The Texas Rangers have been red-hot in the month of July. They are now 56-52 on the season and are just one game back of the final American League Wild Card spot.
Texas has also come to within just five games of the Houston Astros in the AL West. They have a few areas of the roster that could use some work with the trade deadline close.
Their biggest need is bullpen help. Relief arms are always at a premium when the trade deadline comes around.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicts that they will swing a blockbuster deal with the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton.
"At surface level, the Rangers have one of the best bullpens in baseball with a 3.25 ERA that trails only the Padres (3.03) for the top spot in all of baseball. However, they have converted just 27 of 45 save opportunities, and fortifying the late innings will be item No. 1 on their trade deadline to-do list," Reuter wrote.
"Helsley (36 G, 21 SV, 3.00 ERA, 10.3 K/9) and Maton (40 G, 20 HLD, 2.35 ERA, 11.3 K/9) would join Robert Garcia, Shawn Armstrong and Hoby Milner to give the Rangers a formidable late-inning contingent."
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Both Helsley and Maton have performed well for St. Louis this year. The Cardinals have understandably set a high asking price for both relievers.
However, the Rangers have a solid farm system and could stomach the loss of a few top prospects in order to get a deal done and further strengthen their bullpen for the stretch run.
The Rangers have been hot lately and have played their way into buyer's territory. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have cooled off and will be a seller in the coming days.
It will certainly be interesting to see if the Rangers can meet the Cardinals asking price for their top two relievers.
More MLB: Cardinals' Ryan Helsey's trade market 'moving quickly' according to insider