On July 30th, the Rangers swung a trade deadline deal with the Tigers to acquire veteran reliever Andrew Chafin in exchange for RHP prospects Joseph Montalvo (Rangers’ No. 27 prospect) and Chase Lee.

Chafin instantly became a fan favorite in Texas with his wild mustache and hair, a warmup song of Friends In Low Places by Garth Brooks, and his elite BP shagging skills.

Regarding actual pitching, Chafin made 21 appearances for the Rangers, throwing 19.1 innings with a 4.19 ERA.

Command was a big issue for Chafin at times, as he walked 15 batters in his 19.1 innings with Texas.

Those 19.1 innings would cost the Rangers just $1.95 million towards the team’s payroll as Detriot was paying $2.78 million.

Next season, Chafin’s services will come at a little bit of a stepper price if Chris Young and the front office so choose.

Chafin has a team option for 2025 with a price tag of $6.5 million as the Rangers look to rebuild their bullpen.

Rangers GM Chris Young will be faced with the decision of whether or not to pick up Chafin’s option early in the offseason as he looks to guide the team back to the postseason.

At his end-of-season press conference, Young simply said “The bullpen is an area we need to address.”

Picking up Chafin’s option would be a start but it certainly wouldn’t be the best move as far as value goes.

$6.5 million is a pretty steep price tag for a player of Chafin’s caliber. For reference, David Roberson and Kirby Yates made a combined $9.5 million last season.

There is no doubt that there will be much better value on the open market this winter than Chafin’s option.

On the other hand, there is definitely a world where exercising Chafin’s option makes some sense.

The Rangers are revamping a majority of their bullpen as Robertson, Yates, and Jose Leclerc will each be free agents after the World Series.

Andrew Chafin would certainly add a veteran presence to what is going to be a revamped bullpen.

If Texas believes that he can improve from where he was last year, there is no doubt Chris Young will pull the trigger on Chafin’s option.