The Texas Rangers have played themselves right into playoff contention with a strong month of July. Now, they are within reach of catching their rival, the Houston Astros, in the American League West.
Backed by a strong top of the rotation, the Rangers have also begun seeing ample contributions from their top bats, and Corey Seager can carry the load from there.
Now, with one day until MLB’s trade deadline, the Rangers may be buyers, and in the reliever market for a high-leverage arm that can serve as their closer.
The Minnesota Twins have a plethora of highly coveted arms, and have already begun their selling ways.
Jhoan Durán Picking up Steam in Trade Market
Considering that Jhoan Durán comes with a few years of team control, if the Minnesota Twins were to move off him, they would expect a solid haul in return. Durán has been one of the game’s best relievers over his four-year career with Minnesota. He has a career 2.47 ERA in 233.2 innings and 292 career strikeouts. This season has been no different for the 27-year-old closer. With a 2.01 ERA in 47.1 innings, 53 strikeouts, and 16 saves, it makes a lot of sense why many teams are in on him and why the Twins expect a lot in return.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com listed Jhoan Durán as a player most likely to be traded, and gave some details on the financials of his contract:
“The Twins have two of the more coveted relievers in Duran and Jax, both for their swing-and-miss stuff and their club control through the 2027 season. Both relievers are arbitration-eligible for two more seasons, though Duran ($4.125 million) is earning more than Jax ($2.365 million) this year. Minnesota is unlikely to trade both Duran and Jax, so which one goes — assuming the Twins’ hefty asking price is met — could depend on which pitcher an acquiring club prefers.”
The Texas Rangers have gone closer-by-committee for the most part this season. Nobody in their pitching staff has more than nine saves, and those nine belong to Luke Jackson. However, with Chris Martin going down with an injury, the Rangers could use another arm. Texas has had a very solid bullpen this season, all things considered, but Durán would slot in as the team’s closer immediately and certainly be an upgrade.
The Rangers Financial Conundrum
The reason this deal would be a perfect fit for the Texas Rangers is that the front office is adamant about staying under the luxury tax, and they have just about $6 million in cap space to work with before they hit that threshold.
Durán is owed $4.3 million this season, and then has two more arbitration seasons, but the Rangers could essentially use him as a rental-type piece if they believe the arbitration increase is going to be substantial after this season. However, as of now, this deal would keep them under the luxury tax, and not only make them a threat in the AL West, but in the AL as a whole. The only drawback to a risk like that is if you give up multiple prospects, they would have to make sure to lock Durán down long-term. So they would have to be semi-committed to potentially taking on that contract increase if you were to make a deal for him.
It would certainly cost the Rangers a good deal of prospect capital, and maybe a player or two on their current roster, but it’s certainly worth at least calling the Minnesota Twins about, who are almost certainly going to make more deals between today and tomorrow.
Rangers Trade Idea Lands Coveted Twins Reliever as Perfect Fit