Who Could The Texas Rangers Trade This Winter?
After a disappointing down year for the Texas Rangers, which players have the highest trade value going into the offseason, and are most likely to be dealt?
The Texas Rangers had an objectively bad year. Some players did decent, but most did not. The farm has finally started to look like it’s shaping up to make this team great again, with the majority of those prospects projected to come up between 2019 and 2021. With the hot stove looming right around the corner, who’s staying, and who’s gone?
Rougned Odor
Odor didn’t have a bad season by any means. In fact, according to Baseball Reference, he posted career highs in overall WAR, as well as defensive WAR. He still has a very large contract looming, with at least 4 more years left, not including his $3 million buyout in 2023. If Adrian Beltre decides to make a return for one last hurrah, it appears the Rangers will have an infield jam. Although some are saying Beltre would handle DH mostly, this still leaves Jurickson Profar without a position a good chunk of the time with Elvis Andrus at SS and Ronald Guzman at 1B.
Jurickson Profar
Profar seems to just be the “other possibility” when discussing trading an infielder. He is only under arbitration for 2 more seasons, so one option is that he could be handed the starting 3B job, as mentioned above, when Beltre retires. If this happens, expect an extension sometime in the next season or two. If not, it’s possible he’s traded, as he was once the #1 prospect in baseball, and finally showed some promise in the 2018 season. He’s the one most likely traded if Beltre decides to put on the cleats for one more year. It’s also worth noting that Nolan Arenado is a free agent after the 2019 season, so if the Rangers are on the verge of breaking out, signing a big free agent or two could be in the cards to open up the new Rangers stadium.
Nomar Mazara/Joey Gallo
When Nomar first came up for the Rangers, fans believed he would be the next Rangers superstar not named Adrian Beltre. Unfortunately, in the 3 years he’s played, he’s failed to show significant development while hitting major league pitching. He hasn’t been bad by any means, but fans thought he would be having a lot more success as he developed. Joey Gallo, on the other hand, is a conflicting player. You can easily see him hit .200 every year, but also hit 40 HRs every year. Expect one of these players traded if the Rangers decide to make a big splash in free agency for a player like Bryce Harper.
Mike Minor
“Mike Minor is the only pitcher that isn’t absolutely terrible, why would the Rangers trade him?” Yeah, it probably won’t happen. But there is a chance it could. There are only a couple FA pitchers this offseason worth giving significant money to, and most teams just don’t have that monetary flexibility. Expect the Rangers to trade Minor if a team needing a back-end SP offers some solid prospects. This delay’s the Rangers’ competing window, but it also my make them better in the long run.