The Mariners acquired Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks to officially kick off the trade deadline frenzy, which ends at 5:00 on Thursday, July 31.

What will the Rangers do, if anything?

The Rangers got Jon Gray back Wednesday and Joc Pederson is due back soon. He had his first rehab start last night in Frisco, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Bruce Bochy commented that he looks like a totally different hitter than the one who hit .131 with a miserable .507 OPS before getting injured. Remember, he had a forty-one at-bat hitless streak in there. 

So, if Pederson comes back soon, and Jake Burger comes back from his ten-day I.L. stint soon, and with Josh Jung back, and Rowdy Tellez recently brought on board, the Rangers are going to be overstuffed. Josh Smith has to play somewhere. 

All this has led to speculation that the Rangers might not deal for a bat at the deadline, since Pederson would theoretically be as good as any bat they’d deal for. That he comes back as the Joc Pederson of 2024 is a big assumption. And now that Jon Gray is back, does that mean the Rangers don’t bolster the back end of the bullpen with the bona fide closer they never got this offseason? Is Chris Young willing to take those gambles? Would he leave Bruce Bochy out in the cold like that?

There’s nothing less interesting than the endless rumor mill at the trade deadline. The talking heads on MLB TV, and the yammerers on the radio must talk about something, though. So, it’s going to be non-stop nonsense until Thursday.

Will Adolis Garcia be a Rangers on August 1? Will Jake Burger? Or Josh Jung? Or even Jon Gray (because of his salary and the Rangers’ razor-thin margin until they hit their self-imposed salary cap).

Let the yammering begin.

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