The Texas Rangers may be sitting in a spot that usually invites deadline questions, but there’s a catch that makes a sell-off look a lot less practical: they don’t really have the kind of trade chips that move the market.
That’s the underlying wrinkle in ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel’s recent ranking of the top 2026 MLB trade deadline candidates, a list that ran 100 players deep and included five possible Rangers fits, among them Twins center fielder Byron Buxton. Not one current Texas player made the cut. And that matters.
Texas is tied for first in the AL West with the Seattle Mariners, but the position doesn’t feel especially sturdy right now. Wyatt Langford is back on the IL with a sore hamstring and won’t return until after the All-Star break, and Corey Seager is headed to the injured list again as well.
The club had been rolling with a six-game winning streak before MacKenzie Gore’s rough outing brought that run to a halt. As one report from the game put it: “MacKenzie Gore is having one of those innings that he has.
It's 5-0 Cleveland in second. Guardians scored first run on a squeeze play that Gore botched, scored second on a wild pitch, score the next three on a homer.”
So yes, the temptation is there to wonder whether selling would be the cleanest path if the Rangers can’t keep this going. But Chris Young has a problem: there isn’t much on the roster that would bring back a meaningful return.
That’s the key reason a deadline teardown may not make sense. Texas does have talent, but a lot of the names that would interest other teams are either older, locked into big multi-year deals, or both.
Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Corey Seager all carry real value in a vacuum, but deadline buyers tend to pay up for rentals. These aren’t rental pieces.
They’re expensive commitments stretching beyond 2026, which makes a move now far less lucrative.
If the Rangers do end up dealing, the list of realistic candidates is thin. Joc Pederson and Jake Burger are the names that stand out, and both have put together solid offensive seasons.
Even then, Texas probably wouldn’t be in line for a major haul. In Pederson’s case, the Rangers would likely need to cover a significant chunk of what’s left on his contract just to get anything worthwhile back.
Young has already shown he’s willing to make bold moves, landing Brandon Nimmo and MacKenzie Gore in the offseason. So if Texas is still in the playoff mix as the deadline gets closer, the expectation is that he’ll try to add rather than subtract. And with this roster, that may be the only path that makes much sense.
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Luis Arraez Is Already Being Tied To One Trade Landing Spot
With the Giants looking increasingly like deadline sellers, Luis Arraez has started to pop up in early trade speculation, and the fit is obvious enough to make the rounds quickly. The veteran second baseman is on an expiring contract, hes been productive again at the plate, and his improved work in the field only adds to the appeal for teams trying to stabilize the middle infield without giving up too much offense.
For Texas, the timing makes the rumor feel more practical than speculative. The Rangers have shuffled through six different players at second base, with Nicky Lopez getting the recent starts there, so the position has remained unsettled while the lineup searches for consistency. Arraez would give them a very different look if they decided to chase him, but for now it remains the kind of deadline fit that sounds clean on paper and could become much more real depending on what San Francisco decides to do next. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Catcher Crunch Is About To Test Performance Vs Payroll
The Rangers catcher picture has become one of the more complicated roster calls on the board as they sort through Danny Jansen, Kyle Higashioka and Elias Diaz, with the expectation that only two can stay in the mix. Jansens track record and contract situation give the club reason to keep him in the conversation, while Higashioka has carved out real value through the way he works with the pitching staff, even if the glove has not always been spotless.
Elias Diaz has made the decision harder by doing the most with his chances, bringing the kind of offensive and defensive efficiency that stands out in limited playing time. So the Rangers are left balancing recent performance against payroll realities and past commitments, with Jansens recovery adding another layer to a call that could shape how they handle the position going forward. [Read more 🡒]