Texas Rangers Trade Rumors: Team Should Make Late Push to Land Giancarlo Stanton

The Texas Rangers should go big or go home.

It appears that general manager Jon Daniels wants to go big. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the Rangers are going after some of the biggest bats in the game, including Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins. Texas made a four-player offer for the outfielder, but it was rejected, per Knobler.

While the Rangers were turned away, the scribe does note that the offer was so strong that the Marlins considered pursuing it. Texas doesn’t have a ton of talent in the minor league system, but it could potentially put together a package that even Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria couldn’t refuse.

Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reports Texas will listen on anyone:

It’s going to take quite the collection of players in order to pry Stanton from Loria’s wrath. But the Rangers seem desperate enough to make it happen. ESPN’s Jayson Stark reports the team is acting as if it knows that Nelson Cruz is going to get suspended for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.

Stark reports that the Rangers have been calling teams to talk about players such as Alex Rios, Hunter Pence, Kendrys Morales, Matt Kemp, Carlos Quentin and Brian McCann. Cruz has been a big contributor in Texas’ lineup this season, and it would be a massive loss if he couldn’t play for the remainder of the season.

The Rangers are already six games back in the AL West and need to make a move to boost the offense quickly for a couple of reasons. First, there’s only around 24 hours left until Major League Baseball’s trade deadline passes. Second, Cruz could get suspended at any moment. Texas needs to make a late push.

Stanton should be the guy Texas focuses on, even though Miami has been reluctant to ship him to any team that’s shown interest. The outfielder was hurt for a portion of the season, but he has still been productive. Through 62 games, he’s hitting .262/.379/.502 with 13 homers and 33 RBI. Here’s a look at his career numbers:

Stanton is under contract for the next few years, which means his price tag is going to be even more insane. But if the Rangers are truly going to listen on any of the players they have, Daniels can find a way to work out a deal. He probably has a good idea as to what it’ll take based on the offer he already made to Miami.

While it isn’t known who was or wasn’t a part of that offer, one would presume that if Stanton is coming to Texas, then Jurickson Profar is going to Miami. He’s the team’s biggest asset, as he could be just as big of a star in future years. He has a ton of potential, but he hasn’t been able to play much in the big leagues with the Rangers.

Through 46 games this season, the middle infielder is hitting .243/.318/.342 with three home runs and 11 RBI. The Rangers would probably like to hang onto him and deal someone like Elvis Andrus instead, but I don’t see any way where Loria makes the trade without Profar being included.

In addition to Profar, Daniels would likely need to include Martin Perez, who’s arguably the top pitching prospect in the organization. The young lefty has made eight starts for the Rangers this season and is 3-3 with a 4.37 ERA. In 45.1 innings of work, he’s averaging 5.56 strikeouts and 2.58 walks per nine innings.

If Daniels were to include those two young assets and another prospect or two, it would be tough for Loria and the Marlins to reject it. That’s a ton of talent going to Miami for a player who might not want to continue playing for a last-place team for the next few seasons.

It’s a scenario that includes a ton of star power, but it’s one that would help both organizations going forward. The Rangers get the bat they so desperately want, and the Marlins add even more talent to their already up-and-coming system.

Could it happen? Sure. Will it happen? We’ll have to wait and see.

All statistics in this article were obtained via FanGraphs unless otherwise noted and are current through July 29. All injury information was obtained via Baseball Prospectus, and all contract information was obtained via Cot’s Contracts.