MLB Trade Rumors: Texas Rangers interested in Trey Mancini, per report

MLB Trade Rumors: Trey Mancini is drawing interest from the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays, according to Jon Morosi on Twitter. Mancini, a 27 year old righthanded hitting COF/DH, has three years of team control remaining after this season.

This is the first I’ve heard of the Rangers having interest in Mancini, who is slashing .280/.341/.532 this year, and has a career .271/.324/.477 slash line. However, according to Morosi, the Rangers are looking for “controllable bats,” and as we have discussed, the Rangers tend to be very lefthanded at the corner and DH spots.

Its not quite clear what level of interest the Rangers might have in Mancini, but if they are at least kicking the tires on him, it would suggest that they are looking at potential changes at the COF/DH spots. Right now, Willie Calhoun, Nomar Mazara, Shin-Soo Choo and Hunter Pence are holding down those spots, though Mazara has struggled this year, and there is talk that he could be sent down, while there is a good chance that Pence is dealt in the next 30 hours.

The Astros and Rays are teams that have been looking for a DH, but it is interesting that they are two teams that are generally considered to be among the better run teams, and have a tendency to pursue established players that they feel can take steps forward with a few adjustments. The Rangers have significantly changed the offensive profile of the position players they have acquired in the last 12 months, and with their new hitting coaches and new philosophy, one has to wonder if they may not be targeting Mancini because they think they see some upside in him that hasn’t been unlocked.