Dumping Corey Seager on the Yankees is the dream, but Rangers could get more by shipping them Josh Jung

The Texas Rangers are doing everything they can to see if they can get out from under Corey Seager's contract. The New York Yankees might be their best bet to dump Seager, but there's a different trade to be made with the Yankees that could give the Rangers an even greater return. The catch is that they can't do both.

One of New York's greatest needs, if not the greatest need, is an upgrade at third base. Ryan McMahon, their incumbent, saw his defense fall off at the same time as his performance at the plate sank to the dregs of the league. The thought behind their rumored interest in Seager is that he could slide over to the hot corner and solve the issue, but Josh Jung might be a better answer.

Trading Jung might strangely be more beneficial for Texas, too, for more than one reason.

The Rangers would be better off trading Josh Jung, not Corey Seager, to the Yankees

The first and most important part comes down to leverage. The motivation behind trading Seager is primarily financial, which means the Yankees have the upper hand by demanding more and more concessions from the Rangers the more salary they take on. This wouldn't be a direct, one-to-one negotiation, either. Seager has a full no-trade clause by virtue of his 10-5 rights. That means he could demand certain perks from the Yankees, such as an extension tacked on to the end of his contract in order to waive his veto power. If New York were to acquiesce, they'd then make the Rangers pay.

Even with that in mind, there are issues with what the Yankees may offer in return for Seager. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News proposed a return package of left-handed starting pitcher Ryan Weathers, infielder Anthony Volpe, and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton coming back to Arlington.

It's a realistic offering, and there are merits to this return, but there are also issues. Stanton is a greater injury risk than Seager, would clog the DH spot if healthy, and will cost the club $25 million between his 2027 salary and the buyout for his 2028 option. Throw in a projected $3.1 million for Weathers in arbitration and $4 million for Volpe, and Texas isn't actually saving much in the short term.

In addition to Stanton being a clunky fit, Volpe isn't a player the Rangers need. Yes, he could be a change-of-scenery candidate and a potential option at second base, while also being able to serve as a placeholder at shortstop until Sebastian Walcott is ready, but he's been a subpar hitter for years and can be streaky in the field. He's not a needle mover.

Then there's Weathers, who is a very good pitcher when healthy, but that is not very often. He made 25 starts and threw 137 1/3 innings, both career highs. Prior to 2026, Weathers had never logged more than 94 2/3 frames in a single season.

The Rangers need to start thinking about the future of their rotation. Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi are both on the trade block, but even if they stick around, they'll join MacKenzie Gore in free agency next winter. Texas is not going to want to have to replace three-fifths of the starting rotation in one fell swoop. Weathers is a free agent after the 2028 season, so he'd help for one year, temporarily mitigating the need.

But if the Rangers offered up Jung, a cheap player with two years of team control, the leverage pendulum swings back in their favor. On top of that, Jung's .299/.365/.462 line gives New York the kind of contact-oriented bat it covets to balance its powerful, but whiff-heavy lineup.

In this case, Texas can demand that the Yankees send back right-handed starter Will Warren. Warren's stuff might be a hair below Weathers', but he's durable, and his 3.92 ERA over 156 innings pegs him firmly as a solid mid-rotation starter. He's under team control through 2030 and doesn't hit arbitration until next season. He'd solve part of the impending rotation need now and for years to come.

Oddly, this pivot might give the Rangers more financial freedom than dumping Seager. Jung is predicted to make $5.2 million in arbitration, so Texas would save about $4 million in the trade. There's not a significant difference between that and the savings they'd get in 2027 from dealing Seager for that Stanton-Weathers-Volpe package.

Now, Seager has four more years after 2027 on his contract, and that's where it might seem like the Rangers are losing by trading Jung. However, if you factor in the savings of having Warren in the rotation versus paying for a replacement starter on the free-agent market, the gap is narrowed considerably. Since the Rangers have the upper hand in negotiations, they might be able to get the Yankees to add a prospect as a kicker.

Finally, this would allow Seager to stick around Arlington for another year, and if he has a healthier and more consistent 2027, giving the Rangers the chance to revisit trade talks next offseason, hopefully with a more valuable asset to dangle.

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