The Rangers were in first place at the beginning of the week, with a chance to really make a move to solidify themselves in the weakest division in baseball. Then they lost five in a row, including being swept in a three-game series by the only other team in their division worth considering. 

Since the All-Star break, they lost two of three to Altanta—a playoff team. They lost two of three to the White Sox—probably a playoff team, They lost two of three to Tampa Bay—a playoff team. They lost three out of three to Houston—a playoff team. The only team they beat was Seattle, not a playoff team.

This tells you one thing. The Rangers are not a playoff-caliber team, even though they flirted with first place for a while.

Now, they head into today’s 5:00 trade deadline reeling, in second place, 2.5 games back, only a half-game ahead of Seattle, with a sputtering offense, an aging, broken down rotation, and an unreliable bullpen.

What’s broken on this team cannot be fixed by trade deadline deals. And the notion that the Rangers are going to tear it down to the studs and start over is going to be difficult.

Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi have full no-trade contracts and are owed a ton of money on the contracts they have. Not impossible to deal them, but very unlikely. Same with Corey Seager. In addition to his no-trade contract and the large amount of money owed him, a Seager deal has a few other wrinkles. He’s not very good right now. And he’s been injured more than he’s been healthy. 

That kind of leaves Joc Pederson and Jacob Junis as the most likely trade pieces, mainly because they are two people another team would actually want, they are both impeding free agents and won’t cost their new team a ton of money. Another ultra-valuable trade chip is Jacob Latz. He’d actually bring back a nice haul. But most of what the Rangers would be getting back would be prospects. Prospects are as safe as crypto, and about as valuable. Jake Burger would be valuable for other teams, everyone is craving a right-handed bat right now. Ezequiel Duran is a prime trade candidate. He’s having his best season, trade him while his value is the highest.

But, for the fans who say that this team is only 2.5 game out and can still make the playoffs, then the question becomes: can the Rangers get the bat, the two starters, and the three good relief arms they’d need to catch the Astros in the West and have a legitimate shot at winning a playoff series?

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