3 Most Important Rangers Trade Targets With Shohei Ohtani Off the Market
By Tyler Maher
3. Eduardo Rodriguez
While Scherzer and Verlander are both bigger names, Eduardo Rodriguez has actually been better than both of them this year. Despite playing on a weak Tigers team, he's 6-5 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP, putting him squarely in the ace category.
Rodriguez is much younger than the aforementioned duo at 30 years of age. He's also a lefty, which makes him a better fit for Texas. Neither of our two southpaw starters, Heaney and Perez, have been very good with ERA's close to 5.00.
E-Rod wouldn't be a rental, either, as he's only in the second year of his five-year, $77 million deal, so he'd be part of our current core for a while. And while his playoff numbers are rough (6.35 postseason ERA), he does have championship experience.
The only issue is that Detroit would want a lot for him, especially in terms of prospects who are close to reaching the majors. They've been rebuilding for years now and want to contend as soon as possible, so we'd have to mortgage some of our future to get him.
Rodriguez is good, but is he worth that? Scherzer and Verlander are both battle-tested pitchers who have come up big in October. You know what you're getting with them. Rodriguez is a bit more unpredictable, though. He can help you get to the playoffs, sure, but is he really that valuable if he just implodes when you need him the most?
Rodriguez's numbers speak for themselves, though. People may not think of him as an ace, but he's pitching like one and would be a perfect fit in our rotation.
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