The Texas Rangers were active at the MLB trade deadline, completely revamping the pitching rotation with the additions of Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery, and Aroldis Chapman. Scherzer and Montgomery immediately assumed key roles in the starting rotation for the postseason-bound Rangers. Chapman, however, was tasked with reviving a stagnant bullpen.
Chapman, famous for his MLB record 105.1 MPH fastball, is now 35 years old. He can still best hitters with blink-and-you'll-miss heat, but he's not the maestro of his mid-20s heyday. After beginning the season with wayward Kansas City (2.45 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched) on a one-year contract, it was only logical for Chapman to get dealt. The Royals received two quality prospects — LHP Cole Ragans and OF Roni Cabrera — for their troubles.
On the surface, that's great business for both sides. The Rangers are in win-now mode and Chapman has a long history of producing in big moments. The Royals are far removed from the contenders' circle and are focused on getting younger.
That's the way the deadline works, but not every surface-level 'win-win' trade is made equal. The Royals feel like major thieves at the moment with the recent performance of new southpaw Cole Ragans, who has the best qualified ERA in baseball since the trade deadline (1.51).
Kansas City Royals lapping Texas Rangers in aftermath of Aroldis Chapman-Cole Ragans trade
The Rangers are far and away the better team, of course, but Ragans has been absolute dynamite on the bump for Kansas City. He's 4-1 in eight starts, giving up only 35 hits, eight earned runs, and 11 walks in 47.2 innings pitched.
Ragans appeared in 17 games as a reliever for Texas before the trade deadline and he started nine games as a rookie last season. While there was reason for faith in Ragans long term, few could have seen the 24-year-old making such an immediate leap with the Royals. Such are the benefits of a rebuilding situation. Kansas City is giving Ragans opportunities the older, more competitive Rangers were too shortsighted to provide.
In Monday night's 12-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, Ragans threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and only one hit. He has been the best arm on the Royals' staff since the deadline.
The Chapman experience has been less positive for the Rangers. He's not stinking it up by any stretch — Chapman has pitched 21.2 innings in 22 appearances with a 3.32 ERA, 15 hits, eight earned runs, and 11 walks — but it's hard to weigh the value of a quality reliever against a 24-year-old star on the rise in the starting rotation.
Chapman's tenure with the Rangers has come with a couple of significant bumps in the road, too. On Aug. 30, he plunked a Mets batter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to complete a Rangers loss. That kind of miscue is indicative of Chapman's decline from star to solid. He's still quite effective, but he doesn't move the needle like Texas hoped he might.
From the looks of it, the Royals essentially turned a declining veteran with one foot out the door into a foundational cornerstone.
Now, if the Rangers parade all the way to the World Series and Chapman throws a few dynamic innings in the postseason, you won't hear a peep of complaining from the Texas fandom. It's all relative, of course. Texas made this move with the short term in mind and Chapman still has the ability to deliver in October. Ragans and the Royals will be watching from home.
That being said, one has to imagine the Royals' front office feels great about the trade. Ragans has been everything the franchise could have hoped for, and then some.