Will the Texas Rangers buy, sell, or stay put at the Winter Meetings?

Will the Texas Rangers be buyers?

If you associate buying with acquiring by trade, then no, Texas will not be buying any top-tier players. They are in no rush, therefore, there’s no sense trading away young talent for proven talent. That logic applies regardless of how many years an acquisition would be under contract.

The only two big leaguers the Rangers might trade this winter are Jurickson Profar and Mike Minor. Profar because a lot of teams are interested in a versatile switch hitter, and Minor because teams are always interested in left-handed starting pitchers.

To the defense of both players, Profar has the green light to take over at third base and the Rangers are in no position to trade pitching away from an already thin starting rotation. The return for each would have to be substantial.

If you associate buying with acquiring via free agency, then yes, Texas could make a move or two. Sitting in the middle of the pack in MLB payrolls, the Texas Rangers have some spending flexibility this offseason. As part of any sales pitch, they can mention the brand-new ballpark in 2020 and the abundance of young talent that should lead the organization to success in the not too distant future.

The free agent class is not all that impressive. In my opinion, there’s only about five players the Texas Rangers should consider offering extensive contracts. Dallas Keuchel, Joe Kelly and Manny Machado are three of them.

The moon would probably have to turn blue to get Machado to come to Texas, but there’s definitely logic in signing a 26-year-old superstar to fill a position that was just vacated. Daniels likely won’t pursue Machado too strongly, if at all. However, sweetening the pot for Keuchel or Kelly is a possibility.