Texas Rangers: 3 takeaways from the massive Joey Gallo trade to NYY

Texas Rangers trade takeaway: GM Chris Young has a plan

Look, I know it’s hard to see this given the sadness of Joey Gallo’s departure. But it’s time to acknowledge that Chris Young has a plan. And that plan is to accrue as much young talent as possible to be well positioned for the future.

In acquiring Ezequiel Duran, the Yankees’ No. 15 prospect, along with RHP Glen Otto, SS Josh Smith, and INF Trevor Hauver, the Rangers added a significant amount of young talent in one sitting.

Sure, no Jasson Dominguez, no Clarke Schmidt, no Deivi Garcia or Estevan Florial. No doubt we would’ve wanted Texas to secure one of those names. But with the organization running thin on position players, the depth quotient increases dramatically, setting themselves up well for the future by ensuring they’ve got more darts to throw.

Quantity over quality seemed to be the strategy here, and time will tell whether that pays off. My guess would be this is a prudent strategy, since the Rangers’ periods of contention historically don’t last long (1996-99, 2009-16 with some bad years in between).

Would you rather contend in short bursts, or set yourself up for a prosperous future with a farm system that keeps on giving? We want things to be different this time around.

Remember as well that the Rangers still have to trade Ian Kennedy and Kyle Gibson. They also have a high pick next year. This rebuild has to be done the right way for long term success, and it looks like Chris Young is more than committed to going that route. That means aches and pains along the way, but Young is an intelligent man running a big league front office and more than qualified to do so.

Let’s trust the man that brought us Jack Leiter.