Texas Rangers have Todd Frazier to play third, but trade market still entices them
The proposed mega deal between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, in which the Red Sox would ship former MVP Mookie Betts and former Cy Young winner David Price, confirmed what the Texas Rangers have believed much of the off-season.
The trade market is robust heading into the 2020 MLB season, and deals could be made just before spring training, as was the case with the Red Sox-Dodgers trade, or even during spring camp.
As the Rangers have shown the past few springs, they aren’t afraid to add to the roster they bring to Arizona. Indeed, they continue to look for upgrades.
Yes, they are still looking at a significant addition at third base.
There are two prominent names floating in trade rumors.
Some with the Rangers favor Nolan Arenado, whose relationship with the Colorado Rockies has become very publicly strained, more than Kris Bryant, who the Chicago Cubs could move to avoid losing him for nothing when he hits free agency after the 2021 season.
Neither would come on the cheap, financially or players shipped out, but each swings the kind of right-handed power bat the Rangers need in the middle of a lineup projected as one of the weakest in baseball.
Those who favor Arenado aren’t scared away by the Coors Field factor. Arenado plays half his games at the most hitter-friendly ballpark in MLB, and his career home-road splits bear that out.
Maybe that indicates that Rangers believe Globe Life Field will be a hitter’s park.
Arenado is also one of the two best defensive third basemen in the game.
It’s difficult to project what a Rangers trade package would look like without knowing the Rockies’ motivation for trading Arenado. It’s generally assumed that Colorado would want a few of Rangers’ top prospects and possibly some young big-league talent.
That could dictated by how much of the remaining $234 million the Rangers would take on.
The Cubs would likely seek a similar return in a package for Bryant, and they have more leverage than the Red Sox did when dealing Betts. Bryant can’t be a free agent until after the 2021 season, whereas Betts can hit the market after this season.
Bryant’s free agency is worrisome for the Rangers. Arenado can opt out of his contract after the 2021 season, but are less worried about losing him after only two seasons.
For now, though, all the Rangers are doing is monitoring the market. Nothing has advanced to the point where a deal is on the front burner.
They are preparing to go into the season with veteran Todd Frazier a third base. He signed a one-year, $5-million deal last month some six weeks after the Rangers missed out on free agent Anthony Rendon and cooled on the soaring price tag for Josh Donaldson.
Frazier was pleased with his 2019 season in which he batted .251 with 21 home runs and a .772 OPS despite starting the season on the injured list with an oblique injury.
Though he played only three games at first base, the Rangers initially talked to him this off-season about playing first base. It appears as if he could end up in a platoon at first base with Ronald Guzman.
Maybe he plays first regularly if the Rangers find an upgrade at third between now and the March 26 season opener.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
