Coming off a World Series title in 2023, the Texas Rangers have not looked like a team that can return to the Fall Classic in 2024. Texas is 37-40 to open up the year, 6.5 games out of first place in the American League West and 4.5 games back in the AL Wild Card race.
The team has dealt with slow starts from stars like Adolis Garcia and Corey Seager, underperformance from the bullpen, and has played without aces Max Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom. Scherzer made his season debut on June 23 with five innings of shutout ball against the Kansas City Royals, earning the win while allowing just one baserunner. DeGrom is expected to be back sometime after the All-Star break.
The return of DeGrom and Scherzer is like getting a pair of aces at the MLB trade deadline and will immediately put the Rangers back in contention in the American League. What other players will Texas be targeting? This is what a perfect trade deadline looks like for the Rangers.
Trade for Chicago White Sox centerfielder Luis Robert
While the Rangers have plenty of outfield depth and talent, it has not translated to on-field production in 2024. Adolis Garcia is batting just .214 a year after posting 39 homers and 107 RBI. Evan Carter is hitting .188 as a rookie and is on the IL. Fellow rookie Wyatt Langford is not doing much better with a .682 OPS. Center field might be the club’s biggest weakness, as Leodys Taveras has a .609 OPS and has been worth -9 Total Zone Total Field Runs Above Average this year, and there is no suitable backup to spell the 25-year-old switch-hitter.
Acquiring an injury-prone player like Luis Robert is a risk. Last year was the first time Robert stayed healthy for an entire 162-game campaign after playing just over 50% of possible contests across 2021 and 2022. He also missed all of April and May in 2024. But when healthy, Robert is among the best centerfielders in the league. The 26-year-old went for 38 homers, 80 RBI, and 20 stolen bases last season, earning his first All-Star nod while also playing above-average defense.
Adding Luis Robert gives the Rangers the All-Star-level production the team desperately needs in center field.
Acquire Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller
Texas’ aggressiveness last year paid off, as the additions of relievers Aroldis Chapman and Chris Stratton (among others) at the trade deadline helped turn the Rangers bullpen around and power Texas to its first World Series title. The Rangers’ bullpen has struggled again in 2024, ranking 26th in ERA and below average in save percentage.
Kirby Yates has slotted into the closer role for Texas, taking over for David Robertson and going 8-8 on the year. Yates is the only bullpen member with a sub-3.00 ERA aside from Jose Urena. The most prominent names in the Texas pen — Robertson and Jose Leclerc — are a combined 2-9 in save chances, leaving the team without a dependable set-up man. A talented Rangers team is off to another slow start; a reliable bullpen arm like Mason Miller could turn that around.
Miller is 14-16 in save chances this year, using his 101-mile-per-hour fastball to strike out a whopping 15.6 batters per nine innings while allowing just 3.9 hits per nine frames. While Kirby Yates is entrenched at closer, Mason Miller gives the Rangers an elite set-up man and provides the club with its closer for the future.
