Texas Rangers Reliever Chris Martin is expected to miss 4–6 weeks with a calf strain, according to Manager Bruce Bochy. Martin has thrown 34.1 innings and has a 2.36 ERA in 39 appearances. Martin has been one of the Rangers’ better relievers this season.
It is bad luck that he got injured at a time when the Rangers need to decide who they’re going to be at the trade deadline. The Rangers are currently 3.5 games out of a Wild Card Spot, and you have to wonder if they will be looking at acquiring bullpen help at the deadline.
There Is a Problem For the Texas Rangers
The problem for the Rangers is that if they want to add an elite bullpen arm at the deadline, they won’t have a ton of options to choose from. Most of the relievers that are being thrown out there are high-velocity closers that are going to cost buyers a fortune to acquire at the deadline. But, there are a lot of solid relievers that get sold at the deadline that don’t have the big name attached to them. That is the kind of trade that seems realistic for the Rangers.
It is hard to project what kind of relievers fit those criteria, because many solid relievers around the game don’t get national attention. Will one reliever fix all the Texas Rangers’ problems and give them hope for a Wild Card Spot? Absolutely not. But if they want to have a shot, they should try to find a Chris Martin replacement. Otherwise, someone will have to step up in the bullpen, and who that could be is hard to project.
Last Thoughts
The Texas Rangers are just one of a bunch of teams that still don’t know who they are. Their play over the next 10 days will dictate if they’re buyers or sellers at this year’s deadline. There are at least five other teams around baseball that still don’t know what they’ll do on July 31.
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