Rangers Rumors: MLB insider fails to link Texas to key trade candidates

The Texas Rangers have struggled a bit as of late, falling to 37-41 on the season and dropping to third place in the AL West, 6.5 games back of the first-place Seattle Mariners. The defending World Series champions are also 5.5 games out of the Wild Card race.

But as the trade deadline approaches, there are areas of the roster that the reigning champs could look to improve, namely the bullpen and offense. Texas is currently without Josh Jung on the offensive side, and they could certainly look to add a reliever to their mix.

Interestingly enough, however, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com left them out of his recent article discussing the best fits for trade candidates, not linking Texas to any of them.

Rangers not linked to any top trade candidates, per MLB insider

This is certainly strange, as the Rangers are still defending their title and are also within striking distance in both the AL West and Wild Card races. Perhaps Feinsand thinks they may end up being sellers, which is possible if Texas is unable to turn things around. But there is still a lot of talent on the Rangers' roster, so throwing in the towel doesn't seem like an option.

Max Scherzer has returned, and Jacob deGrom shouldn't be too far behind, as he is expected to return in early August. That should give the Rangers a significant boost as they try to find their footing and get themselves back into the race.

If they're shopping for a reliever, it's possible that they could reunite with Matt Moore, who pitched in Texas in 2018 and again in 2022. They could also potentially look into adding an offensive piece such as Miguel Andujar or Paul DeJong, both of whom could play some third base in the event the injury troubles in the infield persist.

Though it all depends on how the Rangers perform over the next four weeks, it's still bizarre to see them not among key buyers who plan to contend. The Astros just surged back to relevancy and dug themselves out of a much bigger hole. Texas has reinforcements on the way and are arguably in a better position.

Perhaps many believe the Rangers will bank on their players returning from injury to patch up their deficiencies? Either way, not linking them to any outside options feels misguided.