Why Rangers Should Have No Untouchable Players at Trade Deadline

The Texas Rangers are careening toward a trade deadline where they shouldn’t be as fixated on who they shouldn’t give up.

Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young did what was asked of him this offseason.

He was asked to trim payroll and get younger. It cost him manager Bruce Bochy but led to the hiring of Skip Schumaker. He two major trades that were supposed to bolster the team’s offense and add ballast to the starting rotation. He remade the bullpen, yet again, on the cheap.

What has it gotten him? To this point, the Rangers (35-39) are four games under .500 entering Friday’s game with the San Diego Padres and while they’re only three games out of the AL West lead it feels like 10 games. Mired in mediocrity since almost the start of the season, Texas can’t shake it.

The next few weeks will determine what the Rangers do at the trade deadline. But this time around, Young shouldn’t worry about contending or pretending. He should deal what needs to be dealt. And no one should be off limits. Here’s why.

The Rangers Shouldn’t Have Sacred Cows

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Young has worked three trade deadlines for the Rangers. In all three years he operated as a buyer, though in 2024 he was far more restrained than he was in 2023 or 2025. But there’s a common thread. He gives up minor league talent to get Major League-ready players to help a playoff drive. That’s what contenders are supposed to do but it comes at a cost.

Texas’ farm system is far less fertile than it was a few years ago. There is talent for sure. But the depth isn’t there. It will become an issue in two years because the young talent that emerged in 2023 is two years away from hitting free agency. That includes Josh Jung, Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran and later acquisitions like Jake Burger.

On the other side is the veteran talent. The Rangers’ top two pitchers — Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi — have one year remaining on their deals. deGrom has a team option in 2028 worth $20 million, but he will be entering his age 40 season.

Shortstop Corey Seager has five years remaining on his 10-year, $325 million deal and is having his worst season along with becoming a more significant injury concern with each passing season.

Young has a team at a crossroads. He also has an owner who is less willing to foot the payroll bill. Plus, there’s an impending labor squabble that seems destined for some kind of work stoppage and, if ownership gets its way, a revamped financial system that may require Young to make hard decisions without getting anything in return.

Whether the Rangers are buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, they have a roster Young must revamp for the long term. What that means in terms of who to trade will be determined. But three years after a championship, one thing is abundantly clear:

No Rangers players should be off limits this year.