Texas Rangers 'Worried' About Two Starters as Trade Deadline Nears

An American League executive said the Texas Rangers are searching for bullpen help and another starting pitcher.

Pitching is at the top of wish list for Texas Rangers going into the trade deadline for obvious reasons, but as the club scours the market for help, their concerns run deep.

One American League executive told MLB.com that the Rangers are being influenced by the performance of two current members of the rotation.

“Bullpen for sure,” the executive said, referring to the Rangers’ priorities. “They also want a starter; they’re worried about [Martín] Pérez and [Jon] Gray.”

Pérez, despite being 8-3, has regressed from last season. His ERA is up from 2.89 in 2022 to 4.91 through 19 starts. In three starts this month, it’s 9.49.

Gray (6-5) has also seen a fall off as the season has gone on. The veteran right-hander had a 2.32 ERA through is first 12 starts and 6.49 ERA in his last seven.

The Rangers have been careful to protect their starters, especially after losing Jacob deGrom. Nathan Eovaldi, who’s experienced a drop in velocity lately, had his start skipped during the current Houston Astros series.

The MLB.com report added that Rangers owner Ray Davis is “heavily engaged” in the trade talks and the franchise is could be moving a lot of prospects from its highly-rated system to make deals work.

The Rangers have led the American League West for virtually the entire season and are poised to break a six-year postseason drought, but the defending champions have closed to gap to one game in the division going into Wednesday night’s series finale.

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