Texas Rangers: Five trade targets remaining this offseason

The offseason is starting to wind down and the Texas Rangers are running low on options if they want to make an impact upgrade before the 2020 season.

For most fans, if they knew they would reach the end of January and none of Marcell Ozuna, Starling Marte, Anthony Rendon, Josh Donaldson or Nick Castellanos would be Texas Rangers, they likely would have expressed some disappointment. That’s not to say the club have not made significant additions. Robinson Chirinos and Todd Frazier represent significant upgrades at their spots from 2019 while the rotation has seen three quality pitchers inserted that gives Texas one of the better rotations in baseball. However, many still want Texas to make the big splash we all expected at the start of the season. If the Rangers want to make a significant addition before the season starts, here are five potential targets to consider…

1B Josh Bell (Pittsburgh Pirates)

On Monday, the Pirates dealt a rumored Rangers target Starling Marte to the Diamondbacks, another step on the strip it to the bolts rebuild the new front office seems to be embarking on. If that’s the case, Texas could give Pittsburgh a call and see if this rebuild could lead them to parting ways with All-Star Josh Bell. The 27-year old had a breakout season in 2019 emerging as one of the better power hitters in baseball.

Under team control for three more seasons, Bell doesn’t quite fit the timeline of a Pirates rebuild that is sure to take a couple of seasons at minimum. Additionally, from the Pirates perspective, Bell’s value has probably never been higher and capitalizing on his career year may not be a bad idea in terms of a return.

For Texas, Bell would be the offensive upgrade at first base that the club is looking for with questions about Ronald Guzman’s long-term value starting to arise. Bell, defensively, was poor at first base in 2019 posting a -16.4 UZR/150 in over 1100 innings. That raises some concern that he is best set up to be a DH in the long term but the Rangers were willing to take a chance on moving Nick Castellanos to first base. Maybe they feel they have a better way to develop the glove. One thing is for sure, the switch hitters .277 average, .936 OPS and 37 home runs last season would have made him a formidable partner for Joey Gallo in the heart of the order.

As far as what Texas would have to give up, it would require some significant prospects. But perhaps not to the level that it took Arizona to pry Marte from the Pirates which included to of their Top 10 prospects per Baseball America. Marte plays a more premium position and has a better track record of production whereas Bell is a gamble that 2019 is where his future lies rather than an oddity.

1B/OF Trey Mancini (Baltimore Orioles)

Like Bell, Mancini would represent a legitimate upgrade at first base for the Rangers and works as a long-term option. Mancini, 27, currently plays for a rebuilding Baltimore Orioles club that is set to see their return to competition take up the majority of his remaining team control which won’t see him hit free agency until after the 2022 season.

Unlike Bell, the Orioles slugger could be a defensive plus at first base finishing the 2019 season with a 6.5 UZR/150 in just under 450 innings at the position. He spent most of last season in right field for the O’s but with Joey Gallo locked in there for the foreseeable future, it would make sense for Mancini to slot in at first base long-term.

His bat was excellent last year hitting .291 with an .899 OPS and 35 homers while finishing the year with a 3.6 fWAR. That’s with his defensive being a detracting factor in his value because the majority of his time came in right where he was a defensive negative. He’s a right-handed bat, that like Bell, would compliment Joey Gallo very nicely in the heart of the Rangers order.

He would likely come at a bit of a premium like Bell, as he is fresh off his career best year. He also is one of the few marketable assets that the Orioles have meaning they will want to squeeze every bit of value possible out of any trade. He would take some top prospects but the upgrade could help the Rangers continue their push to being a competitive, playoff contending team.

3B Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs)

Of the players on the list, the most notable, and most valuable, is Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs. Bryant, for the majority of the offseason, has been the highest profile player on the reported trade block until Nolan Arenado’s name crept up towards the end of December. A former NL MVP, the Cubs want to limit payroll growth and Bryant, who is nearing free agency, is an asset they want to capitalize on now.

Any deal for Bryant will rely on his current service time grievance against the Cubs which could drop his remaining years of team control from two years to just one. In fact, that has been the hold up all offseason and once that’s settled, it seems likely for Bryant’s market to move quickly. The 28-year old rebounded in 2019 after a string of injuries and finished the year with a .282 average, .902 OPS and 31 homers for the NL side of Chicago.

Bryant would be the star at third base many fans wanted Texas to find this offseason and would be a big name to have in the lineup as they enter Globe Life Field. He’s not an elite defender at third but holds his own with his bat more than making up the difference. He also has some experience in the outfield and at first base adding to his versatility. If the Rangers added KB, it would likely mean Frazier going across the diamond to play first, splitting time some with Ronald Guzman who, while being better defensively, doesn’t produce at the plate like Frazier has in recent years.

If the first two names on the list were expensive in terms of prospect returns, Bryant would mean emptying out the bank account. He’s sure to draw interest from a number of teams looking to contend in 2020 driving up his price and he has a much better track record than either Bell or Mancini including that MVP mentioned above. It would probably mean one of top prospects Josh Jung or Sam Huff plus a number of other highly touted prospects. For what will be likely two years of control, it’s a steep price to pay, but it might be worth the gamble.

OF/3B Nick Senzel (Cincinnati Reds)

Nick Senzel is an off-the-wall candidate that has popped up since the Reds signed heavily linked Rangers target Nick Castellanos. Cincy possesses an overcrowded outfield and Senzel has been rumored all offseason as the centerpiece of a potential trade for Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians. While that moves look unlikely, Senzel still has been tossed around as a player the Reds could potentially move this offseason.

The former 2nd overall pick made his big league debut in 2019 and played in 104 games for Cincinnati. Formerly the organization’s top prospect, Senzel hit .256 with a .742 OPS and 12 homers as a 24-year old. Underwhelming results but not poor by any means for the young outfielder.

His problem in Cincy could arise regarding playing time though with the Reds looking to make a legitimate push in 2020 and lacking a place to play him regularly. His value is already down from where it was prior to 2019 and if he plays in spurts, it could hurt his production and in turn value similarly to Jurickson Profar when he was with the Rangers. For Texas, he would be another utility type player but one who has legitimate star potential. He played in center field for the Reds last season, a spot where Texas lack a convincing option with Danny Santana looking the likely starter despite poor defensive metrics. And even if the club wants to roll with Santana in center, Senzel came up as a third baseman and looks more than capable of playing there long-term.

If Texas did go after Senzel, the price is hard to gauge. He was earmarked to be the center of a trade for Lindor, one of the best players in baseball, but there’s a reason that deal didn’t get done. With his ability to play third, it could mean the Rangers would give up top prospect Josh Jung but are the Reds, a team looking to win now, that interested in a minor league third baseman, albeit one that could hit the majors in the next couple of seasons? Possibly. As a lower revenue team, Jung would give them a utility option on the cheap for a long-time. But so would Senzel. If the Reds liked Jung it would probably mean Texas parts way with some of their near-big league pitching talent as well. This is a tricky one to figure out but if the Rangers want to plan for the future, Senzel could be a cornerstone piece of their team.