Grading reader-submitted trade proposals for the Texas Rangers

The people have spoken! You, the Texas Rangers fans and loyal readers of our site, that is.

With the off-season in full swing, and with the Rangers expected to be active once again in pursuing upgrades this winter, the time has come for fans to dream of player movement.

This week, we asked fans on Twitter to submit hypothetical, yet realistic trade proposals that they’d like to see Texas pursue in the coming months. And we received many intriguing responses! While we won’t be able to get to all them, we can definitely circle back again at a later point.

So without further ado, let’s grade your trades!

Grading fan-submitted Texas Rangers trade proposals for Corbin Burnes

Trade #1

Submitted by @codyearley

Wow. This one’s a blockbuster. Burnes will certainly require a ransom to acquire from the Brewers, given that’s he one of the game’s elite, and this qualifies as such. Jack Leiter, Aaron Zavala and Justin Foscue are all top-ten Rangers prospects, while Tekoah Roby and Zak Kent are rising stars in the system.

It doesn’t feel like Milwaukee would pull the trigger on a Burnes unless they could coup someone like Leiter, an upper-echelon pitching prospect, so on that level, this trade does make sense. The Rangers also have Brock Porter, Kumar Rocker and Cole Winn, so in terms of depth, Texas could theoretically deal from this position. Theoretically.

I would hate to deal a budding star in Aaron Zavala, but let’s remember who the Rangers are acquiring here: an ace. A true alpha. When’s the last time the Rangers had one of those on their staff?

Overall, there’s sticker shock here, but I actually don’t hate this trade.

Grade: C+/B-

Trade #2

Submitted by @RustyCollier

On the surface, this feels lighter than the previous package offered. You can make the argument for Owen White as the top pitching prospect in the Rangers’ system, and he should only be dealt if a guy like Corbin Burnes is coming back. But he’s the best player in this deal by a considerable margin.

Justin Foscue is a fine prospect and a long-speculated trade asset, but the drop-off to Foscue from White is steep. Josh Smith’s value unfortunately took a tumble after struggling in his big league debut this season, while Tekoah Roby is a talented arm with a high ceiling, but not nearly that of Owen White’s.

Overall, this package feels too light for Corbin Burnes. But it’s at least a start.

Grade: C-

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.