3 Texas Rangers who have increased their potential trade value

Since May, the Texas Rangers have been playing a better brand of baseball. We’ve entered the month of the June and the team hovers around .500, which is more than could’ve been said about the Rangers at this point last season.

Can Texas keep playing at this level the rest of the way? They certainly can given their talent level. Playing roughly .500 ball isn’t going to make a postseason contender, though the American League hasn’t exactly been a juggernaut either, save for the New York Yankees. Still, counting on the Rangers to make a serious play at October baseball is a fool’s errand in all likelihood.

Should the Texas Rangers continue at their current pace, their best bet is to stand pat at the trade deadline this summer. But in the event things go south, here are a few veterans that could make for attractive bait in negotiations.

3 Texas Rangers who have increased their potential trade values

1. Kole Calhoun

It’s funny how quick things change, even during a season.

At one point, Kole Calhoun was struggling mightily and Rangers fans were calling for his release as the team struggled to get much of anything going. Now, though? He’s this team’s hottest hitter, with a .799 OPS and seven home runs in 143 at-bats this season as of this writing (Tuesday).

Considering where he was not long ago, we’ll happily take Calhoun’s production and hope that he can continue to hit at or near this clip come the rest of June and July. If he does and the Rangers fall off, that would make him a prime trade candidate on his cheap one-year deal for 2022.

3 Texas Rangers who have increased their potential trade values

2. Martin Perez

His ERA stands at 1.60 at the time of this writing (Tuesday), which leads not only the American League, but also all of MLB.

Martin Perez has been elite for the Texas Rangers in 2022, and to say this has been unforeseen would be an understatement. He’s a near-lock to make the All-Star team representing the Rangers in Los Angeles this summer as this season’s (better) version of Kyle Gibson.

Perez is yet another veteran whom the Texas Rangers have managed to resurrect later in his career, and with his similarly cheap one-year deal for 2022, could also become attractive trade bait should the team fall south in the summer months.