MLB trade rumors: One player each team should target

Texas Rangers: Andrew McCutchen

The Rangers have been one of the most aggressive teams at the trade deadline the past two years, acquiring Cole Hamels and Jonathan Lucroy in back-to-back years. Those impact trades have given them two straight AL West titles. The division title is out of the question this year, but the Rangers have just as good a chance to get a wild card as anyone in the American League.

Texas has been able to get so much done at the deadline over the last two seasons because of their commitment to keeping a stable of top Latin American talent in the farm system. No team has mined the international market for prospects better than the Rangers. That could pay off for them again this year if they can trade for Andrew McCutchen.

Hamels and Lucroy filled major needs for the Rangers in their last two big trades. McCutchen would fill another hole this year in the outfield where Carlos Gomez has had a hard time replicating what he did after the Rangers scooped him off the scrap heap last year. McCutchen could continue playing center field as he did in Pittsburgh, or he could slide to a corner and push Delino DeShields into a part-time role with Gomez.

The next two years are crucial for the Rangers if they hope to win a World Series before Adrian Beltre’s Hall of Fame career ends. Hamels is back from an injury and is pitching well. The Rangers have the all-around talent to come storming back for the second wild card if they can pull off another huge trade.