2014 Offseason

[jta4437]

with Elvis, Jurickson, Rougned, Sardinas, Travis Demeritte, Ti'Quan Forbes and Yeyson Yrizarri it would seem to be a good time to trade now

If you trade Elvis then you leave a huge question mark at SS, I'm sure 2B and Odor would be fine,

If you're talking about one of the lesser guys thats a different story

But, to me you need an assurance that Elvis is ready to take the next step and actually earn his money or that Jurickson (or anyone else) is ready to be the guy at SS before you trade any of them

Though Sardinas might be a piece for a team needing a low cost, long term controlled SS with limited offensive ability and solid defense

 

[donaldson79]

I think we're ignoring the elephant-in-the-room and it isn't our "supposed" glut of middle infielders. It's the lack of long term commitment from Darvish which concerns me most.

Without a multitude of situations working out right for us, we're not even in the discussion for a WS appearance in 2015. And that leaves us with a one year window of Yu's services before he can become a FA.

What I'm suggesting is we approach Darvish RIGHT NOW with a new five year contract. We offer to buy out his last 2 years (15/16) which are amazingly team friendly, and extend him for 3 more. Give him $20 mil for each of the next 2 years, and $25+ mil for years 17-19. Just throwing spaghetti numbers out for the sake of generating conversation.

Thus he's making a net gain of about $100 mil or more and we have him under control until he's 33. And he'd still be able to garner another shot at free agency then.

If he balks at making the long term commitment then his message to us is quite clear. At least to me. He wants to see what he can get on the open market and Texas be damned; in a manner-of-speaking anyway.

I know many, if not most, of ya are going to hate on this idea. But Yu is valuable, under-compensated, and most importantly, seems to be the Hollywood type to me. He'd be a perfect fit with the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, and a half dozen others.

Can you imagine what teams would give us for a pitcher of his status and at such a bargain contract for two seasons? Even if team A was only renting him for 2 years, that's TWO huge seasons and a serious run at championships at the most team friendly contract in the big leagues.

I know most of ya are going to hate on this idea and I understand. But right now his value will never be higher.

And I'm not trying to run Darvish outta town. But I sure get the "feeling" Yu wants to go to another market.

 

[jta4437]

For Darvish to have 2017 turn into a player option:

By finishing second last year, Darvish can opt out of the final season (2017) of his contract IF:
1) he wins the Cy Young once in the next two seasons
2) he finishes second through fourth in BOTH of the next two seasons.

Darvish’s current contract goes through 2017 with him making $11 million that season (the highest annual value during the life of the contract).

 

[darrylgann]

I think we're ignoring the elephant-in-the-room and it isn't our "supposed" glut of middle infielders. It's the lack of long term commitment from Darvish which concerns me most.

Without a multitude of situations working out right for us, we're not even in the discussion for a WS appearance in 2015. And that leaves us with a one year window of Yu's services before he can become a FA.

What I'm suggesting is we approach Darvish RIGHT NOW with a new five year contract. We offer to buy out his last 2 years (15/16) which are amazingly team friendly, and extend him for 3 more. Give him $20 mil for each of the next 2 years, and $25+ mil for years 17-19. Just throwing spaghetti numbers out for the sake of generating conversation.

Thus he's making a net gain of about $100 mil or more and we have him under control until he's 33. And he'd still be able to garner another shot at free agency then.

If he balks at making the long term commitment then his message to us is quite clear. At least to me. He wants to see what he can get on the open market and Texas be damned; in a manner-of-speaking anyway.

I know many, if not most, of ya are going to hate on this idea. But Yu is valuable, under-compensated, and most importantly, seems to be the Hollywood type to me. He'd be a perfect fit with the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, and a half dozen others.

Can you imagine what teams would give us for a pitcher of his status and at such a bargain contract for two seasons? Even if team A was only renting him for 2 years, that's TWO huge seasons and a serious run at championships at the most team friendly contract in the big leagues.

I know most of ya are going to hate on this idea and I understand. But right now his value will never be higher.

And I'm not trying to run Darvish outta town. But I sure get the "feeling" Yu wants to go to another market.

No 'hate' here. There are all valid points and need to be addressed soon enough. Darvish could at least assure the FO that he's open to the idea to an extension to his contract even without doing so. We should at least get a hint either way and act quick accordingly. I'm all in favor of trading him if he hints of testing FA.

 

[DT LUNA]

No 'hate' here. There are all valid points and need to be addressed soon enough. Darvish could at least assure the FO that he's open to the idea to an extension to his contract even without doing so. We should at least get a hint either way and act quick accordingly. I'm all in favor of trading him if he hints of testing FA.

Would like to see JD getting pro active sooner than later.

 

[saddles]

I have been calling for a new contract for Yu for about a year now so I am definitely all for it. I am hoping that something changes between now and a year from now so that next offseason the budget can actually go higher and give us more leeway to sign Darvish long term. That doesn't keep them from signing him to an extension now though. Maybe after his MRI next week they can start negotiations with his agent.

 

[darrylgann]

So much for Miles:

@mlbtraderumors: Rangers Likely To Sell Contracts Of Poreda, Mikolas To Japanese*Team http://t.co/eyCC6jdDrL

 

[Justinkm83]

So much for Miles:

@mlbtraderumors: Rangers Likely To Sell Contracts Of Poreda, Mikolas To Japanese*Team http://t.co/eyCC6jdDrL

I couldn't care less about Poreda, but Mikolas looked like he has the stuff to make it in the bigs.

