Ken Rosenthal says the Rangers are after veteran righthanders Hunter Harvey and Phil Maton
Texas Rangers trade rumors: Phil Maton and Hunter Harvey, a pair of veteran righthanded relievers, are “among the relievers the Rangers are pursuing,” according to Ken Rosenthal.
Harvey is on a one year, $3.7 million deal with the Kansas City Royals. Harvey has missed most of the season due to a teres major strain suffered in April, and was only activated last week. In 7.2 innings this year over nine games, he has struck out seven, not walked anyone, and hasn’t allowed a run. He has a career 3.16 ERA and 3.19 FIP in 182 innings, all in relief.
Maton is on a one year, $2 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is having his best season, putting up a 2.35 ERA and 2.49 FIP in 38.1 IP over 40 appearances, with a 2.55 xERA. His K rate is at 30.4% this year, the best mark of his career other than the truncated 2020 season, and he has allowed just one homer. For his career he has a 4.01 ERA and 3.87 FIP in 449 innings.
Rosenthal also mentions Rockies reliever Jake Bird as a possibility, and he is someone Evan Grant has talked about as being on the Rangers’ radar as well. Unlike Maton and Harvey, Bird is under team control beyond this season. He has a 4.73 ERA in 53.1 IP, good for a 100 ERA+, this year.