TEXAS, USA — The Rangers and Astros are in a race once again for a potential AL West title. With one week left before the trade deadline, both teams have to decide if they'll be buyers or sellers.
After an abysmal start for Houston, they have gone from worst to first in the AL West and are currently tied with the Mariners for first place in the division. The Astros project to be buyers as the deadline approaches, and General Manager Dana Brown has an emphasis on starting pitching.
“Try to go big and see if there’s a deal that makes sense for the organization. If that don’t work, we’ll go down to mid-level and hopefully we can land something there," Brown said on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.
Some of the "big" names Brown can be referring to are Garrett Crochet of the White Sox and Tarik Skubal of the Tigers. Both teams will have a high asking price for their respective aces, but the Astros have been willing to make big moves for pitching, just last year they brought back Justin Verlander from the Mets prior to the deadline.
As for the rival Rangers, their situation is a bit more complicated. At 49-52, the club is in a position to sell, but with a favorable upcoming schedule and just four games back of first place, General Manager Chris Young says that the current series against the White Sox is crucial in determining their deadline direction.
"This is a very important series for us in determining where we stand and what we can become as a team," Young said in an interview with KRLD/105.3 The Fan. "My hope is we really get hot and play really good baseball against the White Sox, and that carries into the road trip because the deadline is next Tuesday, and we're going to have to make some tough calls in this next week."
If the Rangers decide to add before next Tuesday, relief pitching could be a target, as the Texas bullpen currently has a 4.36 ERA, 24th in baseball. Contrarily, the Rangers have a number of pitchers that will be desired at the trade deadline like Kirby Yates, David Robertson and Max Scherzer if they decide to be sellers.
The two clubs have three games left against one another in the regular season, and when they meet in early August, both teams could look a lot different.
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