The deck wasn’t stacked against the Texas Rangers ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, but they weren’t exactly dealing from a position of strength.
Cole Hamels was not pitching well and had a difficult contract situation, rental relievers Jesse Chavez and Jake Diekman were never going to produce a massive return, and Adrian Beltre had full no-trade protection and only a few teams he would consider.
It became apparent that the Rangers’ best trade chip was Keone Kela, the hard-throwing right-handed closer who came with two years of contractual control.