Texas Rangers: 3 Reasons a Nomar Mazara trade should be off the table this offseason

Reason #3: Mazara’s trade value is not high enough right now

Nomar Mazara had a relatively down season in 2018. Granted, he played hurt most of the second half. He’s now hit 20 home runs in each of his first three major league seasons. 128 games in 2018, 77 RBI, a .258 batting average, and a .753 OPS are not impressive numbers given his expectations. If a team wants to trade a “franchise player”, it’s better to make a trade when that player has posted impressive numbers in the recent season.

In addition, Mazara does not fit well in this era of sabermetrics. Scouts and management MLB wide are focused on pure production statistics. They like players with power; players that hit home runs and drive runners in, regardless of batting average and on base percentage.

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From a sabermetric standpoint, perhaps teams would be more interested in a Joey Gallo rather than a Nomar Mazara. Gallo did hit 20 more home runs and posted 15 more RBI than Mazara this past season.

2018 was underwhelming for the Texas Rangers right fielder. His potential remains off the charts, but it is a bit concerning that he has essentially flat lined in each of the past two seasons. It would be much more comforting to see Mazara on an incline.

Ultimately, the Texas Rangers need to play one more year before making any major moves. They need to see how their prospect pitching develops in the minors next season and they need to see what Mazara gives them in the upcoming big league season. If the 2019-2020 offseason comes about and Texas feels its time to acquire an ace, then maybe the Nomar Mazara trade conversation is validated. As for now, let’s keep him in Texas.