2014 Offseason

[donaldson79]

Latest from Bowden on our needs.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have had arguably the worst offseason of any American League team. They did re-sign Colby Lewis and brought in the long swing of Kyle Blanks and utility infielder Adam Rosales via free agency. They also made one trade with the Nationals, bringing in former first-round pick Ross Detwiler, who could compete for the fifth spot in their rotation. But they still have needs in left field, at catcher and DH, and even in the starting rotation, depending upon the health of their returning starters. Catcher is the biggest need.

Missing link: Catcher
Possible solutions: Matt Wieters, Jason Castro, Dioner Navarro, Evan Gattis (could also solve LF or DH), Wilin Rosario (could also solve LF or DH).

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Worst off season? I'm not so sure...there'll be additions just based off of guys that are coming into the season healthy.

 

[donaldson79]

Worst off season? I'm not so sure...there'll be additions just based off of guys that are coming into the season healthy.

By worst, I equated this to "least active." And I'm comfortable with this.

 

[romeo212000]

By worst, I equated this to "least active." And I'm comfortable with this.

That's exactly right. There is a reason Bowden isn't a GM anymore.

 

[saddles]

Latest from Bowden on our needs.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have had arguably the worst offseason of any American League team. They did re-sign Colby Lewis and brought in the long swing of Kyle Blanks and utility infielder Adam Rosales via free agency. They also made one trade with the Nationals, bringing in former first-round pick Ross Detwiler, who could compete for the fifth spot in their rotation. But they still have needs in left field, at catcher and DH, and even in the starting rotation, depending upon the health of their returning starters. Catcher is the biggest need.

Missing link: Catcher
Possible solutions: Matt Wieters, Jason Castro, Dioner Navarro, Evan Gattis (could also solve LF or DH), Wilin Rosario (could also solve LF or DH).

The national media always expect us to be much bigger spenders therefore they are always going to be disappointed. They just don't get it.

 

[saddles]

Daniels not ready to overhaul Rangers' roster | texasrangers.com

 

[donaldson79]

Daniels not ready to overhaul Rangers' roster | texasrangers.com

Of course he's not. We've gotta see what we've got in ST and probably all the way up to the AS game.

Then we make some hard and fast decisions; maybe.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Of course he's not. We've gotta see what we've got in ST and probably all the way up to the AS game.

Then we make some hard and fast decisions; maybe.

All the injuries last year just really left a lot of question marks this year. We really do not know what we truly have yet so we are left in an odd situation until the season gets going. I would say it is unique compared to just about all other MLB teams this year.

 

[saddles]

Rangers prospect duo digging it Down Under | texasrangers.com

The Rangers aren't eager to give up on Buckel, especially since he is making progress and the talent is evident. He did walk 5.7 batters per nine innings in the second half at Myrtle Beach last year, but he also struck out 12.0 batters per nine. The walk ratio was also a big improvement over 29 in 17 innings in the first half, so Buckel's continued progress in Australia has to be encouraging to all involved.
"My past is something that will live with me, but it's in the past," Buckel said. "I've grown stronger, and it has helped me grow as a person and a player. It was a life experience you grow with and make the best of it."

"I give a lot of credit to Bobby Rose, my hitting coach at Hickory," Deglan said. "He made some changes in my swing, got me mechanically right and I just started repeating good swings. I'm playing every game, getting my at-bats and not thinking about mechanics, I'm just going out playing and having fun. I'm getting a lot of loft and really barreling up the ball. It has really helped a lot playing down here."

"I'm playing for the big leagues," Deglan said. "I'm playing to be an All-Star in the big leagues. I'm not here to go through the motions in the Minor Leagues. I want to show the organization I'm not happy playing in A ball. I always knew I could do this. Now I'm getting consistent playing time and getting hot for long stretches. Hopefully I have opened a lot of eyes playing winter ball."

Deglan, a catcher by trade playing mostly first base in Australia, has had a particularly memorable Antipodean summer.

 

[WilltheThrill]

Latest from Bowden on our needs.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have had arguably the worst offseason of any American League team. They did re-sign Colby Lewis and brought in the long swing of Kyle Blanks and utility infielder Adam Rosales via free agency. They also made one trade with the Nationals, bringing in former first-round pick Ross Detwiler, who could compete for the fifth spot in their rotation. But they still have needs in left field, at catcher and DH, and even in the starting rotation, depending upon the health of their returning starters. Catcher is the biggest need.

