MLB Trade Rumors: Texas Rangers rumors quiet

MLB Trade Rumors: The Texas Rangers are expected to be sellers, and Jake Diekman, Keone Kela, and Jose Leclerc have been the hot names out there, with Adrian Beltre, Mike Minor, Alex Claudio, Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Gallo also discussed as possible trade pieces. But with roughly 24 hours to go before the deadline, things have gone quiet on the rumor front with the Rangers.

Diekman, who is a free agent after the season, is seen as almost certain to go, and it appears Kela is likely being dealt as well, given the strong demand for controllable relievers (Kela isn’t a free agent until after the 2020 season). Leclerc and Claudio have reportedly garnered interest, but neither seems likely to elicit the type of offer that would make the Rangers pull the trigger on a deal, while most of the other players in the mix appear to be the subject of tire-kicking.

One development to keep an eye on is the Boston Red Sox placing third baseman Rafael Devers on the disabled list with a strained hamstring. The 22 year old Devers had a strong partial season in the majors last year, but has struggled in 2018, and is now on the shelf for an indefinite period of time. Beltre has 10/5 rights and can veto a trade, and the Rangers won’t trade him unless he wants to go...but with Boston potentially in need for a third baseman down the stretch, and Beltre having played in Boston before, its not outside the realm of possibility that a deal involving Beltre and Kela (the Red Sox are also reportedly looking for relievers) could happen.

There’s going to be a lot of action this evening and tomorrow, and with almost every contender looking for bullpen help, the Rangers should find trade partners for at least a couple of their arms. The question is just who, and how much.