Which pitchers might be on the Texas Rangers’ radar in free agency?

The Texas Rangers are having a barnstormer of a season by any measure. They have the second-best start to the season of any team apart from the Tampa Bay Rays and their average of 6.3 runs per game leads the MLB.

Much of their success has been built on the bedrock laid by new coach Bruce Bochy, who publicly stated that his run at the post season would start with pitching and then went out and signed some of the biggest names in the business to back that claim up.

Nathan Eovaldi has sizzled, being as close to lights-out as any pitcher in the league, while Dane Dunning has stepped up in a big way to fill out the starting rotation. But the news that Jacob deGrom, one of Bochy’s major star signings in the off season, is out for the season as he undergoes Tommy John surgery for the second time, is foreboding in Arlington.

While it is not yet certain that the Rangers will chase another arm in the mid-season free agency window, knowing Bochy, there is more than a possibility that Texas will do just that.

But who is likely to be on the market? Let’s take a look at a few candidates.

Shohei Ohtani

Ok, let’s get rid of the unicorn right off the bat. For the record, I don’t think that there is any chance at all that the Rangers will land Shotime. For a start, the Angels have been more than reluctant to let him go in any scenario whatsoever, and in fact they still seem to be intent on landing Ohtani on a long-term contract to stay in Anaheim.

Then there is the fact that Ohtani’s apparent frustration with the Angels stems from the fact that he wants to win titles. And while the Rangers have a strong shot at making the post season, they are still a long-shot for the World Series; at least for this season. Teams like the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, and Astros would seem to be more fitting as potential trade partners.

But there is a slight, vanishingly tiny chance that Ohtani will be available and willing to do a deal. It would be the coup of a lifetime for both Bochy and Rangers owner Ray Davis. And for a team who have already pulled off the miraculous, they would certainly not shy away from doing the deal of the century.

Corbin Burnes

Just a year ago, this would have fallen into the same “wishful thinking” category as Shohei Ohtani, but after the bitter recriminations in arbitration, there would seem to be nothing tying Burnes to Milwaukee.

The team laid the blame for not making the playoffs on his shoulders, literally throwing the man who brought them as close as they got to the post season directly under the bus. Burnes was rightfully upset that the team would do that and has all the air of a man simply biding his time until he can leave.

The Brewers may not want to let him go, but hanging onto him might be more damaging in the long term, particularly if he feels that they prevented his move to a playoff contender out of spite. In the end, Bochy may see Burnes as fruit ripe for the picking, and his 3.36 ERA and 1.05 WHIP would slot right into one of the sturdiest rotations in baseball.

Shane Bieber

The 2020 Cy Young winner seems like a stretch with the Guardians sitting only 1.5 games out of first in the AL Central, but there are rumors swirling that he may become available thanks largely to his ERA ballooning to 3.29 with a 1.22 WHIP. Cleveland might be looking for several mid-relievers rather than an inning-chomper like Bieber.

If he does indeed become available, expect Bochy to be at the center of negotiations. That very quality that Bieber has, of eating up innings, is the one valued by Bochy above nearly all else. A solid 200-innning-per-year arm, Bieber would be too hot a property for Texas to miss out on.

Dylan Cease

Let’s face it, the White Sox are having a stinker of a year. Yes, they are only 4.5 games out of first, but the AL Central is a weak division overall, and they should be dominating it.

Dylan Cease was the Cy Young runner-up last year and should be the ace in the White Sox’s rotation, but he is instead wallowing with a healthy 4.38 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. He still has the stuff, but like his team, something is just not clicking.

If he becomes available, and that would depend on a variety of factors in Chicago’s house, then the Rangers could make a strong case for offering the type of rotation that he could find his way back to form within.