Texas Rangers: Playing the “what if” game with the 2021 season

Texas Rangers “What if” 3: What if Joey Gallo wasn’t traded to the Yankees?

Of course we’re thinking about this.

In reality, we know the Rangers did in fact trade Joey Gallo to the Yankees for four prospects, all of whom greatly improved the farm system and are setting a nice foundation for Texas to build on.

One of the prospects, Glenn Otto, is already making an impact at the big league level. Overall, while the trade stung initially, I believe the package was solid and the Rangers got good value. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the future betterment of the team.

It also doesn’t help that the Rangers and Gallo were pretty far apart on a contract extension, with Gallo believing he was worthy of a huge payday, while the team saw him more as a Nick Castellanos-type.

Ultimately, if an extension wasn’t in the cards, it was right to trade him. And he can return to Arlington as a free agent in 2023.

Maybe the Rangers didn’t have to trade Gallo to the Yankees per se, but keeping him wouldn’t have added much value to an already lost season. Better to get the prospects. You’ll thank Texas later.