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Did Rangers Do Enough With Bullpen To Continue Improving Their Postseason Odds?

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Texas Rangers caught fire during the month of July, which changed their approach to the MLB trade deadline.

In the weeks leading up to the deadline, the Rangers looked like a team that was going to be selling. Not a full-on teardown firesale, but players who were on expiring contracts or players with salaries on the rise, such as right fielder Adolis Garcia, were considered realistic trade chips.

But, once their performance turned around, the front office pivoted and the team became buyers, looking to address some weaknesses on the roster.

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Many people assumed Texas would be on the lookout for some lineup help, but they didn’t acquire any positional players.

Instead, the Rangers reinforced their strength, acquiring Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks to fortify their starting rotation behind Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom.

In the bullpen, the team was in the market for a late-game, high-leverage relief pitcher. Ideally, someone with experience closing games.

The likes of David Bednar of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals were both mentioned, but ended up elsewhere.

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Instead, the Rangers sought more balance for their bullpen, acquiring left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe from the Minnesota Twins and right-handed reliever Phil Maton from the Cardinals.

Did Rangers do enough to bolster their bullpen?

Not the experienced closer fans were hoping for, but both have been pitching well this season and are upgrades for this bullpen.

Will that be enough to help get the team over the hump?

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Right now, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN has placed Texas at No. 13 in his most recent Stock Watch piece.

They are the last team in Tier 2 “Second Tier Contenders,” just outside of the Tier 3, “Teams Just Hanging On.”

“Still, though newcomers Danny Coulombe and Phil Maton help, you can't help but look at the prospects it took to acquire Kelly and wonder how much that offer could have been tweaked for Griffin Jax or Jhoan Duran,” he wrote.

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Three top-13 prospects were traded to acquire Kelly, who is a rental. That seems like an incredibly steep price for a pitcher who may only be on the team for two months.

Starting pitching also wasn’t their greatest need. Using those assets to land a controllable late-inning bullpen arm may have been a better use of the team’s trade chips.

At the very least, the Rangers are heading in the right direction, with their projected win total, playoff odds and championship odds all on the rise from the last stock watch Doolittle put together.

For more Rangers news, head over to Rangers On SI.

This article first appeared on Texas Rangers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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