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Texas Rangers 2019-2020 Offseason Thread

WastinSomeTime

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I kinda view Choo and odor as “ sunk costs” at this point anyway. What I’m totally sick of is hearing things directly from the rangers organization about odor like “ he’s the heart and soul of our team”, “ he does everything we asks”, “ he’s a big leader in the locker room”, “ he knows he needs to turn it around”. It seemed like Emily Jones spent half of her screen time last year telling us that odor was going to “ break out” any minute now.

I’d almost rather trade for David Price so we see that guy who we’re overpaying once every 5 days instead of waiting in vain on the other guy to “ turn it around” every damn day. With price, we would have a guy we only see once every 5 days instead of having Roogie odor crammed down our throats for 155 games a year when he only deserves to play 40 or 50 games a year at most. Odor wouldn’t start on any other mlb team. Even rangers cast off Hanser Alberto is much better than him.
I don't think you would even see Price every 5 days. I think he will be on the DL a few times a year. But interesting you brought up Hanser Alberto. He did well this year. But I don't think any of us on this board would have said keep him over just about anyone to be honest.
 

Nightcrawler

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I don't think you would even see Price every 5 days. I think he will be on the DL a few times a year. But interesting you brought up Hanser Alberto. He did well this year. But I don't think any of us on this board would have said keep him over just about anyone to be honest.

It’s true tho!

Alberto is a better fielder than odor, better hitter......I think his average was close to .300 and he barely strikes out and he could play 3 out of the 4 infield positions.

way better player than odor and we just gave up on him.
 

WastinSomeTime

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It’s true tho!

Alberto is a better fielder than odor, better hitter......I think his average was close to .300 and he barely strikes out and he could play 3 out of the 4 infield positions.

way better player than odor and we just gave up on him.
Be honest. No one including you saw that coming with Alberto. Hindsight is 20-20.
 

scotsman1948

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But enough of the Astros diatribe... back to Rangers offseason acquisition talk. I’m thrilled (no pun intended) to hear that the owners and JD realize that they need to re-invest in payroll with the new stadium opening. I don’t think we need to go crazy, necessarily, but I would spend their money as follows:

Gerrit Cole- PASS. Best pitcher on the market, hands-down. But for the price tag, I’m scared off. He didn’t become dominant until 2018. Maybe that lasts, maybe it doesn’t. For over $300 Million, it would absolutely have to. If the Rangers were an ace away from World Series contention, I’d say go for it. But pitchers fall a lot harder and a lot faster than hitters do when the proverbial wall comes their way. If he were younger like a Walker Buehler or Jack Flaherty, I’d be all-in, too. But I’d rather them invest in...

Anthony Rendon- BIG YES. What’s not to love? Clutch performer, big time pedigree, Texas native, still not old by hitter standards, well-liked around the league, and he plays a crucial position we haven’t quite filled since AB said goodbye to the game. His glove is still above average, and even if his power dips over the tenure of his contract, his bat will still play due to his high contact rate. He could become one of the faces of the new era and a fan favorite (which we don’t really have at the moment). And he will cost considerably less than Cole. I also say yes to Rendon because I say a HUGE no to...

Josh Donaldson- HELL NO. I could list a lot of baseball reasons here, but I don’t need any of those. I refuse to cheer for that roid raging piece of garbage. He’s easily in my top 5 most loathed players in the game. I hear JD is interested in signing him, so I’m praying someone beats our offer or we’re just using that interest as a smokescreen to hide our intention to sign Rendon. But if we don’t sign Rendon, I wouldn’t mind...

Mike Moustakas- he’s a big step down from Rendon, but he’s a steady .250 hitter with great power who can play both 3B and 2B. He would likely be a much cheaper option, too. Plus, we need a “Mooooooose” to cheer for since it’s been too long since we got to “Cruuuuuuuuuz”. Imagine the culinary concoction the concessions could create in his honor.

Others I wouldn’t mind...

