Texas Rangers discussing mini-blockbuster trade for All-Star hitter
With just days to go before the July 30 MLB trade deadline passes, can the Texas Rangers upgrade their roster? Just in the past 24 hours, their AL West rival Seattle Mariners have executed multiple trades, picking up Randy Arozarena and Yimi Garcia. Meanwhile, the Rangers, who enter MLB games today with a 2.5-game deficit behind the division leaders, haven’t done squat.
However, not all hope is lost for Rangers fans expecting to see a trade in the next few days. There are still several other players available on the trade block, including a handful of All-Stars.
Texas Rangers discussing trade for Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Isaac Paredes
According to Buster Olney, the Texas Rangers have already held trade discussions for Isaac Paredes with the Tampa Bay Rays. Paredes may not be a household name that casual baseball fans know right away, but they should learn his name.
The Rays hitter has primarily played third base this season in Tampa Bay. But in addition to his 77 starts at the hot corner, he’s also played 15 games at first base too.
In addition to being a superb hitter, Paredes brings added value by being under team control until 2028. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the next three seasons before hitting the open market. Yet, since he’s not on a massive salary yet, one would think the low-budget Rays wouldn’t want to give him up easily. However, all it takes is one offer they can’t refuse, and the Rangers may be the team that pulls it off.
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Mets, Giants Have Discussed Michael Conforto
The Mets have been in contact with the Giants regarding Michael Conforto, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (X link). The Post’s Jon Heyman wrote last night that the Mets were looking into the outfield market and preferred to add a left-handed hitter.
There aren’t many obvious options on that front. The Marlins are likely to deal center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., but a trade with the Mets could be complicated by the division factor. The Nationals probably wouldn’t have any qualms about dealing impending free agent Jesse Winker within the NL East. Beyond that duo, the Giants might have the top pair of trade
candidates among lefty-hitting outfielders in Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski.
Of course, the Mets are plenty familiar with Conforto. A former 10th overall pick, he hit .255/.356/.468 through parts of seven seasons with the team. Conforto represented the Mets in the 2017 All-Star Game and was one of the better hitters in the league between 2017-20. His production dipped in his ’21 platform season. The Mets allowed him to walk in free agency after he declined a qualifying offer. Conforto injured his shoulder while working out that offseason. He underwent surgery and missed the entire 2022 campaign. He landed in San Francisco on a two-year, $36MM free agent pact the next winter.
Conforto hasn’t recaptured his peak offensive form coming back from the injury. He has been an unexceptional hitter over his season and a half in the Bay Area. He turned in a .239/.334/.384 slash through 470 plate appearances a year ago. It’s a similar story in 2024. Conforto carries a .226/.298/.415 batting line through 80 contests. His 9% walk rate is his lowest in any full season of his career. He’s striking out at a customary 24.1% clip.
The 31-year-old has had a slight rebound in his hard contact rate and power production. He’s slugging above .400 for the first time in four years and has 10 homers across 299 plate appearances — the equivalent of a half-season of action. That uptick in power has come with a career-low OBP, however. Conforto’s overall offense is again almost exactly league average, as measured by wRC+. That’s on par with what he produced in his final season in Queens and his first year in San Francisco.