 

[saddles]

I believe a few have suggested JD puts up a smoke screen every once in awhile. I think I found an example of that.

Jon Daniels believes Texas Rangers will compete in 2015 - ESPN Dallas

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Not sure what the money part of the deal was but Cruz turned down a 3 year offer to sign with the team he stated he really wanted to play for in the Orioles.

 

[donaldson79]

For Darvish to have 2017 turn into a player option:

By finishing second last year, Darvish can opt out of the final season (2017) of his contract IF:
1) he wins the Cy Young once in the next two seasons
2) he finishes second through fourth in BOTH of the next two seasons.

Darvish’s current contract goes through 2017 with him making $11 million that season (the highest annual value during the life of the contract).

You're exactly right on points one and two. I'm getting ahead of myself perhaps.

 

[donaldson79]

Regarding what we might do:

The point: The Rangers could grab all of their realistic targets for the winter, make a dramatic improvement in 2015 and still fall short of the postseason.

That’s why going for the more impactful pitcher on a one-year deal may be far more risky than going after one of the next group of pitchers who might take steps forward in 2015 and really bloom the following year while still in a Rangers uniform.

“I understand the realities,” Daniels said. “We’re in a very competitive division. I think we’ve got a core of players. I think we’re going to be a much better club than we were last year. … It’s not about an offseason. It’s about continued development.”

 

[donaldson79]

I couldn't care less about Poreda, but Mikolas looked like he has the stuff to make it in the bigs.

For all practical purposes, all we're doing is getting them off the 40 man roster, while they can pitch and refine themselves in Japan. We could always make a good effort to get them back at a later date.

 

[saddles]

Jon Daniels: Ryan Rua could be Texas Rangers outfield solution and other notes | Dallas Morning News



"Asked about the Rangers left field situation, Daniels said he could envision Ryan Rua, who hit .295 with a .740 OPS in 105 at-bats after a late-season callup, being a significant part of the Rangers’ attempt to fill the void in left field. Daniels said calling Rua a “platoon player,” might be “selling him short.”
“He’s a good athlete,” Daniels said. “He learned left field on the fly last year and he played it well. We have moved him around and haven’t really given him a chance to settle into a position. But I think he could be at least average out there.”


"Daniels said the Rangers do consider Mitch Moreland to be part of the mix in left field, though to what extent he could not say. Obviously, if Moreland is in the mix, it’s very possible a platoon of some type does develop between the left-handed hitting Moreland and the right-handed hitting Rua. How Moreland moves on his surgically-repaired ankle is also going to play a role in that. Daniels also said the Rangers have not given up on Michael Choice."


"Left-hander Matt Harrison is doing remarkably well in his attempted comeback from multiple back surgeries, but Daniels stopped short of saying he expected Harrison to ever pitch again.
“There is just not a track record this kind of situation,” Daniels said. “He feels good. [Dr. Andrew Dossett] says he looks good. I’m cautiously optimistic. I hope for him – and for us – that he pitches again.”


"On the possibility of right-hander and former first-round draft choice Alex “Chi-Chi” Gonzalez competing for a rotation spot in spring training in 2015: “He could be a piece for us,” said Daniels. “If you polled our development guys and our scouts, I think you would hear his name a lot as somebody who has taken a step up.”
Gonzalez went a combined 12-6 with a 2.66 ERA at Class A and Double-A in his second season in professional baseball in 2014. He does not have to be put on the 40-man roster this winter, but is likely to get an invitation to major league spring training as a non-roster player."

 

[donaldson79]

Here's a very interesting article regarding the need for starting pitching.

How much do starting pitchers still matter? We're about to find out - MLB - SI.com

 

[darrylgann]

Here's a very interesting article regarding the need for starting pitching.

How much do starting pitchers still matter? We're about to find out - MLB - SI.com

Good article.

 

[saddles]

Here is a good article about 17 year old Michael De Leon.

Texas Rangers shortstop prospect Michael De Leon's stock is rising in Lone Star state | MiLB.com News | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball

"We were extremely happy with the season De Leon had," said Mike Daly, the Rangers senior director of Minor League operations -- he was the scouting director when Texas landed De Leon. "The best way to describe it was 'opportunistic,' because going into the season, our head wasn't at pushing him up to full-season ball. We thought, in a perfect world, he'd earn his way to Spokane to play in the Northwest League, but opportunities arose for Michael and, to his credit, he took advantage.
"You look at guys like [Rougned] Odor and [Jurickson] Profar -- those guys never went to a full-season club at 17 -- but the opportunities presented themselves to Michael. A couple guys got injured in A-ball. Luis Marte had a hamate injury and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had a hamate injury as well. We sent Michael to cover and he really responded, and he benefited from the opportunity."

 

[saddles]

Johan Santana is jogging and playing catch. I wonder if JD will consider him if Colby doesn't pan out? Or maybe even if Colby pans out. He should be cheap.

 

[darrylgann]

9m9 minutes ago[/ame] Amateur scouting director Kip Fagg and a group of [URL="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rangers?src=hash"]#Rangers scouts in Guatemala today to watch 19-year-old Cuban Yoan Moncada work out.

 

[donaldson79]

For whatever it's worth, Norm Hitzges is going to have a segment on FA and trades he'd like to see the Rangers to at least explore.