Friday newsletter time: Rangers in San Diego to play, plan ahead of trade deadline
(AP photo/Brandon Sloter)
The quiet before the chaos is starting to fray some folks’ nerves.
Looks like they picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
The trade deadline is Tuesday. The Rangers and Angels have made the two biggest trades so far, though the Rangers’ acquisition of Aroldis Chapman was nearly a month ago.
The Angels overpaid Wednesday night to get right-hander Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez, sending their No. 2 and No. 3 prospects for a pair of rentals.
That might actually make the market slow down, as buyers could wait for the market to correct itself.
Rangers officials are holed up in San Diego, where the team will play the next three days, to hammer out deals. In theory, the officials are also there in case they have to tell a player or two that they have been traded.
General manager Chris Young would probably let manager Bruce Bochy tell the team a group of a major acquisition to bolster the team’s playoff chances. Jon Daniels let Ron Washington tell the 2010 team about the Cliff Lee trade.
The Rangers are in first place in the American League West and hold a two-game lead over the Astros. High on the Rangers’ shopping list is relief help, followed by starting pitching and a bat.
All are available over the next four-plus days, and some will be more costly than others.
Ideally, the Rangers would land a starting pitcher who is under control beyond this season. The relievers can be rentals.
The selling clubs are thought to be the Pirates, White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, Cardinals, A’s, Nationals and Royals. The Cubs and Guardians tilt more toward selling than buying. The Marlins and Giants could become sellers. The Mets and Padres are waffling, though they probably know that they are postseason long shots.
The Orioles and Diamondbacks have deep farm systems and might be the only two teams that could outbid the Rangers.
The Rangers have also become experts in keeping their dealings from the media, which is fine.
It just makes the quiet a little more hard for some to take.
News today?
The Rangers, who were off Thursday, didn’t provide any medical updates on Jonah Heim after he left Wednesday’s game in the fourth inning with left wrist soreness.
The Rangers can wait on a few days on him, as they did with right fielder Adolis Garcia’s right hand. The Rangers have two other catchers, Mitch Garver and Sam Huff, and that buys Heim time.
Garver homered Tuesday night, and Huff connected Wednesday.
The Rangers are without shortstop Corey Seager, who sprained his right thumb last Friday. Right-hander Josh Sborz started a rehab assignment Wednesday with Triple A Round Rock and tossed scoreless inning.
Card of the Week
The Rangers are in San Diego to face a Padres team that has no shortage of talent but has a shortage of wins. Yet, one of the latest rumors is that the Padres will not be sellers, choosing instead to ride a roster that has underachieved all season .
Or maybe that’s just an attempt by general manager A.J. Preller to get teams to up the ante for Padres players.
If the Rangers want to dream big, they could think about Juan Soto being their left fielder and left-hander Blake Snell filling a rotation spot. The biggest need, though, is in the bullpen, where a Padres left-hander would provide a big boost.
That lefty is the featured Card of the Week: the 2014 Bowman Chrome Josh Hader 1st Bowman.
Hader is headed to free agency after the season, so he would be a rental. As a premier reliever, he won’t be a cheap rental, but he also shouldn’t break the prospect bank.
His numbers this season are ridiculous: 0.95 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 38 innings.
Yet, here are a few thoughts against a Hader trade:
1. He would be a third left-hander in the back of the bullpen, which might make opposing hitters comfortable.
2. He didn’t pitch well at all last season after being sent by the Brewers to San Diego at the deadline.
Should the Rangers pursue a deal for Hader? Absolutely.
Will the Padres be sellers? Maybe if the Rangers thump them a couple times this weekend.
If the deal gets done by Sunday, he could fly to Texas with his new team.
That would be too easy.
Doggy video!
Can’t get the hair wet. Enjoy.
— out of context dogs (@contextdogs) July 23, 2023
Jeff Wilson, jeff@rangerstoday.com
