Texas Rangers have an obvious trade partner for Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara

If the Texas Rangers are serious about trading either Joey Gallo or Nomar Mazara, they should have no problem fielding offers. One team should definitely be interested.

The Texas Rangers are reportedly listening to offers on right fielder Nomar Mazara this offseason. Though, nothing has yet been said about them listening on their other corner outfielder, Joey Gallo. The consensus is Mazara and Gallo give Texas the best shots at obtaining top-tier prospect talent. Still flirting with a rebuild, it may be wise for them to capitalize on at least one player’s substantial value.

In order for the Rangers to do so, they’ll need a trade partner. That shouldn’t be too difficult to find. A number of teams need corner outfielders, and offensive talents like Mazara and Gallo should have those teams anxiously phoning the Rangers’ front office.

The squad that would benefit most from acquiring one of the sluggers…the Colorado Rockies.

Colorado’s current depth chart has David Dahl listed as their starting left fielder and right fielder. That’s enough evidence to warrant an outfield acquisition. Though, they do have a couple of roundabout ways to fill the void internally.

One way in particular would be moving Ryan McMahon from second base to first base once top prospect Brendan Rodgers is promoted to the majors. Rodgers’ promotion could happen as early as opening day. The adjustment would then relocate Ian Desmond from first base to left field.

While each of those position changes would be serviceable, they wouldn’t be game-changing. Let’s ask Rockies fans this question…would you rather have Ian Desmond in the starting lineup or Joey Gallo/Nomar Mazara?

Gallo is 25 years old and has hit 81 home runs over the last two seasons. The high altitude in Colorado would only inflate his home run totals. Plus, he’s very solid defensively. Gallo has a reliable glove, whether he’s playing left, right, first or third. He also has a cannon for an arm, as indicated by his eight outfield assists just a season ago.

More from Texas Rangers News

• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Martin Perez accepting the qualifying offer looking like solid deal for the Rangers
• 4 outfielders the Texas Rangers can still pursue this winter

Mazara is not as reliable defensively; however, he is the better all-around hitter. He hits for contact, drives the ball in the gaps as often as he does over the fence, and he has a great eye at the plate. He would have a lot of fun with the altitude and dimensions of Coors Field.

Either Joey Gallo or Nomar Mazara would give the Colorado Rockies a major outfield upgrade. With the Rockies making it to the NLDS in 2018, you’d think they’ll do whatever they can to get back to the playoffs in 2019. Nolan Arenado being in his last year under contract with Colorado makes contention even more urgent.

So, the Rockies can take their pick as to which Rangers outfielder they prefer. Of course, Texas will expect a little something in return.

The Texas Rangers are looking for pitching and pitching only. Their top prospects are outfielders, which prompts them to at least consider trading Gallo and Mazara. In addition, their infield is pretty well set with controlled talent.

Whatever pitching the Rangers inquire on, it must be young. Either still in the minors or briefly in the majors. The only major league member of the Rockies that Texas may be interested in is Kyle Freeland.

Freeland is 25 years old and under team control through 2022. He had a tremendous 2018 campaign, posting a 17-7 record with a 2.85 ERA, 202.1 innings pitched and 173 strikeouts. In the end, he finished 4th in NL Cy Young voting. He also gave the Rockies their performance of the year in the National League Wildcard game vs. the Chicago Cubs.

Because the Rockies are a playoff team, Freeland is likely off limits. Plus, it’s not too often they find a guy that can actually succeed in pitching at Coors Field. Still, it wouldn’t hurt for the Rangers to ask about him.

More realistically, a few of Colorado’s top pitching prospects would be in play.

21-year-old right-hander, Riley Pint, ranks as the Rockies’ #5 prospect (according to mlb.com). He was drafted fourth overall in the 2016 draft and sports four plus pitches, including a fastball that can reach triple digits. Pint has yet to surpass Single-A; he’s not expected to debut in the big leagues until at least 2020.

Ranking #6 in the Rockies’ organization is left-handed pitcher, Ryan Rolison. Rolison was Colorado’s first round pick in last season’s draft (22nd overall). Thus, he’s a ways away from debuting as well. The 21-year-old is known for his devastating curveball. His fastball sits in the low 90s and he has great command for his age.

Ryan Castellani is the final name on the Rockies’ top 10 prospects list. 22 years old and standing at 6’4”, 220 Lbs., Castellani is a power right-hander with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s. He had been dominating the minors up until 2018 when his mechanics got out of whack. If all goes well to start 2019, he could reach the majors sometime throughout the year.

Obviously, the Texas Rangers wouldn’t ask for all three, but they would certainly want one of those three in a return package for Mazara or Gallo. Each slugger has similar value, and the Rangers are going to grip that value very tightly because neither player has to be traded. A finalized deal would have to include two of the Colorado Rockies’ top 15 prospects. One of which would need to be a top 10 starting pitching prospect.

I’ll end with my proposal: