Rangers Could Consider Shocking Trade Deadline Blockbuster, Send Star Ace Away

The Texas Rangers have not had the kind of season they were hoping for to follow up the disappointing campaign in 2024 coming off their first-ever World Series title just a year earlier.

It has not been a complete disaster, but this is a team that finds itself on the outside looking in with regards to the playoff picture at roughly the halfway point in the year and is not playing its best baseball.

Over the next few weeks, Texas must ask itself if there is a realistic chance for them to compete this season, and if that answer is not a resounding yes, difficult decisions could have to be made.

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There are numerous Rangers who could become available at the trade deadline, but one who has not been discussed all that much could entirely shake the core of the league and the trade market if they entertained moving him.

For the first time since joining Texas, Jacob deGrom looks like the dominant, unhittable ace the Rangers handed a five-year, $185 million contract to.

With his latest masterclass, the veteran right-hander has thrown his hat into a star-studded race for the American League Cy Young award.

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Still under team control for three more seasons including a very advantageous $20 million club option in 2028 and finally back to form, deGrom's value is as high today as it will be for the rest of his career.

It would be a tough pill to swallow, but what if a contending team wants to offer the moon for the 37-year-old?

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If there is a real market and bidding war to drive up the price -- which would certainly be the case if the Rangers made him available -- this could build an elite farm system in just one move.

Teams with impressive farm systems like the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and several other are all looking for starting pitching at the deadline.

If one of them gets extremely desperate and blows Texas away with an offer for deGrom, it would likely be in the best long-term interest of the franchise to make it happen.

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Trading deGrom would mean a full and complete fire sale, but it would also set the Rangers up to compete for years to come.

Make no mistake, it would be an absolute shock to see deGrom in another uniform this season.

On paper though, it might make a whole lot more sense than it initially seems.

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