A few Texas Rangers have bought themselves more time

The majority of rumored Texas Rangers survived the trade deadline. Three of them could reemerge in trade talks this offseason if not finishing the season strong.

It’s tough to avoid trade rumors for just about any player on an average or below average team. The Texas Rangers are an average team this year. That’s why selling quickly became the expectation as the deadline neared. That’s why you heard names like Nomar Mazara, Danny Santana and Rougned Odor spattered in trade talks.

None of those guys were dealt, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are safe. What it means is each player has bought himself more time to prove that he’s worth keeping around.

There’s Mazara, who has not had the season the organization or fan base expected. There’s Santana, who has set the bar extremely high after being signed as an “irrelevant” minor league addition last winter. And there’s Odor, who is hanging by the thinnest of threads after yet another stretch of miserable months prior to July.

Let’s dive into why the next two months are so important for the trio.

Nomar Mazara

It seems inevitable that the Texas Rangers will have to shake-up their outfield as some point very soon. Outfielder Loedy Taveras, Texas’ #5 prospect, is working his way through the minor leagues and could make his way to the big league club as early as next year. The 20-year-old is a center fielder through and through, so, if all goes according to plan, he’ll force Joey Gallo over to left field by 2021.

That takes care of two outfield spots, leaving right field to be determined. It’s Mazara’s to lose, but he has been far from convincing this season. Defense is not his specialty; therefore, he is not worth a whole lot when his bat is lagging. Willie Calhoun is not defensive wizard either, but he’s been more consistent with the bat in 2019. Calhoun will be fighting hard for a starting spot somewhere next season.

If you look further down the road, Texas has Bubba Thompson and Julio Pablo Martinez as high potential prospects who have not progressed as aimed for in the lower levels of the minors. The most updated Texas Rangers prospect rankings has Thompson at #8 and Martinez at #25. If either picks up the pace, the future outfield will be even more clustered.

The key takeaway is Mazara has some heat on him really for the first time in his young career. If the Rangers aren’t completely sold on him soon, he could be sent elsewhere.

Danny Santana

Danny Santana has been absolutely phenomenal this season. It seems like he records multiple hits every night. In 282 at-bats, his batting average is approaching .330. In the month of July, he hit .378 with 7 home runs, a .400 OBP and a 1.156 OPS. If he maintains anything close to his current pace, he’ll be guaranteed a starting spot on opening day of 2020.

The only crutch to Santana’s stellar year is the concern that it’s a fluke. After posting impressive numbers with the Minnesota Twins as a rookie in 2014, he essentially had no major league impact in the following four seasons. In fact, he combined to play in only 332 big league games from 2015 to 2018. That equates to 82 per season.

The optics are there, which should be enough for the Rangers to pencil him into the roster for next season. If Santana finishes the year strong, he’ll undoubtedly head into the offseason as a favorite to be a starter in the coming campaign.