Explaining Rangers’ Recent Absence from Trade Deadline Candidates List

The Texas Rangers hope to be buyers at the MLB trade deadline but at least one list leaves what they have in limbo.

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers spent Wednesday trying to assess the damage from their worst loss of the season after falling, 12-2, to the Minnesota Twins.

Three games under .500, the World Cup offered Texas a chance to take a break on an odd day and try to figure out how to turn things around. A week ago, the Rangers were .500 for the first time in more than a month. Since then, they’ve lost four of their last five.

On Wednesday, ESPN released its Top 100 trade candidates list. It’s a yearly rite of passage now. Only, there was one thing missing — the Rangers. Not a single current Rangers player was listed among its Top 100 trade candidates. Not Corey Seager. Not Jacob deGrom. Not Nathan Eovaldi. No one. So, what gives?

Trying to Explain Rangers’ Top 100 Absence

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Part of the absence could be directed at where the Rangers are entering Thursday’s action. While Texas is 35-38, the Rangers are close to the lead in the AL West and even closer to the final wild card berth. The absence of players like deGrom, Eovaldi and Seager could speak to the belief Texas has that it can still contend and isn’t ready to fold the tent.

When it comes to those players, money is a factor, too. Seager, deGrom and Eovaldi are among the team’s three highest-paid players. Seager will have missed a month to the IL once he returns from concussion protocol and his value is lower than normal due to his slump. All three have at least one year left on their deals. Most teams would see them as untradeable — unless the Rangers are engaging in a fire sale, and there’s no proof of that yet.

It may also be an acknowledgement of how president of baseball operations as handled the last three trade deadlines. He has rarely traded Major League talent for other Major League talent, choosing to deal prospects instead.

For instance, in 2023 he acquired pitchers Aroldis Chapman, Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton for the World Series run and the only MLB ready players he gave up were Cole Ragans and John King.

In 2024 he acquired reliever Andrew Chafin and gave up two prospects. The same with his deals at last year’s deadline.

Young has been averse to breaking up the MLB roster at the deadline, but it’s come at the expense of his farm system, which is talented but not at the highest end of the league.

Rangers players were left off the list, for now, for several reasons. But the biggest is the team’s inability to figure out where it’s going. Once it does, that list could change for the better — or for the worse.