Who says no to these Texas Rangers deadline deals?
The Rangers are in a pretty good place, sitting five games up on the Angels in the American League West while living 17 games over .500.
But that doesn't mean they can't get better. And that's why this year's trade deadline conversation is oftentimes going be including Chris Young's crew.
In the 'Baseball Isn't Boring' podcast's most recent round of "Who Says No?" trade proposals, the topic of potential Rangers trades came up. To nobody's surprise, pitching was the priority.
So, who says no ...
Rangers receive: P Jordan Montgomery, RP Jordan Hicks
Cardinals receive: P Jack Leiter
Why the Rangers would do it: This kills two birds with one stone when it comes to Texas' potential pitching needs. Montgomery has been solid for the Cardinals in his 15 starts, totaling a 3.69 ERA. And Hicks' potential always has fans drooling, representing one of the hardest-throwing late-inning relievers in the game, striking out 49 in 31 1/3 innings. He has just a .220 batting average and .680 OPS against him. Both are eligible for free agency after this season. The Rangers also have plenty of long-term commitments already in their starting rotation, with their No. 2 overall prospect Owen White representing next season's starting pitching youth.
Why the Cardinals would do it: Despite his current up-and-down existence in Double-A, the second overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft has recently shown some signs of tapping into his potential. His overall record in Double-A so far is 5-13 with a 4.94 ERA, but hasn't given up more than three runs in any of his last eight starts. And, at the end of the day, nobody has forgotten why Leiter still sits in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 (No. 73). It also looks like, at this point, St. Louis is much more of a selling team than one that is ready to buy.
