A slew of varying reports paints the picture that the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals could be on the verge of pulling off a blockbuster trade before the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline.
The Texas Rangers have been the creme of the American League West crop all season long. However, a division title is far from guaranteed because they are in a serious battle with the defending champion Houston Astros, who are only two games back. For as good as they are, they obviously need to make improvements to keep Houston at bay down the stretch.
Fortunately, the Rangers know exactly what they need to do before the trade deadline and that is to make some impactful additions to their pitching staff. Texas is arguably the best-hitting team in the sport and leads MLB in average and runs batted in. However, their staff is the weakness that hinders them from being serious title contenders, especially when it comes to their closer spot.
Texas Rangers making a hard push for St. Louis Cardinals closer
Well, it seems the Texas Rangers might be able to solve multiple issues with the help of the St. Louis Cardinals. The 2022 NL Central champs have had a seriously down season in 2023 and are expected to be big sellers before Aug. 1. On Friday, USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported that “The Rangers are aggressively pursuing Cards closer Jordan Hicks.”
However, where the plot thickens is the fact that Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and Jon Morosi of MLB Network have claimed Texas is hoping to fill multiple needs in one big trade. The Chicago White Sox were previously seen as a perfect trade partner earlier this week.
However, after sending Lucas Giolito to the Los Angeles Angels earlier this week and moving Lance Lynn to the Los Angeles Dodgers today, they no longer have the starting pitchers Texas is in search of.
Well, guess who does have several starters that are up for grabs? The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly been shopping both starters Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty ahead of the MLB trade deadline. It would make a lot of sense if either one is added to a deal that includes Hicks sometime in the next few days.
