ARLINGTON – Only the Rangers. Only the Rangers could, within the span of six hours, offer the promise of a brighter future and, just as quickly, push the horizon a little farther off.
Just another Wednesday in July.
At noon, the Rangers were announcing they’d signed first-round pick Jack Leiter, their ace of the future. By game time, just as Leiter was going to the mound to throw the ceremonial first pitch, they were scratching Joey Gallo from the lineup in anticipation of finalizing a deal with the New York Yankees. He was not in the dugout during a 3-2 loss to Arizona.
According to sources and pending final medical review, Gallo and reliever Joely Rodriguez will go to New York for a package of four prospects: infielders Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran, outfielder Trevor Hauver and pitcher Glenn Otto. Even that was a modification of the original deal the clubs had tentatively agreed to that included John King instead of Rodriguez and two other prospects headed to the Rangers. There was no official announcement of the deal Wednesday. It’s a haul of a lot of names.
But a couple of questions: One, how many are real prospects? If you subscribe to things like prospect and organizational rankings, the Rangers got none of the top 10 prospects from a farm system ranked 18th of 30 by Baseball America. Not that prospect rankings are ever the true measure. Remember when Jurickson Profar was the top prospect in baseball? Two years in a row? Anyway, the BA rankings are done in the offseason. How was anybody to gauge what to make of 2020 with no minor league season.
Another question: How far away are they? Otto, 25, is at Triple-A and could compete for a rotation spot in 2022. The other guys are all at advanced Class A or below. Duran, 22, might be the best player in the deal, a hitter who might be on the same level as the Rangers’ currently-thumping 2020 first-round pick Justin Foscue. There is hitting talent and upside here, but there is also a way to go. The Rangers had hoped to be back to contention in 2023. Unless owners Ray Davis and Neil Leibman are about to embark on a Kardashian-esque spending spree over the next two offseasons, that seems more than a little optimistic.
And speaking of money, the Rangers went in this direction after San Diego had offered them a higher-ranked prospect. One. Outfielder Robert Hassell III. He’s a top 50 prospect, according to the lists. But the Rangers would have had to take on some of Eric Hosmer’s remaining contract to get him. Even with the Padres sending along cash, it was likely to cost Texas upwards of $20 million for Hosmer.
With so much work to do, it makes more sense to have every dollar available. And while none of these prospects may rank quite as high as Hassell, there is more room for error. The Rangers can afford to bat .200 on this deal and still come away with more than betting on a single player. And it can’t be said enough: The Rangers are still quite thin among position-player prospects. The meager returns on young players given opportunities at the major league level this year only underscores that. There are few prospects at Triple-A. The Rangers needed to add a layer of hitters.
There are probably more names to come, though likely of lesser prominence than the Yankees stars. Trading Gallo two days before the Friday deadline all but ensures the Rangers will deal pitchers Ian Kennedy and Kyle Gibson. If they have gone this way with Gallo, they must continue this all the way through.
None of this will make the next two months or 2022 any easier. On pace for 100 losses, the Rangers are trading away their best player. Also: The most recognizable face on an otherwise faceless roster. The deal was close enough that 15 minutes before Wednesday’s game, manager Chris Woodward changed his lineup card. It was another kick for a team gasping for air.
“I think there’s shock,” Woodward said of the reaction to pulling Gallo out of the lineup. “The names on our roster have been out there a while now, so I don’t think anybody is surprised by anything potentially happening. But there is still some initial shock. As a player, you start thinking a little bit ‘This sucks.’ It’s somebody you share your locker with, who you’re teammates with. It always hurts no matter who it is, but especially a guy like that.”
Though Gallo had said he simply wanted to stay in Texas, the sides could not make any headway on a contract extension. According to a source, the Rangers offered Gallo five years; Gallo’s agent, Scott Boras, values his player, who can be a free agent after 2022, in the vein of franchise cornerstone players who earn eight- and 10-year deals worth more than $200 million.
The problem: The Rangers have never been able to determine if Gallo is a franchise cornerstone player or merely a very good one whose offensive streakiness makes him unable to carry a team for more than short spurts. Gallo had been in a 2 for 30 slump since the All-Star break entering Tuesday before he hit a three-run homer that turned the game around.
Afterwards, in an on-field interview with Emily Jones of Bally Sports, he thanked fans, just in case it was the last time he’d have a chance to speak with them as a Ranger.
“We don’t know the future,” Gallo said Tuesday. “Last year, the night before the trade deadline, when my name was in [trade talks], I thought about not being able to say ‘Thanks.’ I just didn’t want to miss an opportunity to say it. I want people to know that I appreciate everything they’ve done for me and how they’ve supported me.”
Gallo’s future now appears to be in New York. The Rangers’ long-term future appears to be brighter. How far off: You sit and wonder.
More on the Joey Gallo trade
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