Report: Texas Rangers Discussing Rougned Odor Trade with Red Sox

With just over an hour left until the MLB Trade Deadline, the Texas Rangers are reportedly trying to offload struggling infielder Rougned Odor.

The Texas Rangers are reportedly looking to move on from struggling infielder Rougned Odor and are looking at a range of possibilities in the trade market prior to Monday afternoon’s deadline. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that Texas has had conversations with the Boston Red Sox about a salary swap that would send Odor to Boston and pitcher Nathan Eovaldi to the Rangers.

Texas looking to offload Odor is no surprise considering his vast underperformance over the past couple of seasons. He’s hitting just .150 this season, a year after hitting .205 in 145 games. Odor has talent, that really has never been the question. But beyond his early seasons in the Majors and a somewhat resurgent 2018 campaign, Odor has never lived up to expectations nor the six year, $49.5 million contract he was given prior to the 2017 season.

The problem with moving Odor is he carries almost no value at this point with his only positive trait the fact that he can be a 30-plus home run second baseman. But considering his on-base percentage and below average defensive metrics, he’s often a liability when he’s out on the field. The Rangers, who look like they might be gearing up for a full scale rebuild seem like they’ve reached the end of their patience with Odor.

Boston is in a somewhat similar position to Texas in that they are in the midst of an organizational reset driven by them trading Mookie Betts this offseason. Now they are looking to shift away Nathan Eovaldi’s hefty contract, a deal with he has yet to live up to since the Red Sox handed him a four-year, $68 million contract after the 2018 season.

Eovaldi posted a 5.99 ERA last season splitting time as a starter and reliever making 23 total appearances. Injuries limited him to under 70 innings though and when Boston went for a quick rebuild starting this year, he was left atop their poor rotation. So far this season Eovaldi has a 4.98 ERA in six starts.

Grant mentions that this deal, if it happened, would involve Texas sending a prospect along with Odor for Eovaldi. Rougned is owed $24 million over the next two years at the end of the 2020 season including a $3 million buyout for 2023. His team option for 2023 is at $13.5 million. Eovaldi is owed $34 million over two seasons after this year meaning he would hit free agency after the 2022 campaign.