The surprising position of need for the Texas Rangers as the deadline draws near

The Texas Rangers are now back home after a humbling sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres. The deadline is a little over a day away and Chris Young is still making calls trying to improve this roster. One need has popped up in the last week that I am sure Young did not think needed addressing and that is the lineup. The inexperience of key members of the lineup was exposed in San Diego and could hinder this team as it enters into a pennant race these last two months.

The offense has been the one consistent aspect of this team for most of this season. They rank at the top or near the top of several offensive categories. Yet, as the season has went along they have started to get hit by the injury bug. It started with Seager and his thumb injury and now Jonah Heim and his wrist injury. While Seager should be returning shortly, it is still unknown if Heim will be able to return this season and if he does how well he will be able to play. Chris Young over the next day has to consider adding either another catcher or at least another bat to the lineup.

Four Offensive Players the Texas Rangers should consider trading for

Alex Verdugo

The Boston Red Sox outfielder who was brought over from the Dodgers in the Mookie Betts trade is reportedly available according to Chris Catillo and Sean McAdams of Masslive.com. Texas should at least inquire and see what the price would be for Verdugo. Verdugo is in the midst of a season where he is hitting .272, with 7 home runs, 27 doubles, and has a .769 OPS. He has been playing right field for the Red Sox and he comes with another year of control. The Red Sox are still in the wild-card race and so it is unknown what their asking price would be, but Verdugo is a player that would bring previous postseason experience to Arlington if they traded for him.

Teoscar Hernandez

The Seattle Mariners acquired Hernandez last offseason and he has been somewhat productive for them this season. The 30-year old outfielder has a .238 batting average, 16 home runs, 58 RBIs, and a .696 OPS. He would be a rental for Texas. He does hit with power, but does also strike out a bunch. The price should not be too prohibitive, especially as it seems like Texas is going all-in this season. We posed this question in our trade deadline preview about Seattle and their willingness to trade Paul Sewald and Logan Gilbert to Texas. Would Seattle be willing to make a trade with an interdivisional rival that they will face down the stretch of the season? I don't know and I do think there are better options available for the Rangers

Tommy Pham

Pham is a dream of an immaculate grid player. He made his debut in 2014, but has been a main stay on a roster since 2015. He has already played for six teams in these nine seasons(St. Louis, Tampa Bay, San Diego, Cincinnati, Boston, and the New York Mets). He is about to hit free agency once again. The Mets after making the Max Scherzer trade are also now listening on Pham. GM Billy Eppler is familiar with Texas' farm system and so it would not be surprising to see them hook up on another deal. Pham this season has a .268 batting average, with 10 home runs, 15 doubles, and a .820 OPS. He has been mostly playing left and center field. He would likely slide in perfectly in left field and play some DH as well. Pham being a rental should mean the cost should only be one maybe two prospects. He does come with postseason experience and is also a good defensive outfielder.

Salvador Perez

Kansas City is again having another awful season. They have two really tradeable pieces and those are Salvador Perez and their closer Scott Barlow. Perez is a career Royal who still has two guaranteed seasons and a team option for 2026 left on his contract. The 33-year old still catches a majority of the time, but has also played some first base. Perez is the last tie to the Royals' World Series teams from 2014 and 2015. Texas has to at least entertain this because of the uncertainty of Jonah Heim being able to return this season. It would be a hard pill to swallow for Kansas City, but this is a different front office than the World Series teams and the Rangers do employ Dayton Moore who was the GM from those teams. Kansas City shares a spring training complex with Texas and so would be familiar with Texas' farm system. Perez this season has a .247 batting average. a .719 OPS, and 17 home runs with 44 RBIs. Royals and Rangers having already hooked up on the Aroldis Chapman trade could engage in a Perez trade before the deadline.

There are other players that will be available and I am sure Chris Young and his staff will weigh the cost and what they bring to the team. There is still time left to the 5pm central time deadline on August 1st and many more twists and turns will be made before the deadline is passed.