Texas Rangers: Grading the team’s 2021 MLB trade deadline moves

Texas Rangers Trade Grades: Joey Gallo and Joely Rodriguez to the Yankees

Yeah, this one STILL stings.

It wasn’t easy to trade Joey Gallo anywhere, let alone to the Yankees of all places. The All-Star and Gold Glover was the closest thing the Texas Rangers had to a franchise player developed in-house in quite some time.

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It’s clear, though, that both parties didn’t see eye to eye on value, and so it was better to capitalize  on trade value than driving a wedge between both sides. The possibility exists for Gallo to return to Texas as a free agent after the 2022 season.

What the Rangers got for Gallo was a haul. In getting Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith and Trevor Hauver, the organization added 3 top-20 prospects (Duran and Smith were top 10) that can serve as valuable depth as the organization moves forward with a rebuild. That’s how it’s done.

Even the fourth piece, Glenn Otto, is in AAA right now and could be in Arlington before the the end of the season. Talk about immediate impact.

Sure, the return seemed underwhelming at first, but truly take a look at each prospect individually. The numbers are impressive and they all have a chance to become big leaguers.

It definitely took some time to process this trade, but the more I’ve sat on it, the more I’ve warmed up to the return package.

Grade: B+