Daniels: If Rangers trade, pitching help most likely

General manager Jon Daniels said on Friday that he is seeking trade help for the Texas Rangers’ pitching staff more so than looking for an upgrade at catcher.

Daniels, though, didn’t gauge how serious talks with other clubs have gotten, only that activity has picked up the past week to 10 days.

The Rangers have been linked to multiple free agents, including starting pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Ervin Santana; relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller; and catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

Lucroy, one of the game’s top catchers, would be under club control through 2017, but if Daniels is to extend his long track record of making trades before the non-waiver trade deadline, a deal for a pitcher is more likely.

“We want to do what makes most sense for the team, both long- and short-term,” Daniels said. “When you have a club playing well, the front office, we always feel like we want to help out, but it’s got to make sense for us.

“We’re a lot more focused on the pitching side.”

The Rangers would prefer to trade for a pitcher, who, like Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson in 2015, come with club control. Those players, though, don’t come on the cheap.

Daniels also said that the returns of Yu Darvish and Keone Kela from the disabled list are akin to adding pitchers via a trade, and Colby Lewis and Derek Holland will make the same impacts when they return in late August.

Each is at least five weeks out after Holland was placed on the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man for Kela to come off the 60-day. Kela took the spot of left-handed reliever Diekman on the active roster.

Diekman is expected to return next weekend at Kansas City after suffering a cut left index finger July 6 at Boston, where a souvenir glass mug from the famed bar Cheers broke and cut him.

“Just getting these two guys back will help and Diekman,” Daniels said.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Daniels: If Rangers trade, pitching help most likely."