Grading reader-submitted trade proposals for the Texas Rangers

Grading fan-submitted Texas Rangers trade proposals for Pablo Lopez

Trade #1

Submitted by @lanceluther83

Pablo Lopez makes a lot of sense for the Texas Rangers. He’s a solid rotation cog with years of team control, and he would cost less to acquire than say, Corbin Burnes. And rumor has it the Marlins could be willing to deal him for offense this winter.

Looking at this trade, it’s hard not to view it as a win-win for both sides. Leody Taveras and Ezequiel Duran have solid upside at their young ages, and could become core pieces for the Marlins as they look to keep building.

And while trading Aaron Zavala would be a tough pill to swallow, acquiring controllable pitching costs a fortune these days. Pablo Lopez is the type of acquisition for both now and later in upgrading the Texas Rangers’ starting rotation.

Grade: B+

Trade #2

Submitted by @jptway50

This one seems like a pretty steep price for the Rangers to pay for Lopez.

First off, Acuna and Foscue are both top-ten prospects in Texas’ minor-league system. A package with that caliber of talent seems more commensurate with an ace, while meaning no disrespect to Lopez.

The Marlins also seem to want MLB-ready players in exchange for their pitching, as evidenced by the trade they nearly made with the Yankees over the summer for Gleyber Torres. The only MLB-ready player involved on the Marlins’ end of this exchange would be Bubba Thompson. And while he’s blazing fast, it’s unclear how much consistent offense he can provide with his bat.

In general, this trade doesn’t quite align for the Marlins in terms of what they’re looking for, while also giving up a lot in prospect capital on the Rangers’ end for a pitcher who isn’t an ace.

Grade: D+/C-

*Bonus* Trade #3

Submitted by @RangersFan0717

If this is the Rangers’ equivalent of the aforementioned hypothetical Yankees-Marlins swap involving Gleyber Torres and Pablo Lopez, it… may actually work!

A simple mano-a-mano exchange that addresses a weakness on each team, Garcia for Lopez  helps both the Rangers and Marlins. Of course, the difference is that the Marlins have the pitching depth to account for losing Lopez, while Texas does not for Garcia in their outfield with Evan Carter and Aaron Zavala both at least a year away from being MLB-ready. The Rangers would likely supplement with a free-agent outfielder if they were to make this trade.

But on the flip side, an outfielder is cheaper to sign than Jacob deGrom or Carlos Rodon… unless we’re talking Aaron Judge, which we shouldn’t be, to set expectations.

Overall, this trade makes sense in a vacuum, but maybe would need more hashing out in reality.

Grade: B

Grading fan-submitted Texas Rangers trade proposals for Brandon Woodruff

Trade #1

Submitted by: @KingofBandits14

Brandon Woodruff is the Brewers’ second starter behind Corbin Burnes but would probably be many staffs’ ace. But the Rangers could make a deal for Woodruff without including Brock Porter.

Porter was an absolute draft heist for the Texas Rangers in 2022, falling to the fourth-round despite being the best high school pitcher in the class and a projected first-rounder. He’s got immense upside and the Rangers should do everything in their power to keep him around.

Dealing Duran, Weems and Wendzel would be harmless, so Zavala would be required to spice up this deal and another high-level pitching prospect likely would be part of the trade as well. But I am avidly opposed to trading Porter, so this is a no from me, dog.

Grade: C-

Trade #2

Submitted by: @lanceluther83

There’s a lot of talent moving from the Texas Rangers to the Brewers in this proposal. Woodruff is not quite Burnes, but Milwaukee is right for asking for a lot in return anyway.

Sam Huff, despite his prodigious power, is actually quite expendable for the Rangers given that they have Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver at catcher at the big league level. Foscue is also a sensible trade chip, so this comes down to Owen White and Cole Winn.

Winn actually feels expendable too, surprisingly, given the Rangers’ newly-rebuilt pitching prospect depth that features frontline guys like Jack Leiter, Brock Porter, Kumar Rocker and White. So I’d be comfortable including Winn in this trade.

With respect to White, I stand by the earlier statement of being unwilling to trade him unless the Rangers can acquire Corbin Burnes or someone of the like. Perhaps the Brewers can be lured by Dustin Harris, Luisangel Acuna or even Aaron Zavala here.

Grade: B-/B

Grading other fan-submitted Texas Rangers trade proposals

Trade #1

Submitted by @TheEarl4435

Rockies receive: OF Aaron Zavala, RHP Glenn Otto, 2B Luisangel Acuna, INF Ezequiel Duran, INF/OF Josh Smith, SS Maximo Acosta

Rangers receive: 3B/OF Kris Bryant, RHP Daniel Bard

To say this is outside the box might be understating things. This swap between the Rockies and Rangers makes little sense on Texas’ end.

Bryant and Bard are signed to long-term deals that would probably hamper the Rangers’ ability to make other upgrades this winter. The Rockies better be sending some cash here if they want the haul this fan is proposing, because otherwise Texas is taking on a lot of money here while also surrendering gobs of talent.

In theory, Bryant and Bard address areas of weakness for the Texas Rangers in the outfield and pitching staff, respectively, but this certainly isn’t the most economical way to upgrade by any means. Hard pass on this deal.

Grade: D

Trade #2

Submitted by: @ian_graham24

Pirates receive: SS Danyer Cueva, 2B Luisangel Acuna, 2B Ezequiel Duran, C Sam Huff, OF Leody Taveras

Rangers receive: OF Bryan Reynolds

The Pirates’ willingness to trade All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds has been a mystery for a few years now. But if it were going to happen, it won’t be to Texas in this package.

Reynolds makes a ton of sense for the Rangers, giving them an All-Star outfielder right now to pair with Adolis Garcia. But Pittsburgh will surely want star power in prospect form to match what they’d be giving up in Reynolds. Leody Taveras makes good sense as a placeholder for the Pirates here, and Sam Huff gives the Pirates instant power at the plate, but I’d look for the Pirates to ask for pitching here given their position player depth. Cole Winn, perhaps?

Luisangel Acuna is a good prospect, to be sure, but how valuable would Danyer Cueva be to the Pirates? Probably not very. Ditto Duran, as the Pirates have similar player types in their middle infield.

There’s a foundation here, but not a deal.

Grade: C-

Conclusion

This was a great exercise and it was fun thinking through potential trades with fans in these different scenarios. One thing we can all agree on here: let’s hope the Texas Rangers make some trades in real life this winter! And let’s do this again soon.