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The Texas Rangers are sticking close behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West race, as the Rangers are just 1.5 games out of the top spot in the division at 45-45. They also own the third and final AL Wild Card spot entering play on July 6.
As July rolls along, it will be very interesting to see where the Rangers end up. If they're in contention still by the end of the month, they might be buyers at this year's trade deadline.
Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden of The Athletic proposed a trade idea for the Rangers that would try to address their offensive need by adding Luis Robert Jr. from the New York Mets, but at a cost far too high for the injured Mets outfielder.
Rangers trade idea lands Luis Robert Jr. for two prospects
"Best fit: Luis Robert Jr., CF, New York Mets," Bowden writes. "The Rangers might be willing to offer a package of left-hander Dalton Pence and outfielder Paxton King to make the trade work from the Mets' side of things."
This trade idea from Bowden would involve using some serious prospect capital to land a player who really shouldn't even be on trade lists this summer.
Paxton King is a 23-year-old outfield prospect and 2025 draft pick who has an .804 OPS in High-A this year across 53 games and 188 at-bats.
Dalton Pence is a 23-year-old left-handed pitching prospect and 2024 draft pick who has a 2.60 ERA this season between High-A and Double-A across 13 starts and 65.2 innings pitched.
According to MLB Pipeline, Pence is the Rangers' No. 12-ranked prospect, and King is their No. 21-ranked prospect right now.
Sending both of those prospects to the Mets for Robert, who is making $20 million this year and has a club option for the 2027 season, would be a lot to give up.
MORE: Blue Jays trade idea swaps two top-10 prospects to Mets for Freddy Peralta
Before his injury, which has kept him on the IL for much of the season, he had a .224 average and a .656 OPS in 24 games and 85 at-bats.
Ever since his 2023 All-Star season, when he hit 38 homers and participated in the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, it's been all downhill for Robert. He had a 130 OPS+ in 2023, and since then, he's posted an 86, 85, and 84 OPS+ in each subsequent season.
Robert might be an intriguing buy-low option for the Rangers, but this projected trade cost from Bowden would be a bit too much.
The Mets surely would do such a deal to get out of Robert's contract, which would be a sign of why the Rangers shouldn't want to swing such a trade.
Even if King and Pence aren't their top prospects, spending both on Robert, who's injured and getting worse each season, would be way too much and wouldn't make sense for the Rangers.
More MLB news:
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- Padres have ‘no choice’ but to be trade deadline sellers if things don’t turn around
- Phillies DFA No. 13-ranked prospect Jean Cabrera to keep Bryan De La Cruz
- Rays trade idea sends top-10 prospect in MLB to Tigers for Tarik Skubal
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