The Texas Rangers are coming off of another disappointing finish to the season after losing the Wild Card in game 163 to the Tampa Bay Rays and now they head into another offseason filled with questions and some answers for GM Jon Daniels could come with trades involving Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler and Jurickson Profar.
According to Fox Sports, the hot Stove is already heating up with big names and players like Andrus and Kinsler could be moved as the Rangers try and rebuild and restock their farm system while staying competitive on the field. The team made two World series appearances and lost them both before getting chased down in bad fashion by the Oakland A's for the divisional title last season and this year they didn't even make it after losing Game 163. The team traded for Matt Garza at the deadline, but he is a free agent and that could end up being all for nothing.
Kinsler, Andrus and Profar were mentioned in trade rumors over the summer and this news is the first bump in the offseason for the Rangers. According to the Dallas News, the team could look to trade Profar this season because he is the top value chip they have and they have too many needs to keep him, as he could net a nice package like Mark Teixeira did back when the team got Elvis Andrus and Neftali Feliz from the Braves. The team doesn't have a true place for him right now and since he is very talented and the Rangers need some firepower on offense and some pitching, he could net a nice group of players.
The team has Garza and Nelson Cruz to decide on re-signing, while they also are still reeling from the loss of Josh Hamilton, as that power never was replaced in the lineup. The team has Yu Darvish as a Cy Young finalist and with Brian McCann on the market they could go after him as well with AJ Pierzynski possibly leaving and those are all big questions for Daniels. The team also has Joe Nathan to decide to bring back and while the Rangers kept Geovany Soto, they still could go after McCann.
Masahiro Tanaka and Tim Hudson could be free agent pitching options, but they still need some power bats and some prospects and the Yankees and Red Sox could be in the market for Andrus or Kinsler according to Fox Sports. The report says that Kinsler could move to first base, which would fit the Red Sox if they let Mike Napoli go and another part of the equation is money, as Andrus and Kinsler are high paid, with the second baseman having a $50 million plus contract over the next four seasons, while Andrus is making over $100 million. That deal could be the reason why the team wants to move him and the Yankees could pick up on one of those deals if Robinson Cano leaves in free agency.
