When the second half of the season began, the Texas Rangers were 8.5 games out of first place in the American League West Division.

The Texas Rangers are on the fringe of contention in the AL West, and have their bullpen in mind as the MLB trade deadline inches closer.

The Texas Rangers are the hottest team in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals are ready to hit the reset button. Perhaps there's a deal to be worked out.

Michael Harris II hit a dinger to break the drought in the seventh and then he scored one of two runs for the Braves in the ninth inning. By then, the game was well in hand for Texas after they smacked Rafael Montero for four runs in the eighth inning. Blah.

The Texas Rangers were expected to be sellers ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. Those expectations have changed.

The Texas Rangers have emerged as one of many teams to watch at the trade deadline, and president Chris Young explained his squad's approach.

Texas still holds the best team ERA in baseball and by a good margin, 3.18 to the second-place Royals' 3.50. The bullpen of mixed parts and pieces remains among the best in baseball, their ERA second in MLB behind the Astros.

Rangers veteran All-Star second baseman Marcus Semien made it clear when he addressed what this deadline means. “I want to be adding at the deadline,” Semien said in the Rangers clubhouse after a recent game. “I always want to make that a goal of mine: To make sure I’m on a team that is adding at the deadline.”

Outstanding pitching and the Texas Rangers, historically, are not two things that go together. But this Rangers pitching staff is writing their own narrative.