Rangers Insider drops bombshell trade suggestion that the team must consider

As the Rangers enter the biggest series of the season thus far, with the Seattle Mariners coming to town for a four-game set, they appear to be all-in buyers. But if things go sideways in the next week, they could also find themselves in the sellers' market.

Rangers beat writer and insider Evan Grant has come out of nowhere and suggested that, if the worst should happen, the organization should trade their best reliever and All-Star closer, Jacob Latz. Grant is about as level-headed and fair as baseball writers come, so for him to be so fatalistic and suggest this option, it took us by surprise.

Rangers insider Evan Grant thinks the team should consider trading Jacob Latz if the next week goes poorly

Grant's argument to trade Latz is fairly straightforward; he is the best reliever in the American League, and his value has skyrocketed over the last three months since he became a steamroller closer. A closer who can potentially give you two-inning saves should the need arise. He's a guy who could also slide into the back end of a starting rotation and shore up a staff. There are many reasons why Latz would be an attractive trade option.

Don't forget that he is still under a very club-friendly deal that makes him controllable through the 2030 season, when he will turn 35 years old. The Rangers could get a king's ransom from a closer-needy team at the deadline. They could fetch several high minor league prospects or even some proven, young major leaguers in a deal.

To be clear, things would have to have gone really sideways for this to become a reality. We're talking wheels have come shootin' off, and the Rangers are careening from one guardrail to the other. It would most likely mean that they have been swept by the Mariners this weekend, and then continue to lose games against the Rays and Astros before the deadline hits on August 3.

It would indicate that the Rangers have punted on the 2026 season and are set to sell off their most tradeable asset not named Wyatt Langford. It's not something that you really want to think about as you sit atop your division, but at 51-51 with a .5-game division lead and a -30 run differential isn't what you would call a serious contender's resume.

Chris Young and his team are in a strange predicament this year where they have to be aggressively looking to improve the team with the deadline just over a week away, but also be ready to pivot very quickly should things go south.

Right now, we would not consider trading Latz, for sure. But if the team underperforms against the Mariners and gets swept or loses three of 4, then you have to start looking at the possibility a little more decisively. Let's hope the best version of the team shows up this weekend and over the next week, and these types of doomsday scenarios are put to rest for 2026.

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