3 Texas Rangers who'll survive on the roster past the trade deadline, but shouldn't

The Texas Rangers will kick off the second half of the season at home on Friday against one of the best teams in the American League, Detroit Tigers.

Currently, Texas is one game under .500 at 48-49, which is only good for third place in the AL West (8.5 games back) and just outside of the Wild Card race (3.5 games back). Not the best spot to be in but it's not a complete loss.

President of Baseball Operations Chris Young will have a busy couple of weeks deciding what to do at the deadline and make those moves a reality. Whether that is finding a way to stay competitive or offloading salary ahead of 2026. Regardless, moves will be made and some of them will not sit well with fans.

3 Texas Rangers players that will still be on the roster after the trade deadline, but shouldn't be

Ezequiel Duran, INF/OF

The fanbase believes Texas should have parted ways with Duran long ago but nevertheless here he stands. It's understandable due to the versatility he provides but he doesn't do well in the opportunities he is provided.

In 80 at-bats this year, Duran is only hitting .150 with a horrific .225 OBP and .450 OPS. The player that hit 14 homers and drove in 46 runs in a bench role just two years ago, is now down to no longballs and just five RBIs so far in 2025.

Duran is providing very little positive production and Texas would be better off going another route for their bench option. Whether that is Justin Foscue, Blaine Crim or newly-signed Rowdy Tellez.

Michael Helman, OF

This is a weird one because he will eventually get called down or released by Texas and join the list that includes Kevin Pillar and Dallas native Billy McKinney as short-lived major leagues in Arlington.

He's only had four at-bats but can envision him sticking around solely because Alejandro Osuna still isn't fully cut out to be their only reliable outfield option off the bench. The 29-year-old is still yet to record a hit in his four chances but has drawn a walk, stolen a base and scored two runs.

Putting him on this list is a reach because eventually he will get called down to Triple-A but he doesn't serve much purpose even on the 40-man roster when other younger players with higher ceilings exist in Texas's farm system.

Luke Jackson, RHP

This move was questionable from the get-go but in the first month of the season, the 33-year-old reliever was proving all the doubters (including us) wrong.

Despite the tough first outing, Jackson had recorded 8 saves in 9 opportunities in the first month of the season and had only given up 5 runs after his tough Opening Day appearance. Since then, he's been pretty dreadful. In his last 15 games, Jackson has a 4.02 ERA, a 1.52 WHIP, 18 strikeouts, 16 walks and 13 earned runs.

Every outing seems to be getting harder and harder to watch and the Rangers are doing themselves a disservice to have such a weak link in what has been a pretty solid bullpen overall this year.