Texas Rangers: Could Reliever Justin Wilson Be Headed to Arlington?

Adding another reliever to the bullpen in Arlington is a must before the end of July. The Texas Rangers desperately need bullpen help, and have just one left-handed reliever on the roster. Could relief pitcher Justin Wilson be an option for the Rangers?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the Detroit Tigers will be sellers at the trade deadline. If the Texas Rangers want to go all-in then reliever Justin Wilson is a must-have player. He’s currently the Tigers best trade bait and won’t be easy to obtain.

This season Wilson is 3-3 with a 2.29 ERA in 37 games with 10 saves. The 29-year-old isn’t eligible for free agency until 2019. He’s a controllable left-handed relief pitcher with closing experience.

It sounds too good to be true, and the Rangers need to go all-in for him. Wilson is a six-year MLB veteran with a 3.16 career ERA in over 300 appearances. The Tigers moved him to closer after Francisco Rodriguez failed to hold down the role.

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Acquiring another lefty reliever is huge for the Rangers. The team currently has one lefty Alex Claudio on the 25-man roster. This season Claudio is 1-0 with a 2.59 ERA with three saves in 43 appearances.

Lately, the Rangers have been using Claudio as closer and late inning reliever. This makes it tough for Rangers manager Jeff Banister to play any situational lefty on lefty match-ups. Having only one left-handed reliever means right-handed relievers are stuck trying to get out left-handed hitters.

If the Rangers want to make a legitimate run at the playoffs then they need Wilson. It’s difficult to be a playoff caliber team with just one lefty reliever and he’s basically the closing pitcher. This move not only helps the Rangers now, but in the future as well.

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They would get Wilson for multiple seasons and have two reliable left-handed options out of the bullpen. The fact Wilson has closing experience doesn’t hurt and he could be a huge addition to the bullpen in Arlington.