Texas Rangers Face Stiff Competition in Shohei Ohtani Trade Sweepstakes

A number of teams are expected to make a serious push for Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani, including the Texas Rangers.

Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

If the Texas Rangers are indeed pursuing Shohei Ohtani, the competition is fierce. Every team in baseball – including the Los Angeles Angels – would love to slot the two-way star in its lineup for the next 10 years.

The Rangers are seen as a club with both the resources and want-to when it comes to trading for the free agent-to-be. But, again, this isn’t a one-horse race.

MLB.com put together a list of the 10 teams that need Ohtani the most. The Rangers checked in at eighth.

The rationale from MLB.com:

There is no doubting the Rangers’ “go for it” credentials in pursuit of their first championship. Not after the club dropped $500 million on a new middle infield (Corey Seager and Marcus Semien) and signed an entire rotation’s worth of veteran starting pitchers over the past two offseasons. If that wasn’t enough, Texas already pulled off the first significant trade of this Deadline season, landing Aroldis Chapman from the Royals to bolster their bullpen. So why stop there?

While the Rangers have roughly three-in-four odds of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs, they’re only a tossup to win the division and nail down that key first-round bye, with the still-dangerous Astros on their heels. Meanwhile, Ohtani is an ideal fit here in multiple ways. First, DH is easily the least productive spot in the Rangers’ lineup (.647 OPS). Second, with Jacob deGrom out for the season and Martín Pérez and Andrew Heaney not particularly effective thus far, another top-tier starting pitcher would be more than welcome, especially in October.

Yes, the Rangers could use another starter and a full-time DH, with Ohtani filling both those roles simultaneously. Other teams, at least in the estimation of the league’s official website, have more needs, which should drive up the bidding.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees – two of the suitors listed above Texas – are iconic franchises with deep pockets, which could appeal to Ohtani more when it comes time to sign what’s sure to be a record-breaking contract.

As for what it would take to trade for Ohtani, lots of packages have been thrown out there, including these three from national media brands. MLB.com also put together another list of potential deals, with this one from the Rangers:

Rangers get:

Shohei Ohtani

Angels get:

INF/OF Ezequiel Duran, RHP Owen White (Rangers No. 2 prospect, No. 44 overall), INF Luisangel Acuña (Rangers No. 3 prospect, No. 45 overall), RHP Jack Leiter (Rangers No. 5 prospect, No. 89 overall), INF Justin Foscue (Rangers No. 7 prospect), OF Dustin Harris (Rangers No. 8 prospect)

The trade deadline is Aug. 1.

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