How Texas Rangers Could Add Cy Young Winner

The Texas Rangers were one of five teams linked to Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes in trade scenarios suggested by The Athletic earlier this week. The interesting part is the player package the site proposed to acquire the three-time All-Star. Burnes is entering his age 29 season and is coming off a 10-8 2023 in which he had a 3.39 ERA. He’s won at least 10 games each of the last three seasons. He led the Majors in ERA in 2021 (2.43) and won the Cy Young that season with an 11-5 record and an MLB-leading 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings. The reason the Brewers might be willing to trade Burnes is he will be a free agent in 2025. The team that acquires him would have to figure out his arbitration bill for 2024, which is likely to be in the neighborhood of $14 million. But there would be no commitment beyond that unless an extension can be worked out.

But, for a former Cy Young winner still in the prime of his career, that might be something the Rangers would be willing to deal with. The bigger question might be the return. The Athletic hypothesized that it would take at least three players to make that sort of deal. The first? Major League-ready center fielder Leody Taveras who is about to enter his first year of arbitration. The logic is that the Rangers have a potential replacement for him in 2024:

Next, the Rangers would have to part with one of their top prospects, an infielder who was recently moved to the 40-man roster but really doesn’t have a pathway to the Majors. That would be former first-round pick Justin Foscue, whose bat impressed Rangers manager Bruce Bochy in Spring Training. But with Marcus Semien and Corey Seager in long-term deals, the time might be coming for the Rangers to get some return on him. The Brewers would likely seek some pitching, too, and the story proposed a right-handed prospect like Josh Stephan, who ended last season with Double-A Frisco.

Is that a deal the Rangers would be willing to make for a one-year rental that could go along with Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, Jon Gray, and Dane Dunning next season?