Texas Rangers trade Isiah Kiner-Falefa to upgrade at catcher

The Texas Rangers have once again made a move in free agency as they have traded fan favorite Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Minnesota Twins.

In the trade, the Rangers will acquire a catcher, Mitch Garver, who hit 31 home runs in 2019. By trading Kiner-Falefa, Texas gains some legitimate depth at catcher, a position that hasn’t been steady in the last couple of seasons. With Garver now a Ranger, he will provide the team with some pop in the lineup and will help you on defense. He’s arguably the best catcher Texas has had since Mike Napoli.

Texas Rangers acquire Mitch Garver from the Minnesota Twins for Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Isiah Kiner-Falefa leaves the Texas Rangers organization to go to Minnesota. During his tenure with the Rangers, he hit .265 with 16 home runs while driving home 118 RBI’s over the course of four seasons. He also won a Gold Glove in the 2020 season. His glove will no doubt be missed in the field, but they’re also acquiring a really good one behind the plate in Garver.

Obviously, we hate to see Kiner-Falefa go, but this is a business, and the Texas Rangers felt like they needed to make this move in order to improve the roster. Catcher was an area of need, especially in the long term, as Jonah Heim and Jose Trevino are both limited in terms of upside. Mitch Garver more than fits that bill. We wish nothing but the best to Kiner-Falefa with Minnesota.

As for Garver, welcome to Texas! We are excited to see what you bring to the team both with the bat and behind the plate mentoring a young pitching staff.

It appears that the Rangers have plenty up their sleeves, we will see what move they decide to make next, but they aren’t done yet.