Texas Rangers rumors: Andrew Cashner, the San Diego Padres righthanded pitcher who is a free agent at season's end, could be dealt in the next 24 hours, with Jon Morosi saying rival executives believe Padres g.m. A.J. Preller wants to move him before his start tomorrow. Chris Cotillo tweets that the Rangers are engaging the Padres on Cashner, and Preller has been in Frisco the past few days watching the Padres' AA affiliate play the Roughriders, which has further fueled speculation that the Rangers and Padres could be working on a deal.
Cashner has been talked about before as a player that the Rangers have interest in. He's put up a 5.05 ERA in 67.2 IP over 14 starts, although the former first round pick out of TCU, who was once traded for Anthony Rizzo, is seen as having much better stuff than those numbers indicate. A 2.55 ERA in 19 starts in 2014 had some predicting a breakout for Cashner, but he has been mediocre since then, and one would have to believe that he wouldn't command a huge price in a potential deal.
Cashner also has pitched out of the bullpen in the past, and could be viewed as a potential bullpen weapon either in September, if everyone stays healthy and Colby Lewis and/Derek Holland return, or in the playoffs, while also providing an upgrade over Kyle Lohse in the interim.