Rumors: Texas Rangers Interested in Red Sox Starting Pitchers

With the Texas Rangers certain to add at least some starting pitching this offseason, rumors are circulating that they could make a deal with Boston.

The Texas Rangers are going to add pitchers to their rotation this offseason. I can pretty much guarantee you that. Now the path they go to adding this pitching varies. The most straightforward is through the free agent market which features top names like Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg and Hyun-Jin Ryu. However, if Texas is looking to add multiple starting arms, perhaps going to the trade market could net them a quality starter in a beneficial deal.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported earlier this week that the “Rangers have had internal discussions about the possibilities” of adding one of the Boston Red Sox starters via trade. The Red Sox are known to be trying to trim down their payroll and with JD Martinez deciding to not opt out, currently Boston sits above the luxury tax threshold.

David Price: 4.28 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 2.3 fWAR

Owed $96 million through 2022

David Price is one of the Boston starters they may be looking to ship out to trim down that bloated payroll this offseason. Price is coming off a down year that saw him deal with some injury issues which limited him to just 107.1 innings. At 34 years old, he isn’t the dominant lefty we grew accustomed to seeing but he’s still an effective starter. His FIP suggests he was better than his ERA did which is promising and reportedly the cyst on his left wrist that caused him trouble last season has been taken care of. That gives some hope that he can get back to his 2018 form. In a deal for Price, the Rangers would either be asking Boston to eat a portion of his salary, or the Rangers could ship some money their way, perhaps in the form of Shin-Soo Choo or Rougned Odor. However, the former seems far more likely.

Chris Sale: 4.40 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 3.6 fWAR

Owed $145 million through 2025 ($50 million deferred at $10 million/year from 2035-2039)

Sale as a starter probably is the most attractive out of this group. He’ll be 31 come Opening Day 2020 and despite a poor 2019, was the most dominant out of this group prior. His contract is funky as he is still owed $145 million on his contract which runs through 2025, his age 36 season, but he has a lot of options and escalators and deferred money. Sale has an opt out after 2022 that would save his club $75 million. If he opts in, he is owed $27.5 million in both 2023 and 2024 and also has a vesting option for 2025 at $20 million if he finishes in the Top 10 in the 2024 Cy Young race. Additionally, $50 million of the deal is deferred to 2035-2039 where he’ll get $10 million payouts per year. That’s a lot of cash and a lot of moving parts but Sale is still an effective pitcher. Assuming he bounces back in 2020 and beyond, he has elite ace stuff which the Rangers could use.

Nathan Eovaldi: 5.99 ERA, 5.90 FIP, -0.3 fWAR

Owed $51 million through 2022

Eovaldi would be the other pitcher Boston might try to deal for financial purposes. He’ll be 30 at the start of next season and is coming off an abysmal 2019 campaign. Eovaldi split time between the bullpen and the rotation posting a 5.99 ERA and 5.90 FIP. He dealt with injury a lot of the season which no doubt contributed to his struggles but he’s never really grabbed a rotation spot and cemented himself as a top half starter. Owed $17 million per year for the next three seasons, Boston wouldn’t be looking to eat some of this money in a trade because it isn’t significant enough money to get them below the tax threshold. Rather, the Rangers would probably be trying to net some prospects in exchange for taking on the Eovaldi deal and hoping he finds his 2018 form which was pretty solid.

Is There a Deal to Be Made?

With JD Martinez opting into the remainder of his contract with the Red Sox, Spotrac has Boston sitting with a payroll of $214,946,428 including arbitration projections for guys like Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. Their financial status sits them $10,783,333 above the tax line according to Spotrac. They aren’t guaranteed to make deals but having missed the playoffs with a bloated payroll last year, Boston will be looking to reshuffle and build a more sustainable future. Mookie Betts could be a guy that gets dealt but that likelihood looks slim with him adamant he wants to hit free agency at the end of next season. Perhaps they would be open to moving one of these guys but the Rangers need to be certain the move improves the rotation. They shouldn’t be in the business of taking on money for risky prospects anymore. That for me means that acquiring Eovaldi makes no sense. However, Sale or Price, I could be onboard with in the right deal.

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