My Thoughts on the Rangers Trade Deadline Moves
Coming into the deadline the Rangers were said to be buyers, they are currently right in the middle of the Wild Card race. The Rangers did need to make moves at the deadline to improve the team. The Rangers needed a closer/high leverage bullpen arm to strengthen the bullpen and a guy that locks down the 9th inning. Also could use a right handed bat for when the Rangers face a left-handed pitcher.
The first move of the deadline for the Rangers was trading for Danny Coulombe from the Twins for Garrett Horn. Coulombe was an arm I want the Rangers to target, he was one of the names I brought up in my article about players we could target. Coulombe has been very good for the twins this year, and will definitely add depth to the bullpen which is very helpful. As a left-handed pitcher Coulombe can throw to both sides and isn't a platoon pitcher. This can take some pressure off of Hoby Milner.
The second move was the Rangers acquiring Merrill Kelly for the Diamondbacks in exchange for Kohl Drake (#5), Mitch Bratt (#9), and David Hagaman (#13). Initially I was kind of shocked about how much we gave up for Kelly, I was a big believer in Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt. I did figure that one of the two would be traded but I didn't think both would be moved. It hurts losing those guys, but Kelly will make an impact now and can be very key to this team this season if they make a run in the playoffs. However, I am a big fan of adding Merrill Kelly to the rotation that has been the best rotation in baseball, and it makes it even stronger now. In a playoff series facing Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Merrill Kelly in the first three games is pretty scary and nobody will want to face that. Adding Kelly will also bring some stability to the rotation, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter have had good starts for sure, but they always haven't been consistent. Kelly gives you good consistency and should slot in at the 3 spot in this amazing starting rotation.
The third in final move for the Rangers happened in the final 10 minutes until the deadline, they acquired Cardinals reliever Phil Maton in exchange for Mason Molina (#27), Skylar Hales (#28), and international bonus pool money. Maton will slot into this bullpen very nicely. He has been very good for the cardinals this year. Maton will add to the least of leverage arms that Bochy can turn to in a close game, which can be good in a playoff series so the team your facing doesn't see the same arm every game.
I think Chris Young did a good job at this year's deadline. He had some factors that he had to work with that limited what he could do, and he did a good job working around those factors. He made the best pitching staff in baseball better, and he raised the floor of the bullpen in my opinion. With the addition of Merrill Kelly he raised the floor of the rotation, and made the Rangers a tougher opponent to hit against. I would have liked to have added a sure closer, but the lack of talent in the farm system made it tough for CY to do that. The Rangers were finalist in the David Bednar Sweepstakes who were won by the New York Yankees. If I'm grading Chris Young's performance at the deadline I would give him right in the middle of a B and a B+. He improved the best part of the team, the pitching staff. If he was able to land a closer I would bump up his grade to an A-, but he was unable to beat out the Yankees for David Bednar. Some fans may wonder why we did not land a bat, and I totally understand why. This team has not hit to its expectations at all, but let's not forget that this lineup is pretty similar to the one that brought the Rangers their first World Series title and carried them to it. This offense has all of the talent in the world to be one of the best offenses in the game, and if they do hit to their potential that can be really scary to face in the postseason with the way they have pitched this season. This team can definitely get hot and go on a deep run the way they are currently constructed. Chris Young had a successful trade deadline in my eyes.