Hyun-Jin Ryu- low strikeout rate, some history of injuries, and the cautionary NL to AL tale to beware of here. But despite all of that, the dude can flat-out pitch. He very, very rarely gets lit up. He puts up 0’s and 1’s in so many outings, and again, the cost in terms of years (estimated at 3 years according to rumors) and dollars would be easy for the Rangers to swallow. Put him there with Minor and Lynn and that’s a very respectable 1-3.

Yasmani Grandal- call me crazy, but I want a catcher who can hit. I know, it’s the position which supposedly is more important defensively than offensively. But I’ve seen enough of Jeff Mathis to know that isn’t always true. We were a force when we had Pudge and Napoli as part of our lineup. I just don’t like giving away at-bats for marginally better defense. Grandal can rake. He’s an ok defensive catcher as well. I wouldn’t put him as a top priority since we do have Trevino, and there are other semi-ok free agent options available. But if the big guns fall through, give me the package deal of Moustakas and Grandal from Milwaukee.

Zack Wheeler- sign me up here as well, because I think he is much like Cole was before the Astros got him... hasn’t scratched the surface yet of how good he can be. A ton of scouts are very high on him and say he’s easily a #2 if not an ace in the right scenario. And again... cheaper than Cole.

Madison Bumgarner- NO. Declining malcontent with anger management issues. Let him be someone else’s mistake.

Dellin Betances- depending on how his medicals look, BIG YES. He is downright nasty and could easily slide into the closer role if LeClerc implodes again.

Will Smith- another great late inning guy I’m all in favor of signing. Absolutely lethal against lefties.

PIE IN THE SKY...

Mookie Betts - JD Martinez opting in has at least made Boston trading their best player a talking point. I just don’t see any way that comes to fruition, or that the Rangers could match up if it did. But I’d be all on board the Mookie train if miracles did happen there.

Stephen Strasburg- injury history and the dreaded M-shaped arm angle delivery (and future trip to Dr. Andrews) aside, I’d sign him if he were open to pitching for the Rangers. I think he will cost less than Cole but he can put up similar numbers. But I strongly suspect he’s going right back to Washington.
okay get it done
 

saddles

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It’s true tho!

Alberto is a better fielder than odor, better hitter......I think his average was close to .300 and he barely strikes out and he could play 3 out of the 4 infield positions.

way better player than odor and we just gave up on him.
No one on this board wanted to keep him that I can remember.
 

saddles

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okay I thought nobody liked Ryu
Those who have something against Ryu will mention is injury frequency and the fact that he has built his reputation pitching at Dodger stadium. That is why I would rather not get entangled with him in a long term deal.
 

saddles

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I kinda view Choo and odor as “ sunk costs” at this point anyway. What I’m totally sick of is hearing things directly from the rangers organization about odor like “ he’s the heart and soul of our team”, “ he does everything we asks”, “ he’s a big leader in the locker room”, “ he knows he needs to turn it around”. It seemed like Emily Jones spent half of her screen time last year telling us that odor was going to “ break out” any minute now.

I’d almost rather trade for David Price so we see that guy who we’re overpaying once every 5 days instead of waiting in vain on the other guy to “ turn it around” every damn day. With price, we would have a guy we only see once every 5 days instead of having Roogie odor crammed down our throats for 155 games a year when he only deserves to play 40 or 50 games a year at most. Odor wouldn’t start on any other mlb team. Even rangers cast off Hanser Alberto is much better than him.
I would rather have Price than Choo and Odor if we give Price a physical first and if Boston agrees to help with his salary in 2021 and 2022. If he has fully recovered from the bone spur surgery and nothing else pops up in the physical then I am fine with bringing him in.
 

Nightcrawler

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I would rather have Price than Choo and Odor if we give Price a physical first and if Boston agrees to help with his salary in 2021 and 2022. If he has fully recovered from the bone spur surgery and nothing else pops up in the physical then I am fine with bringing him in.

it also saves us from the headache of watching Choo block other players and from watching the rangers try to prop up the odor turd.
 

scotsman1948

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Those who have something against Ryu will mention is injury frequency and the fact that he has built his reputation pitching at Dodger stadium. That is why I would rather not get entangled with him in a long term deal.
Neither would I but a 2 + 1 contract would work
 

saddles

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Neither would I but a 2 + 1 contract would work
That would work for us with a lot of FA. Getting them to agree is a whole different matter though.
 

saddles

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The Donaldson/3B FA pursuit could make for some very conspicuous errors on management's part.

