2014 Offseason Plans Thread

[romeo212000]

I think there was a year before Kinsler was moved there that Andrus hit lead off exclusively. He seemed to spend way to much time trying to work the count. Problem was he was taking to many hittable pitches in the strike zone and wound up hitting behind in the count a lot.

second spot seems to suit him better where his job is to put the ball in play behind the runner.

 

[jta4437]

I think there was a year before Kinsler was moved there that Andrus hit lead off exclusively. He seemed to spend way to much time trying to work the count. Problem was he was taking to many hittable pitches in the strike zone and wound up hitting behind in the count a lot.

That's the year I'm speaking of

 

[Justinkm83]

I said earlier that the Phillies signing Ruiz screwed us in many ways. Here's one, another being the Red Sox. Obviously we no longer have Ruiz to fall back one either which hurts. Soto might be our catcher.


Carlos Ruiz could have been of interest to the Yankees, but with the Phillies catcher now off of the market, they've set their sights higher and are zeroing in on Brian McCann, Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger writes. “He’s made for New York,” one rival executive said of McCann. “This guy is as mentally tough as it gets.”

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I know, 3 million
honestly, I'm a little floored

You wonder if that could have messed with his head some during the season.

 

[lainey12]

You wonder if that could have messed with his head some during the season.

yes you do, I posted something similar...that was one of my first thoughts when I read it.
still stunned he would turn that down

 

[scotsman1948]

Per Baseball Prospectus' injury database, it was mainly hamstring injuries that cost Kemp 56 games in 2012. In 2013, it was a combination of hamstring, shoulder and ankle injuries that cost him 89 games. In a little over a year, he's had two surgeries on his left shoulder and one on his left ankle.

Given the state of Kemp's lower half, you have to wonder if he'll ever regain the speed that once allowed him to steal 40 bases. Given the state of his left shoulder, you have to wonder if he'll ever regain the power that allowed him to hit 116 home runs between 2009 and 2012.

In and of themselves, wonderings such as these are darn good excuses to be hesitant to strike a deal for Kemp. Then there's the likely circumstances of a deal for him.

If the Dodgers were to agree to eat a large chunk of Kemp's contract, they'd want some legit talent in return. It would be either that, or taking on all of the money owed to him. Either avenue would have the potential of leading to disaster.

Kemp, basically, is a player that nobody should want to touch with a 100-foot pole right now. Crawford and Ethier are both solid lefty hitters, but neither of them is the best lefty-hitting outfielder the Rangers can add to their lineup this winter.

 

[jta4437]

Per Baseball Prospectus' injury database, it was mainly hamstring injuries that cost Kemp 56 games in 2012. In 2013, it was a combination of hamstring, shoulder and ankle injuries that cost him 89 games. In a little over a year, he's had two surgeries on his left shoulder and one on his left ankle.

Given the state of Kemp's lower half, you have to wonder if he'll ever regain the speed that once allowed him to steal 40 bases. Given the state of his left shoulder, you have to wonder if he'll ever regain the power that allowed him to hit 116 home runs between 2009 and 2012.

In and of themselves, wonderings such as these are darn good excuses to be hesitant to strike a deal for Kemp. Then there's the likely circumstances of a deal for him.

If the Dodgers were to agree to eat a large chunk of Kemp's contract, they'd want some legit talent in return. It would be either that, or taking on all of the money owed to him. Either avenue would have the potential of leading to disaster.

Kemp, basically, is a player that nobody should want to touch with a 100-foot pole right now. Crawford and Ethier are both solid lefty hitters, but neither of them is the best lefty-hitting outfielder the Rangers can add to their lineup this winter.

You can live without the speed, we have that in large amounts, its the power outage last year that's troubling for sure... but if I was going to gamble on a any of those 3 it would be Kemp simply due to his ceiling.... for a straight up swap of Kinsler & Kemp? I'd be very hesitant but ultimately depending on how it all shakes out at the end of the day I MIGHT do it

We'd be getting the better player but a much worse contract... tricky dilemma

 

[scotsman1948]

You can live without the speed, we have that in large amounts, its the power outage last year that's troubling for sure... but if I was going to gamble on a any of those 3 it would be Kemp simply due to his ceiling.... for a straight up swap of Kinsler & Kemp? I'd be very hesitant but ultimately depending on how it all shakes out at the end of the day I MIGHT do it

We'd be getting the better player but a much worse contract... tricky dilemma

according to the story, he had 2 surgeries on his left shoulder and there is a lot of doubt if he will ever regain the power stroke.

there are just too many IF's surrounding him to make it worth taking on that contract even if the Dodgers took on 30-35M of it. it is not the trading of Kinsler that bothers me it is taking on the major IF of Kemp ever being close to the player he was.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

I'm all for risks and being a wildcat every now and then but I don't think Matt Kemp should be the one we should be taking the risk on.