Missing link: Catcher
Possible solutions: Matt Wieters, Jason Castro, Dioner Navarro, Evan Gattis (could also solve LF or DH), Wilin Rosario (could also solve LF or DH).

If you are looking at it strictly from a "what transactions did this team make this offseason to improve the team's weak areas", and I think that's what he was going for, then he's absolutely correct. The Rangers HAVE done the least of any AL team to improve.

However, as we all know, that's not necessarily a fair way to look at things because a ton of our improvement was always going to come from getting guys like Fielder, Choo, Holland, etc. back healthy for a full season. Our "weak areas" were largely weak due to injury. Getting expensive players healthy again and creating room for young guys like Rua, Smolinski, and Profar to play was the offseason plan for improvement all along. It's hard to call a team a failure for not spending big when their plan all along was to not spend big.

And yes, Bowden is typically a moron.

 

[saddles]

Continuing comeback bid, Harrison begins throwing | texasrangers.com

""It went fine and I felt fine," said Harrison, who had the surgery last June. "There were no issues in my back, but I was just playing catch. It wasn't like long toss. But overall, everything felt good. Every day is better and better. We'll see where it goes from here."

 

[Bmurph]

Continuing comeback bid, Harrison begins throwing | texasrangers.com

Rangers P Matt Harrison throws for the first time since May
by Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com
Rangers starting pitcher Matt Harrison threw Wednesday for the first time since undergoing back surgery in May, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Harrison made 30 throws from 30 feet, 25 throws from 45 feet, and 10 more throws from 30 feet, the report said.

"My back's fine," Harrison told the paper.

He made four starts last season before getting shut down. In 2012, his last full season, Harrison went 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA in 32 starts.

 

[saddles]

Texas Rangers 2015 projections: Where does Fangraphs see the Rangers falling short? - Lone Star Ball

This is an interesting article whether you believe in the WAR theory or not.

 

[jta4437]

Texas Rangers 2015 projections: Where does Fangraphs see the Rangers falling short? - Lone Star Ball

This is an interesting article whether you believe in the WAR theory or not.

I agree with the sentiments at the bottom of the article, and have been saying this for a while... attainable bumps by several players would needed for us to be in contention next year.... likely? perhaps not but attainable, and I like this team hedging bets on young controllable players than overpriced free agents and lateral moves that look flashy

Never know when you will hit on a player like Colby Lewis (when he came back from Japan) or Alfredo Simon last season with Cincy

 

[saddles]

I agree with the sentiments at the bottom of the article, and have been saying this for a while... attainable bumps by several players would needed for us to be in contention next year.... likely? perhaps not but attainable, and I like this team hedging bets on young controllable players than overpriced free agents and lateral moves that look flashy

Never know when you will hit on a player like Colby Lewis (when he came back from Japan) or Alfredo Simon last season with Cincy

Probably a few will be better than projected and a few will be worse. There will likely be another injury or two as well I would think. I think we will be a .500 team or close to that. I just hope we don't slightly overachieve in the first half and cause JD to make a trade we will regret later. If we are not going to be in contention I hope that is obvious by July.

 

[donaldson79]

Source: Texas Rangers no longer involved with free agent pitcher Brandon Beachy | Dallas Morning News

Another positive MRI for Texas Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar | Dallas Morning News

Both of these are positives IMO.

 

[scotsman1948]

Source: Texas Rangers no longer involved with free agent pitcher Brandon Beachy | Dallas Morning News

Another positive MRI for Texas Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar | Dallas Morning News

Both of these are positives IMO.

yeah as soon as other teams got involved in Beachy his price tag went up and that immediately drove us out. we are still looking but salary is the most important factor any one picked up by the Rangers has to be dirt cheap

 

[saddles]

Beachy in all likelihood will not sign here, but I don't know if I would trust any source that Evan is referring to.

 

[saddles]

This article is about 3 weeks old, but is an interesting read. I disagree with some of what Gil has to say, but I liked the article.

Go ahead, Rangers execs: Be mavericks in free agency | The Star Telegram

 

[WastinSomeTime]

From Ft Worth Star Telegram:

LHP Matt Harrison (back) threw for the first time since having surgery in May. He made 65 throws from 30-40 feet. Harrison is hoping to pitch sometime in 2015.

Cannot say that sounds real promising.