Texas Rangers: This young star may be on the trade block
By Reid Hanson
The Texas Rangers are tasked with rebuilding their starting rotation but to get that done they’ll likely need to part with this budding young star…
We’re entering Year 2 of the Texas Rangers rebuilding process. And if you thought last season was painful – you ain’t seen nuthin yet.
The 2019 season brings uncertainty to the Texas Rangers faithful. Four fifths of the starting rotation has yet to be discovered. As of today, only Mike Minor is penciled into it. That means Jon Daniels and the Texas front office needs to fill four of the most difficult to fill positions in just one offseason. And they must do so with fairly limited resources.
Financially, the Texas Rangers have some cash to play with. But considering the cost of starting pitching these days, that money won’t be nearly enough to field a serviceable starting rotation – let alone a contending rotation.
Building a team (and specifically a starting rotation) will require the trade market. It’s almost a forgone conclusion that the Texas Rangers will be trading one of their budding stars this winter. That’s because trading an on-the-cusp player is the most likely way for them to get cheap controllable pitching without decimating their own farm system.
While a case can be made for a handful of young tradable players on this Rangers roster, one player stands out above the rest: Nomar Mazara
What makes Nomar Mazara so darn tradable is a combination of his potential, stagnation, and controllability.
“The Big Chill” is entering his first year of arbitration. According to Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors, he’s set to earn about $3.7 million. This also means he’s only three seasons away from outright free agency. Since that’s about the same time it will realistically take the Texas Rangers to be competitive again, the timeline isn’t optimal and he may be walking out the door at a time when the Rangers actually hope to win.
More from Texas Rangers
- Texas Rangers hitting the reset button with Jonathan Hernandez
- Texas Rangers lose Jacob deGrom to Tommy John: Next steps
- Grant Anderson gives the Texas Rangers their missing ingredient
- Texas Rangers: How Adolis Garcia started putting up MVP numbers
- Why Kumar Rocker is still a successful pick for the Texas Rangers
The problem with Mazara is his developmental stagnation. His first three seasons with the Rangers he has a career 92wRC+ with his best season being 96wRC+ in 2018. That’s improvement, I suppose, but not much. And it’s far below the MLB positional median.
Since his MLB career began, Mazara has seemingly flat-lined in his development. He hasn’t been exposed or broken down. He’s just struggled making that next step at the plate.
What makes Nomar so valuable is his sky-high potential. His physical abilities are among the best in MLB. He has great power, bat speed, and swing. At only 23 years old and under three more seasons of controllability, a team ready to compete now has plenty of incentive to add someone like Mazazra. The kid could be a super star.
To a team like the Texas Rangers, they need to capitalize on his value while it’s still high enough to garner a nice return. Additionally, their lineup remains overwhelmingly left handed, meaning they need to move a lefty anyway – might as well be a player who could return some midlevel controllable pitching (and a young prospect or two)
The only thing that does seem certain in these uncertain times is the Rangers will once again miss the postseason. The quickest way for the Rangers to build a competitive team (young enough to build around) is to trade a promising young player. Nomar Mazara is probably that guy.