05 million) and he has two more years of arbitration eligibility left.

For the Rangers, Kopech can be acquired with an eye beyond 2023 while also bolstering the rotation this year.

2. Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals

Flaherty has stayed healthy so far this season, which is something to note after he made just 26 appearances over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He has walked an NL-high 40 batters in his 13 starts this year, with a 4.15 ERA.

But over his last six starts, Flaherty has a 2.06 ERA with 36 strikeouts (9.3 K/9) and 18 walks (4.6 BB/9) over 35 innings. The Rangers got an up close look at him on Wednesday night. He pitched six scoreless innings with three hits allowed, eight strikeouts and three of his five walks in the first inning.

What the Cardinals do between now and the deadline is unclear. But they are in last place and 8.5 games out in a tough NL Central entering Thursday, and a climb to playoff contention won’t be easy. Flaherty makes sense as someone they might be willing to deal, in his final year of team control (making $5.4 million this year) before becoming a free agent.

The Rangers could be an appealing spot for Flaherty to sign long-term, since he’s a Los Angeles native and he’d then have the opportunity to pitch close to home once in awhile. But even just for this year, he could be an appealing trade target to help cover deGrom’s absence.

1. Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox

After a rough 2022 (4.90 ERA), Giolito is back on the right track this year with a 3.75 ERA over 13 starts. A .277 BABIP and a 4.30 FIP points to fortune being on his side, but he has gone at least six innings in nine of his starts and he no-hit the New York Yankees for six innings in his most recent outing.

Giolito is set to be a free agent after the season, and he reportedly turned down a four-year, $50 million offer from the White Sox over a year ago. So he’s as good as gone after the season, barring something completely unforeseen.

Just four games back in the dismal AL Central entering Thursday, the White Sox may not yet be ready to throw in the towel on the 2023 season and be a full-on seller as the trade deadline creeps closer. But everything else says they should be a prominent player in trades, with Giolito has arguably their top chip to move.

It might be nice if Giolito induced more ground balls. But he has mostly managed to navigate generally hitter-friendly conditions pitching at home for the White Sox, and Globe Life Park in Arlington is more pitcher-friendly than Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Rangers could add Giolito to a rotation that includes Jon Gray (0.84 ERA, 44:6 K/BB ratio over his last six starts), Nathan Eovaldi (2.24 ERA this season), Martin Perez (3.97 ERA this season) and Andrew Heaney (9.3 K/9 this season). 1-5 that looks pretty good if Eovaldi can stay healthy, Gray keeps pitching like an ace and Heaney can find consistency.

Giolito might be a rental for whoever acquires him, assuming he is moved. But he’s someone the Rangers have to have on their radar, to cover for deGrom not coming back this year and to help keep the Astros at bay in the division.