 

[romeo212000]

I'm all for risks and being a wildcat every now and then but I don't think Matt Kemp should be the one we should be taking the risk on.

Agree 100%

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

You know... given his ludicrous history... this isnt that bad of an idea from Bowden.

Texas Rangers

The Move: Sign Robinson Cano to an eight-year, $200 million deal.

Why: This would shock the baseball world. This would finally solve the third spot in the Rangers' lineup with the best player in this year’s free-agent class. This would also allow the Rangers to get creative in trade talks with their present middle infielders. For example, they could try to deal Ian Kinsler to the Royals for Gold Glove left fielder Alex Gordon or DH Billy Butler. Then move either Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar to St. Louis for a package that would include either Oscar Taveras or Matt Adams and possibly even one of the Cardinals' pitching prospects.

The Rangers need upgrades at first base, left field and DH. By signing Cano and possessing a surplus of middle infielders, GM Jon Daniels could wheel and deal and solve all of his problems.

There's also this "idea" for Tampa

Tampa Bay Rays

The Move: Trade David Price to the Rangers in exchange for Jurickson Profar, Luke Jackson and Joey Gallo.

Why: At this point it's pretty clear that Price is going to be traded, and this would be a comparable package to what the Rays got from the Royals last winter in the James Shields deal. A little better, in fact, because Price is better than Shields and is two years from free agency, as Shields was last year. The Rangers have too many middle infielders, so Profar is expendable, and Price would make them the AL West favorites.

Jackson is a righty with serious potential who is probably a year away, while Gallo has incredible power but strikes out way too much (40 homers and 172 strikeouts in 111 minor league games in 2013). Meanwhile, Profar would be the Rays' shortstop solution for at least five years.

 

[jta4437]

according to the story, he had 2 surgeries on his left shoulder and there is a lot of doubt if he will ever regain the power stroke.

there are just too many IF's surrounding him to make it worth taking on that contract even if the Dodgers took on 30-35M of it. it is not the trading of Kinsler that bothers me it is taking on the major IF of Kemp ever being close to the player he was.

Isn't that what I just said??

 

[jta4437]

I'm all for risks and being a wildcat every now and then but I don't think Matt Kemp should be the one we should be taking the risk on.

Of Ethier, Crawford and Kemp, he is

I wasn't speaking about league wide

 

[jta4437]

You know... given his ludicrous history... this isnt that bad of an idea from Bowden.





There's also this "idea" for Tampa

That Tampa trade is pretty terrible

A lot of moving parts in regards to the Cano deal to make it work as well as multiple teams, not not mention choosing a direction going forward

 

[WastinSomeTime]

That Tampa trade is pretty terrible

A lot of moving parts in regards to the Cano deal to make it work as well as multiple teams, not not mention choosing a direction going forward

I think my problem with Cano or any other ball player is the 8 years. I just think that is too much. If the player tails off the last 3-4 years you are stuck with an albatross like the Angels will be. He is 31 which is fine for now but not that long.

 

[Hambombs]

I don't understand why we need cano

 

[Hambombs]

So I guess if everything goes perfect lineup would look like this?

Kinsler 1B
Andrus SS
Cano 2B
Beltre 3B
Rios RF
Moreland DH
Soto C
Martin CF
LF?????

Darvish
Price
Holland
Harrison
Perez

 

[donaldson79]

I wouldn't make that trade in Tampa either. But the Cano signing is pretty interesting idea. But as someone just posted, 8 years is a long, long time.

 

[Justinkm83]

I wouldn't make that trade in Tampa either. But the Cano signing is pretty interesting idea. But as someone just posted, 8 years is a long, long time.

I brought up Cano at the end of last month at some point, and had it shot down pretty hard.
I know not many of you want Kemp and I don't know of another team besides the Royals that might take Ian. So for the signing of Cano I would think it's Butler, Ethier, Kemp, or Crawford that we would get for Ian.

2. Cano
3. Kemp
4. Beltre
5. McCann
6. Rios

That sounds very intriguing, and yes I know that would put well over the 125 that JD says we'll be around.

 

[Justinkm83]

I don't know why it put an LOL character at the top of my last post, but I wasn't laughing at your comment Donaldson79