Rangers Shockingly Named Potential Landing Spot for Marlins Star Ahead of Deadline

The Texas Rangers are in a tough spot with just a few weeks remaining until the 2025 MLB trade deadline.

Entering play on June 30, they are 41-43, putting them nine games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West standings. But, in the AL wild card race, they are only 2.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners, who are currently holding the third and final spot.

At this moment, it is impossible to guess whether the Rangers will be buyers or sellers ahead of the deadline.

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The front office has said they will be looking to add and make a playoff push, but the next two or three weeks will determine their fate.

As things currently stand, they are trending toward being sellers; Baseball Reference gives them only a 23% chance of qualifying for the postseason.

Should Texas sell, they have several players who would garner interest on the trade market, including starting pitchers Tyler Mahle and Patrick Corbin, along with several bullpen arms such as Luke Jackson, Chris Martin and Joby Milner.

Alas, selling isn’t what R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports believes they will do.

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Instead, he believes they could be buyers, aggressive ones at that, listing the Rangers amongst the potential landing spots for Miami Marlins ace, Sandy Alcantara.

With his production improving over the last few weeks as he continues knocking off the rust from Tommy John recovery, he is once again a popular name on the trade market.

“That doesn't necessarily mean that teams will view Alcantara as being on the same level as he was prior to popping his UCL, when he had solidified himself as his generation's workhorse starter, but it does mean his chances of impacting a pennant race are more favorable now than they were in May,” Anderson wrote.

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Texas being mentioned along with the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs is certainly shocking.

The Marlins have set an incredibly high asking price for Alcantara, which teams may be hesitant to meet given his performance thus far.

But even if that price comes down, it is hard to envision the Rangers being able to come close to the asking price given the scarcity of depth in their minor league system.

Sebastian Walcott is their only impact prospect right now and he likely isn’t going anywhere, especially not in exchange for a starting pitcher.

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That has been the team’s strength thus far in 2025.

If Texas is going to buy ahead of the deadline, they could be in the market for another bat and an experienced closer to add to their bullpen.

Should they target a starting pitcher, it would be one who is much more affordable than Alcantara, with Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom under contract beyond 2025 and Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter just getting their Big League careers underway.

For more Rangers news, head over to Rangers On SI.