The Rangers dealing Corey Seager to the New York Yankees fits better than the Mavericks sending Luka Doncic to the Lakers, or the Cowboys dumping Micah Parsons to Green Bay.
Only because the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Cowboys both traded their best players within the span of seven months does a scenario featuring the Texas Rangers dealing the same feel remotely plausible.
Now everything seems possible.
Of the many stunning developments from the Rangers’ push towards a potential playoff spot it’s they have done it without a handful of their “name” players, most notably Seager, who has been out since he needed an emergency appendectomy on Aug. 28.
When he went down, it was perfectly rational to think this team’s miniscule chances of making the playoffs were six feet under. At the time he was placed on the shelf, the Rangers were 68-67 and six games behind Houston for first place in the division.
And here we are.
They are 79-72, and 3 1/2 games back of first. After their loss on Monday night in Houston, the Rangers are three games back of the wild card spot. With 11 games left, they’ve got a chance.
At a minimum the Rangers have hit the minimum by making this final month of the season entertaining; they should finish with a winning record. Considering their payroll ranks sixth in MLB, their “Last Month Of 2025 Was Interesting” T-shirt isn’t going to fly off the racks.
Seager could potentially return for the Rangers’ final homestand, a six-game set that starts on Friday with a series against the Miami Marlins. He did some light running on the field before the Rangers game on Monday night in Houston.
Barring a miracle run through October, the Rangers are due for major changes this offseason. Could be a new manager, and coaching staff. Some major personnel changes are inevitable.
Outfielder Adolis Garcia will be elsewhere next season. And if the Rangers can potentially score a haul for Seager, this is a conversation Rangers GM Chris Young, team owner Ray Davis and some other team head’s of state need to have.
This team has major needs at first base, two outfield spots and DH. Another reliable reliever wouldn’t hurt.
Seager is only 31, and should have three to four more highly productive seasons remaining. The Rangers have enjoyed the best of his prime years, but he’s not finished.
Seager has six years remaining on the 10-year, $325 million contract he signed in December of 2021. He is on the books for $31.5 million in each of the remaining years of his deal that will expire after the ‘31 season, when he’s 37.
Moving him after only four years of his deal is on the premature side, but it is doubtful he was ever going to play here all 10 years.
He could strikeout in every at bat he has for the rest of his time for the Rangers and still go into their Hall of Fame for his performance in 2023. Nothing can ever change how a Rangers fan feels about Seager for his game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1 of the World Series that year.
What he did throughout those ‘23 playoffs is one of those performances that made his massive contract worth it.
Unless it’s an issue of finances, the Rangers should not have to pull an A-Rod and shove Seager off on the nearest big-market team that can absorb his contract in exchange for a bucket of used baseballs.
In Feb. of 2004, the Rangers traded shortstop Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees because then-owner Tom Hicks could no longer afford the original 10-year, $252 million contract he gave him in 2000.
The Rangers were so desperate to unload the player they didn’t get proper value in return.
Like any dive into the statistics, some of Seager’s stats with the Rangers don’t always add up. The club is 243-252 in games he’s started as a Ranger, including team is 55-47 this season. He has not had his best season, and his struggles are the face of what is one of the more disappointing offenses in baseball.
Overall, his individual production over four years in Texas has been top tier. He’s been an All-Star three times with the team, and finished second in league MVP voting in 2023.
Only until this season has his production slipped. Not bench-him-now levels, but there has been some shrinkage.
But the Rangers have serious needs. And they have Josh Smith, who was traded to Texas by the Yankees in 2021 for slugger Joey Gallo.
A Silver Slugger award winner last season, Smith is 27 and continues to prove he’s an every day player. He’s not at Seager’s level, but you don’t have to bury Smith in the ninth spot of the order because he’s an embarrassment to hitting.
He could be an every day shortstop on a contending team.
If dealing Seager could potentially net two bats and a pitcher, the Rangers should at least have a serious discussion about it.
Seager has a limited no-trade clause in his contract, so the number of teams he would waive it for will be smaller than limited. And the size of his contract will narrow the field to less than five.
The Yankees always make sense. Starting shortstop Anthony Volpe has not had the best season, and the Yankees are never afraid to go big on any position.
This is not a desperate situation for the Rangers, and they don’t have to deal their highest paid player.
But if someone calls, they need to listen.
After all, the Mavs did trade Luka and the Cowboys moved Micah.