Texas Rangers Face Tough Choices As Trade Deadline Nears

Did the Texas Rangers wait too long to start playing good baseball? Because they have backed themselves into a corner of their own creation, and its starting to feel uncomfortable. With the MLB Trade Deadline looming (July 31st, 2025), the team needs to sort some things out...and fast.

Texas Rangers' Front Office On The Trade Deadline

Heading into the All Star break, the Rangers had been pretty open with their talks about the upcoming trade deadline. Texas' President of Baseball Operations Chris Young publicly stated that being a .500 team won't be enough for the franchise to be "buyers" at the trade deadline.

After Young's comments, the team put up 12 wins in the 22 games before the All Star break. Not really enough to see them move into the "buyers" column before the trade deadline. But coming out of the break, the Rangers won 2 out of three against the best team in baseball, the Detroit Tigers. Now they are 4-1 in their first 5 games out of the break.

The Rangers Have To Get Better To Be Buyers At The Deadline

That is the type of record they're going to have to keep up if they're going to be "buyers" at the trade deadline. Because their record 5 games after the All Star break is 52-50, just 2 games over the .500 mark. Which Young signaled would not be good enough.

There are just 7 games left before the Trade Deadline; if they go 3-4, they're just a game over .500 at the deadline. But if they can go 6-1 or 7-0, they would be looking at they type of record that could turn them into players at the deadline.

Marcus Semien Addresses The Trade Deadline

One of the team's leaders, All Star second baseman Marcus Semien has publicly stated that he wants the Rangers to be "buyers" at the deadline. If he wants to make sure that happens, he's going to have to step up on and off the field over this next week of games.

Who Could The Texas Rangers Trade At The Deadline?

Because the Rangers have multiple pieces that other teams would want to add for their playoff push in the second half. Players like Adolis Garcia, Chris Martin, and Patrick Corbin could return solid prospect hauls for the organization. Which could help the Rangers 2, 3, or 4 years down the road...but wouldn't really change their fortunes this year.

At the same time, being "sellers" at the trade deadline doesn't mean your season is necessarily over either. The Rangers aren't unloading Semien, Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, and Jacob deGrom all at once. So there will be pieces left on this roster, even if they move Garcia or Corbin.

Does Trading Pieces Away At The Deadline Mean The Season Is Over?

In fact, it could create a scenario where young players are forced to play. Even though the Rangers were "buyers" in 2023, a lot of their firepower down the stretch and into the playoffs came from young players like Evan Carter and Ezequiel Durán. Which could happen again if Garcia was moved, or Martin got traded, there could be opportunities for young players to contribute.

Either way, the Rangers have seven games to make the case that their team should be adding players, and not selling off assets.