The Rangers have recently been emboldened by a winning streak and continued struggling from the Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros. On Monday night, they pulled to within three games of first place and a single game of second place. Additionally, Reformed outfielder Josh Hamilton is currently on the shelf, so the club decided to add outfielder Will Venable on Tuesday night.  The Rangers are sending minor league catcher/outfielder Marcus Greene and a player to be named later in the deal.

Why the Rangers make this trade?

The Rangers began the trade season thinking primarily about 2016. They added Cole Hamels in the hope of giving them a long-term rotation piece to couple with Yu Darvish when he returns next season. 2015 was more or less an afterthought as the Rangers began the month of August in a fairly distant third place in the AL West. That changed when the Houston Astros suffered through a 2-8 road trip and the Angels were swept by the Blue Jays. They continued to struggle against the Royals and now lead the Rangers by a single game.

The club added Mike Napoli for depth and suddenly the postseason looked possible. Venable adds versatility and some ability to bridge the gap until Hamilton is able to return to health. Venable’s .258/.318/.378 overall numbers don’t look like much, but we have to remember that he played half of his games in Petco Park. The splits are pretty pronounced and every fantasy fan should take notice.

• Home: .211/.274/.289
• Away: .290/.348/.438

Obviously, Arlington is a hitter’s haven, so those road numbers might look even better there. He’s not a superstar by any means, but he is certainly better than most of the guys the Rangers have been throwing out there this season. When Hamilton returns, he can easily shift to either right or left field if the need arises. He may not play everyday, but he certainly makes them deeper.

Why the Padres make this deal

A lot of this trade depends on the quality of the player to be named later. Marcus Greene has been in the Rangers system for three years and only has 577 plate appearances total. He has an intriguing .250/.390/.397 slash line, but he appears to be a guy without a position. Venable is one of those guys that is likely more valuable to a team like the Rangers than he is to a team like the Padres. They aren’t going to be a contender and the Padres still have a pretty crowded outfield situation with Justin Upton, Melvin Upton Jr., Matt Kemp, and Wil Myers.

As has been discussed before, teams utilize the PTBNL (player to be named later) for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, a recent draft pick is involved and the team must wait until the offseason to consummate the deal. Sometimes, the list of players available depends on how often the player played, how well he played, or how the team performed down the stretch (whether they make the playoffs or not). Either way, here’s guessing that the PTBNL is the key player in this deal.

What does this deal mean for you?

Actually, it means a lot more than what you think. We are talking about a player with a .786 OPS in neutral hitting environments. It isn’t hard to imagine him hitting at an .800+ clip in Arlington. If you are struggling for outfielders then he might give you the boost you need with the fantasy playoffs approaching. Keep in mind, offense is down, so anyone that can give you .800 OPS production is a valuable guy and with him being eligible at all of the outfield positions he is that much more valuable.