This article could be as relevant today as it was two years ago.

LOOKING FOR OTHER THINGS.

At this point it’s not about wins or loses. From here on out it’s about player development and retooling the roster.

According to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, the Rangers have told other clubs they are “open to anything” in terms of listening to trade offers. Ken Rosenthal reported the same thing a few days earlier. The Rangers aren’t waiting for the trade deadline.

The junk store is now open for business. The fire sale is now in progress.

But until that happens, attention will be turned to the action on the field, to progress made in places they don’t measure in Ws and Ls. After all, what else is there to do with this season?

If there is a player in the major leagues who is in major need of recovery, it’s Rougned Odor. Coming off his dismal 2017, he is having an even worst 2018. But he finally hit his first home run of the year, a three-run blast that tied the game temporarily last night. He is a hitter that is defined by one thing, the home run. And for him to have gone this far into the season without one had to be eating at him.

Maybe now he can exhale, relax, and be a hitter again.

He said he has felt great at the plate lately, and that he felt he was just ready to turn the corner. A lot of people say a lot of things, though.

But you can’t walk to the corner without taking that first step. And last night’s shot off Masahiro Tanaka was encouraging.

If Odor could somehow wave a magic wand and end up back where he was in 2016, that would be a huge boost to the future of this team. He was dynamic offensively. He was a pesky young hitter who was hitting for power and average, and seemed to have a lot of upside. Ego has a way of undermining potential.

He is still young. And young players go through slumps. A season and a quarter is a bit longer than would normally qualify as a slump.

So, the rest of this season is about guys like Odor. How does Guzman adjust. What can Mazara do to prevent those long, flat periods where his offense disappears? Will Willie Calhoun finally get called up, and will he make an impact? Can Gallo mature as a hitter, or is it going to just be bombs away, let’s hit 50? What is the ceiling on Isiah Kiner-Falefa?

The trades are coming. The team is going to be sold off. The loses will mount even higher.

It’s about the future of the franchise. Because the present isn’t pretty.