Texas Rangers Are Not Interested in Trading Yu Darvish

The July 31 trade deadline rumors are heating up. Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish has been at the center of plenty of trade rumors over the last few days. The organization is reportedly not interested in trading Darvish.

The last few weeks have been interesting to say the least in Arlington. The Texas Rangers almost look like a different team in every series they play. After coming off a sweep of the Rays, the Rangers are not interested in moving starter Yu Darvish.

The Dodgers and Rangers have been rumored to be in trade discussions for Darvish over the last few days. A recent injury to Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw could have the organization scrambling to acquire another frontline starter.

The Rangers are 48-50 and 2.5 games back of the American League Wildcard. The trade deadline is just a week away, but Texas still believes they have a chance. They might not be wrong, but is keeping Darvish the best idea?

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The 30-year-old starter is 6-8 with a 3.44 ERA in 21 starts and 143 strikeouts this season. The bad news is that Darvish is eligible for free agency after the season. The Rangers and Darvish have failed to reach a contract extension.

This is a tough decision for Rangers general manager Jon Daniels. He needs to decide whether the Rangers will add for a playoff run or build for the future. Darvish is the centerpiece and if he’s moved then the rest of the one-year veterans will likely go with him at the deadline.

The fans in Arlington never want to see Darvish leave, but the MLB is a business. The Rangers could potentially restock their farm system by trading one player.

If the Rangers become buyers and fall out of the playoff race that could put Jon Daniels on the hot seat. This is not an easy decision to make, but keeping Darvish is an enormous risk with little chance of reward.

The best case scenario is Darvish helps lead the Rangers to a World Series. Getting through the Red Sox and Astros is looking unlikely especially with how inconsistent the Rangers have been this season.

Next: Rangers Interested in Ian Kinsler

This next week will be the deciding factor, but it would be surprising to see the Rangers hold onto Darvish through the deadline. The Rangers are keeping Darvish for now, but we’ll see how long that will last.