Texas Rangers rumors: Jason Frasor a potential trade target?

Texas Rangers rumors:  Jason Frasor, the righthanded relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, has been designated for assignment.  Frasor spent 2013 and part of 2014 with the Rangers (prior to him being traded to the Royals for Spencer Patton), so the natural response from Rangers fans has been, would Texas be interested in bringing him back?

The Royals' decision to DFA Frasor was pretty surprising, as he has a 1.54 ERA for them this season in 23.1 IP, after putting up IP last year after being traded.  However, Frasor has walked 15 batters against just 18 Ks, and his 4.02 FIP suggests that he won't be able to maintain his gaudy ERA.

Still, a 4.02 FIP would look pretty good in the Ranger pen this year, and Frasor is affordable, being paid $1.25M this year, with a $2M mutual option for 2016 that includes a $550,000 buyout.  Of course, the fact he's a serviceable reliever being paid not much means that he's not likely to hit the waiver wire -- the Royals have ten days from yesterday to trade, waive or release Frasor, and my guess is that he gets traded.

The question that the Rangers are going to have to answer is whether they are willing to give up an asset in order to bring Frasor into the fold.  At a game under .500, they're still in the race, but so is most of the A.L., meaning that the Rangers have a lot of opponents to surpass the rest of the way to make the playoffs, which reduces their overall odds.  They also have a full 40 man roster (and have Martin Perez coming back soon, which will necessitate a roster move), so moving Frasor would potentially mean not just giving up a trade piece, but also cutting loose someone like Roman Mendez to clear a roster spot for Frasor.

For a team that is waiting with bated breath for Ross Ohlendorf to get healthy in order to help shore up the late innings, Jason Frasor would seem to be an obvious upgrade.  Would the Rangers be willing to give up, say, someone like Spencer Patton -- the pitcher they acquired from the Royals for Frasor last year -- to achieve that upgrade?  I'm skeptical.

Still, I'm sure Jon Daniels will at least be talking to Dayton Moore about Frasor, and the Royals and Rangers both train in Surprise, which means they each would seem to have a greater degree of familiarity with the other sides' minor leaguers, making getting a deal done more feasible.  So we'll have to wait and see...but I wouldn't be counting on a Frasor-Rangers reunion.