The Texas Rangers are reportedly interested in two Rays All-Stars to strengthen the offense

ESPN's Buster Olney reported Friday afternoon that the Texas Rangers were among the teams negotiating with the Tampa Bay Rays for Isaac Paredes and Yandy Díaz.

Díaz made the 2023 All-Star team as a first baseman and Paredes was an All-Star third baseman this summer.

This came shortly after Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Rangers were looking for a bat and called about Díaz. The Rays have also declared themselves sellers, sending outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and pitcher Zac Eflin to the Orioles, leaving Tampa Bay open for business.

Both Díaz and Paredes play positions the Rangers are well-staffed at, so either could fill in as DH or play in the field if needed. The Rangers rank last in the MLB in terms of OPS at the DH slot, so any extra hitter would be welcome.

Díaz narrowly won the AL batting title in 2023 over Corey Seager with a .330 batting average, but his numbers are down a bit this season. His OPS of .726 is below his career mark of .805 and his mark of .932 in 2023, but would still be a significant improvement for the Rangers.

Paredes is currently having a better season, with an OPS of .797 and an OPS+ of 129, but with Josh Smith and Josh Jung at third base, there would be a bit more position crowding.

Paredes has also declined significantly over the course of the season. His OPS of .867 in March/April and .915 in May have dropped to .713 in June and .640 in July. Paredes has a batting average of just .136 in July.

Both players have affordable contracts beyond this season. Díaz has a contract through 2025 for a total of $18 million with a team option for 2026 for $12 million, while Paredes is under contract through the 2027 season.

The Rangers announced at the deadline that they are buyers after being thrown into turmoil just before the deadline in July when rumors circulated that they were sellers. But the urgency remains high after Friday's loss to the Blue Jays, as the first-place Astros and second-place Mariners both won. Texas is 3.5 games behind Houston and 2.5 games behind Seattle entering Saturday.

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