Now that the trade deadline is over, the Texas Rangers can look ahead to the future.

It was a rather non-eventful series of days for a team competing for a division title, but at the end of the day, some interesting names could still pop up on the waivers.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 5, that's exactly what happened. 

New York Post's Jon Heyman reported that the Chicago White Sox were planning to place Austin Hays on release waivers, despite him signing a one-year, $6 million deal at the start of the season.

Interestingly, that contract does come with an $8 million mutual option next year. Should the Rangers decide to place a claim and bring him in, if all goes well, he could stick around next season.

Heyman said Hays "could be an interesting right-handed bat for a team that missed out before deadline," and that definitely applies to the Rangers.

It wasn't a pressing issue, but now, they could make a move on something that would cost them next to nothing.

Hays, 31, has only appeared in 12 games this season. He hit .233 in his 43 at-bats, and while he carried a -0.4 WAR, that was such a limited sample size it clearly can be swept under the rug.

The Florida native was recently activated off the 60-day Injured List due to hamstring and calf injuries.

Fresh off a minor league rehab stint, Hays seems ready to go, and it could be the Rangers who decide to take a chance on him.

While a deal never ended up happening, DLLS Sports' Jeff Wilson told Rangers fans to "keep an eye" on Hays as the Rangers were interested over the offseason.

Hays has a career .262 batting average to go along with a solid .745 OPS. Should he join the Rangers, or any team for the remainder of the year, it'll be the fifth organization he's played for dating back to 2024.

At this point in his career, Hays is just looking to stay active and prove his injury issues are behind him. Remember, this is a guy who played 103 games for the Cincinnati Reds a year ago, so he still clearly has a lot left in the tank, and he was a 0.8 WAR player last year, which was his highest mark since 2023.