Should the Texas Rangers Buy or Sell? The Case Just Became Clear

The Texas Rangers only have a few days left to put together their team for the home stretch and the path to what they should do is getting clearer.

Texas Rangers Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters earlier this month that he’s ultra-competitive. He couldn’t see the trade deadline passing without improving the team.

At the time, the Rangers were just under .500. He needed his team to make a case to make moves at the deadline. Even after the Rangers fell to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday the path appears clear whether Young should buy or sell.

Texas remains in the lead in the American League West, albeit a slim lead. That also keeps them in the race for one of the three AL wild card berths should they fall out of the lead.

The Rangers are in contention. They should buy at the trade deadline. On Wednesday, they made it happen.

Making the Case to Buy

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Young traded a talented infield prospect, Angel Arredondo, to the Los Angeles Angels for right-handed pitcher Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe. Silseth addresses the bullpen while O'Hoppe addresses depth at catcher.

For most of the season, the Rangers have been hovering around .500. For the past week, they’ve been above .500 and for a moment they were as far above .500 as they have been all season. As the offense struggled in the first three months of the season, the inability of any other team in the AL West to take control of the race benefited Texas.

The offense feels more cohesive now. The Rangers’ goal was to put together a lineup that got on base more often and fill it with hitters that could do several things. The approach has started to bear fruit. Texas is 12th in on-base percentage at .319. Texas had a .302 on-base percentage last season. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker has the team bunting more than it has in recent years. It’s a “smaller” brand of baseball and it’s had its benefits.

Texas was without Wyatt Langford for more than a month due to injuries and have been without Corey Seager for two months, including all of July. In their absence, the team’s identity has evolved. It’s less reliant on Seager, one of the game’s premier sluggers when healthy. Langford fits the Rangers’ new mold of versatile hitters and has been one of the team’s hottest hitters since he returned.

Josh Jung has evolved into a multi-dimensional hitter. So has Ezequiel Duran, who has finally staked claim to an everyday job. Brandon Nimmo fits into the philosophy perfectly. So do Alejandro Osuna and veteran infielder Nicky Lopez. Joc Pederson has also bounced back into an unconventional leadoff man.

It means Young knows what to target when it comes to hitting. It’s a tough market, especially since the Rangers won’t be able to add much in terms of payroll, even though they are $37 million under the first threshold of the competitive balance tax.

Young also knows the team needs bullpen help. As solid as the staff has been, there are rookies that have never been in the mix of a playoff race. He needs reinforcements and he needs them by Monday, when the trade deadline ends.  

This is not 2023. The Rangers are not one of the best teams in the American League. But they are good enough to make the playoffs and do something. Young’s patience with the changes implemented this offseason have started to pay off.

It’s been enough to put the Rangers in first place. It’s enough to get Young in the buying mood. Now we see what he can deliver.