Texas Rangers Trade Deadline Rumors: A familiar pitching foe could be joining the Rangers

We are only a few days away from the MLB Trade Deadline and Ranger fans are desperate to see them make a trade. With the recent news that Shohei Ohtani is staying put, a lot of teams are starting to scramble and go to their plan B. I'm not saying the Rangers were interested in him but it's caused them to reconsider who they want to trade for.

There is one pitcher that would really fit into the Rangers title contention window and that is Mets starting pitcher Justin Verlander. He is one of the best pitchers that our generation has watched in the major leagues. He has two World Series Rings and has a lot of playoff experience which should get the Rangers' attention. If they want a shot at winning the World Series, he would be a good option to go out and get.

In a recent article by Mark Feinsand, he talked about how Verlanders refused Texas back in the offseason, but he also quotes an executive who said this about Verlander's thoughts about the Rangers,

Maybe that’s changed with their performance

The one thing that the Rangers are probably concerned about trading for him is the massive two-year $86,666,666 contract he signed this offseason. That is a huge chunk of change that the Rangers would be taking on. The Mets recently traded David Robertson so it seems like the Mets are selling at the deadline this season.

The Rangers have been in a market for a starting pitcher after their ace Jacob DeGrom went down with Tommy John Surgery at the beginning of the season. Dane Dunning, Andrew Heaney, and Martin Perez have recently been struggling as starters and Verlander can bring some consistency and allow them to move Dunning or Heaney into the bullpen for the remainder of the season.

One thing I know that the Rangers would ask the New York Mets to do is take on half of that contract. The Rangers can't take on Verlander's full deal by itself. However, the Mets would probably want a king's ransom package back that would start with Evan Carter so I don't know that the Rangers would trade for him.

In conclusion, I think the Rangers are going to stay from Verlander again. That massive contract, his age, and the fact the Mets will milk the Ranger's farm system are reasons I could see the Rangers looking at other options. Could the Rangers look at Jordan Hicks and Jordan Montgomery instead? We won't know what their plans are until they execute a trade.