The Sunday Read: One trade target for Rangers on every non-contender or pretender
(AP photo/Derrick Tuskan)
ARLINGTON — The next deadline facing major teams arrives July 25, when all drafted players must be signed.
It’s not an unimportant date. Farm systems need to continually be resupplied with talent.
The Rangers, who selected 18 players with in the past week, feel good about signing the eight players they took in the top 10. That includes Wyatt Langford, the No. 4 overall pick, whose deal could be finished this week.
But the deadline that consumes most baseball fans and media is the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The Rangers have been sellers of late, and each of those deadlines was important. A look at the current roster shows how big the 2021 trade deadline was.
This season, though, the Rangers are contenders who find themselves atop the American League West. They had six All-Stars, and their lineup includes eight players who have at least 10 home runs.
None of those players pitches, though, and the Rangers have some pitching issues to address. The most obvious is in the bullpen, where the Rangers have already added left-hander Aroldis Chapman.
More reinforcements are needed, and players have been targeted.
Which players? Well, general manager Chris Young is awfully coy, but he knows work is left to be done.
“CY and I talk on a daily basis about things that could happen and interests,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s ongoing.”
Bochy warned the media that there will be all kinds of rumors involving the Rangers. He doesn’t want Rangers players to become distracted by what might happen.
Still, it seems like two more relievers and a starting pitcher, for this season and beyond, would buoy the Rangers’ playoff hopes.
By now, there are teams that know they will be selling along with others that will be selling but don’t know it yet. The following is a somewhat realistic, somewhat pie-in-the-sky look at players from those teams the Rangers could go get.
The Trout thing is out of the blue, but Hader/Snell may be reasonable. I have long envisioned a salary dump swap off of Semien for Teout, though Texas would probably need to add in a prospect (White) or two. Then, Foscue can replace Trout, and Duran can be a backup. I just don’t see this happening. I think at least Semien can be a tad above average at a weak position (2md) and be durable, and Trout is at 37.7 million for eternity, with sharp decline, thr permanent neck issue, and he would not be necessary on a team with Langford, Carter, Garcia, Harris, Zavala, Hauver, etc.