Will they send Solak to the minors? Will they keep him as a bench player? Or, will they finally get out the elephant gun and clear the room for Mr. Solak? The first choice is a mistake and the second one is a huge mistake. Only the third choice is the right chouce.
 

Nightcrawler

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The Donaldson/3B FA pursuit could make for some very conspicuous errors on management's part.

Will they send Solak to the minors? Will they keep him as a bench player? Or, will they finally get out the elephant gun and clear the room for Mr. Solak? The first choice is a mistake and the second one is a huge mistake. Only the third choice is the right chouce.

If someone in the rangers front office told me that bringing Donaldson in would be used as an excuse to bench / trade odor, I’d be all for it.

solak shouldn’t be blocked. He deserves his shot. So does Santana.
 

DT LUNA

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If we believe Donaldson would be a bad move, why would JD see different. Someone is certainly missing the bus.:L I'm all in for getting Rendon but if not, go with Solak/IKF since we won't be shooting for all the marbles and see what they can do. Either of them will be better for the team than Donaldson. Desension on the team is the last thing we need.
 
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saddles

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If we believe Donaldson would be a bad move, why would JD see different. Someone is certainly missing the bus.:L I'm all in for getting Rendon but if not, go with Solak/IKF since we won't be shooting for all the marbles and see what they can do. Either of them will be better for the team than Donaldson. Desension on the team is the last thing we need.
JD sees a need to be a good bit better even before our window opens. Some on here view it that way too. I don't mind being better, but when it really matters in 2022, Donaldson and his money may get in the way of something much better. That is what I don't like about getting him for 3 years.
 

saddles

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Jon Daniels says Rangers will add starting pitching

“Possibly, the number is yet to be determined,” Daniels said at the General Managers Meetings this week in Scottsdale, Ariz. “It depends on acquisition costs, whether it is free agent or trade. We are open to a lot of different things.”

This appears to be a relatively deep free-agent market this winter, though Daniels said, “it’s in the eye of the beholder.”

Here is some of what there is to behold:

Top of the rotation: Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner

Cole and Strasburg are clearly the top two pitchers on the market and will command major deals likely beyond the Rangers' appetite, even if either pitcher wanted to pitch in Texas. Bumgarner hasn’t been quite as stellar the past three seasons, but he's just 30 years old and his velocity (91.4 mph) is not that far down from 2014 (92.1), when he earned the World Series MVP Award. He may be the most interesting pitcher to watch this winter given his past versus present.

Next tier: Hyun-Jim Ryu, Dallas Keuchel, Jake Odorizzi, Cole Hamels, Zack Wheeler

This category may appeal to the Rangers more, given their need for multiple starting pitchers as well as a front-line third baseman. Hamels likes Texas but is adamant about playing for a contender. Wheeler and Odorizzi carry the burden of qualifying offers, which would cost the Rangers Draft pick compensation and could reduce their attractiveness. The Rangers have good reports on Ryu. Keuchel is no longer a No. 1, but he can still fit easily into a championship rotation.

Middle rotation: Julio Teheran, Kyle Gibson, Gio Gonzalez, Wade Miley, Ivan Nova, Jhoulys Chacin, Dan Straily, Jason Vargas, Brett Anderson

These are guys that fill out the back end of a rotation. Gibson (with the Twins), Miley (Astros) and Teheran (Braves) were on division championship teams last season and did not draw a postseason starting assignment. The Rangers could use one from this group, but only if they also sign someone better. If they sign two of this bunch, it better be because Anthony Rendon or Josh Donaldson is now their third baseman.
 

saddles

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Bumgarner doesn't belong with those other two.

Hamels may not belong in his group either.
 
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