Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young (center) watches a “B” game against the Kansas City Royals with chairman & managing partner Ray C. Davis (left) and Neil Leibman, chairman, Rangers Sports Media and Entertainment Company, at the team’s training facility on Monday, March 3, 2025, in Surprise, Ariz.
Smiley N. Pool/Dallas Morning News
One of these days, Chris Young might come up with several reasons to regret trading Angel Arredondo for a serviceable reliever and a backup catcher, but, at the moment, I can’t think of any. Frankly, I couldn’t tell you what the Angels’ interim general manager, John Mozeliak, was thinking. Unless he just liked the name.
Mozeliak told reporters that Arredondo, a 19-year-old Single-A infielder who wasn’t among the Rangers’ top 30 prospects, would probably rank in the Angels’ top 10. An indictment in itself, no? Then MLB Pipeline put Arredondo at 27, hardly the return you’d expect for a pair of controllable, MLB-caliber players.
Anyway, if I had any advice for the Rangers’ president as we count down to Monday’s trade deadline, I’d tell Mozeliak not to do anything else until he calls Young first.
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The deal, which gave the Rangers a head start on most of the other contenders in what’s been a slow-developing trade market, isn’t enough, but it was a shrewd one, especially considering the constraints under which Young is working. Have we mentioned that Ray Davis is, well, cheap? He had Young scale back the payroll this year to avoid paying any luxury taxes. According to Baseball Reference, they come in at $212 million for CBT purposes, which, for the purposes of this column, is at least a No. 3 starter, a closer, a right-handed hitting center fielder and a good mascot under the tax threshold.
The Rangers’ recent run to the top of the West has put Davis in a real conundrum. He’d like to slash even more payroll, starting with Corey Seager’s contract. Only he can’t really do that with the Rangers in first place. I don’t want to say he’s rooting against his own team, but the last time I saw this movie, a couple of Hollywood types dreamed up by Mel Brooks produced a musical called “Springtime for Hitler,” figuring to profit off an opening-night bomb. Their hopes are dashed when, despite all their efforts to the contrary, the show becomes a hit, instead.
The late Zero Mostel would have made a great Ray Davis.
The Rangers’ owner is apparently waiting until the last minute to see if Skip Schumaker’s bunch comes back from Houston in first place. Even if it does, it doesn’t mean he’ll green-light any deals to take on more money.
And the problem with that is, if Mozeliak doesn’t answer, the Rangers are fresh out of material to trade. Their best hope of acquisition, seems to me, is a salary dump. Teams no longer in contention unload contracts they no longer find palatable without expecting much talent in return.
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My extensive research network produced four potential candidates for the back of the bullpen under those parameters: the Marlins’ Pete Fairbanks, Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela, Detroit’s Kenley Jansen and the Angels’ Kirby Yates. Each is owed between $1.5 million (Yates) and $4.6 million (Fairbanks) for the rest of this season. They’re either not under contract for next year, or there’s a club option for ‘27, meaning the financial commitment is limited.
Fairbanks, a former Rangers farmhand, has struggled this year. Barrel rate on his pitches, according to Baseball Savant, is too high. But he still throws 97, and he could give the Rangers a high-leverage arm as a setup man for Jacob Latz. Same with Senzatela, who also throws 97 and has been good for the Rockies, especially away from Coors Field.
Jansen isn’t what he once was, and might not have much left, but his whiff rate is still above average, and, as a veteran, he’s not likely to wilt under playoff pressure.
For my money, and Davis’, I’d check back with Mozeliak about Yates. His chase rate, whiff rate and hard-hit rate are all top tier this season. Plus, the Rangers know him from 2024, when he more or less revived his career.
Would I rather have Mason Miller or Louis Varland or Luke Weaver? Sure. So would any of the contenders. But acquiring any of the above would require strip-mining the top layer of the farm system. Sebastian Walcott and more. Walcott isn’t going anywhere, unless it’s to Arlington to play shortstop. Maybe as soon as next year, depending on how things go with Seager.
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One of the reasons the market has been so slow to develop is that teams aren’t sure where they stand with so much parity in the American League.
Do they go all in if they’re not certain of their championship potential?
Or do they play it safe and go with what they have?
This much I can tell you: Even after adding Chase Silseth in the deal with the Angels, the Rangers’ bullpen isn’t good enough to get them to the playoffs. They probably need two more arms. Another bat, too. Back in spring training, I promoted the acquisition of Luis Arraez, and the perennial batting title contender hasn’t done anything to shake that contention. But, as the lovely wife will tell you, I know when to stop asking.
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If Young could just get his boss to fork over another $5 million or so for two more arms, it’d be enough for me. He’ll apparently need to win two out of three in Houston to make his case. This owner is a hard sell. Let’s hope the Rangers can ruin his weekend.