2017 Texas Rangers offseason thread

[Duane1952]

R.A. Dickey among free agent former Rangers

Moreland, Dickey, Darvish, Gallardo, Feldman, Garza, Holland, Mikolas, Benoit, Feliz, Hunter, Uehara, Soto, Lucroy, Rosales, and Gentry are available.

I know Crawler is really interested in that first name.

He'll probably start a petition to get him back here.

 

[Nightcrawler]

There were some scouts that knew Fielder has lost some bat speed prior to the trade. We didn't do our due diligence with Fielder and neither him or Choo should have been expected to be producing up to their contract by this time anyway. I think they were both big mistakes myself.

Bat speed is one thing,

But that neck / spine injury fielder had was nasty and forced him to retire early.

He still managed to have one really good year for us and I’d wager if his neck / spine were healthy, he would’ve given us 3-4 solid years instead of just 1

 

[Nightcrawler]

He'll probably start a petition to get him back here.

I’m sending a letter to JD and I’ll have first base line opening day tickets.

I’m ready to see my boy.

 

[donaldson79]

if he's not on the roster, is he allowed to be in the clubhouse/with the team?

No clue.....it just seems strange that a guy who's been-there-done-that, ain't there. At least to me.

 

[donaldson79]

it is more than back tightness and he probably retires

Not sure if you had a point here.....yes.....he may retire......but the jest of the article was about the here and now.

 

[donaldson79]

I almost don’t care what the return is. I just want him ( and Fielder) off the books permanently. Huge mistakes.

Disagree......Fielder was a huge mistake! We got damn near nothing from him. However, Choo - offensively - has done a decent job; even good at times.

Fielder was simply lost money from the git-go.

 

[saddles]

Bat speed is one thing,

But that neck / spine injury fielder had was nasty and forced him to retire early.

He still managed to have one really good year for us and I’d wager if his neck / spine were healthy, he would’ve given us 3-4 solid years instead of just 1

The bat speed was a sign that something was wrong though. That should have been a red flag.

 

[Nightcrawler]

The bat speed was a sign that something was wrong though. That should have been a red flag.

You’re right about that.

I’m thinking someone in our FO definitely screwed up and it has costs the team big time.

 

[donaldson79]

Rangers position outlook: Texas' challenge with Rougned Odor, and what to do with Jurickson Profar
By Evan Grant, Staff Writer Contact Evan Granton TwitterEvan_P_Grant

ON THE ROSTER
Hanser Alberto: Pre-arbitration

Rougned Odor: Signed through 2022

Jurickson Profar: Arbitration eligible

Drew Robinson: Pre-arbitration

WHAT THEY DID WELL
Showing up is important. From a performance standpoint, Rougned Odor's season was mostly an unmitigated disaster, but he did play in all 162 games and that is an accomplishment. He dealt with the day-in, day-out physical grind of the season and the mental grind of a season-long offensive struggle and still came back for more. It's a starting point.

Also, his defensive improvement should not be overlooked. He went from -9 in Defensive Runs Saved, according to Fangraphs, to a +3. He's never going to be a smooth- or sleek-fielding second baseman and he's still got a long way to go, but he did make significant improvement.

WHAT THEY DIDN'T
Where to even begin? Odor signed a six-year, $49.5 million contract in spring training, hit two homers on opening day and then proceeded to put together one of the absolute worst seasons in the majors. According to Fangraphs, his WAR of -1.0 was the fifth-lowest among the 144 qualifying players. His .649 OPS was the lowest ever by a player with at least 30 homers. The list of failures and historic lows go on and on.

To the observer, it appeared as if home runs only made Odor lust more heavily to swing at anything and everything. When he got to two strikes, which was often, he was incapable of doing anything with the at-bat. He was one of 83 players with at least 300 plate appearances that went to two strikes; he ranked 82nd in on-base percentage (.186). His strikeout rate jumped from 16.8 percent in 2015 to 21.4 percent in 2016 and up to 24.9 percent in 2017.

WHAT'S ON THE FARM
Isiah-Kiner Falefa and Josh Morgan are intriguing utility middle infielders who are also honing catching skills, but neither will be ready to help at the major league level in 2018. Beyond them, the best every day middle infield prospect is 19-year-old Anderson Tejeda, who spent 2017 at low Class A Hickory where he had 41 extra-base hits in 115 games.

WHAT'S ON THE MARKET
The Rangers will not be players on the acquisition side of this market. They have a long-term commitment to Odor.

They do, however, need to make trading Profar a priority. Due to number of unforeseen circumstances, Profar's only route to playing time with the Rangers ended up being in a utility role and it has not worked. He became frustrated at the trade deadline that he wasn't dealt and that was exacerbated in September when he was not called up. The decision not to call him up, though, helped preserve a year of service time, which should restore a bit of trade value. For Profar's good, the Rangers need to allow him to move on.

2018 OUTLOOK

It will be better. First, it can't be much worse. More significantly, Odor is a driven player. He must adjust, and he will, but it simply became too big a task for him to do so during the season. There were too many bad habits that couldn't be broken without an extended rest. He will get that over the winter.

The Rangers' challenge is to communicate the changes he must make in a way he can understand and digest. There might be a minor mechanical tweak or two, but the big element is getting him to understand the areas of the strike zone in which he succeeds, recognizing those pitches and eliminating others. It's not telling him he must "take more pitches," or "walk more." The emphasis with a young player should be on what he does well, not what he doesn't.

Robinson has a future on this team as a utility man. He takes professional at-bats, and that will only improve. To maximize the opportunity, he must become a more proficient shortstop.

 

[donaldson79]

Question: Should the Rangers be eyeing Jake Arrieta? And if not him, then whom? (excluding Andrew Cashner)

Sherrington: I think it's funny that we always think a pitcher like Jake Arrieta or Clayton Kershaw would come here just because it's home. When you make the money these guys do, home is anywhere you want it to be. And I'm a Texas boy, born and bred, but if I'm pitching for a living, I think I'd prefer something a little more pleasant than the Globe on a July afternoon. Arrieta will be close to the top of the market after Darvish, so he'll have plenty of options. I think the Rangers need to think about adding players who will still be in their prime in two or three years, when they should be rounding out of this lull, if we want to call it that. I don't think they're bottoming out, as the wild card chase this year indicated. But they need to get a few positions resolved as well as the pitching to compete head-on with the likes of Houston.

Question: What team other than San Diego could be a trade partner for the Rangers/Jurickson Profar?

Sherrington: No idea, but I don't think the Rangers should be too quick to just give him away. Look, they should be considering all potential ways to improve this team. Does Roogie Odor have big trade value? Maybe they ask around, see what they could get (middle rotation pitcher and prospect or two?) and let Profar play second. He doesn't have same power, but his skill set is very similar to what we've seen from Elvis lately. He'd likely have a much better OBP than Odor, and he'd provide better defense. Only question in my mind is whether he'd like playing 2B. He's always identified as a SS, which is why he hasn't adjusted so well to the super utility role the Rangers have wanted. Bottom line: He's not the player he was projected to be, as a two-time top prospect in baseball, but he's still pretty good. No reason to just give up on him without making sure you're getting a good return, which is going to be hard to get at this point.

 

[scotsman1948]

I’m sending a letter to JD and I’ll have first base line opening day tickets.

I’m ready to see my boy.

and then what do we do with Gallo? we have Beltre at 3rd, Calhoun/Robinson, DeShields & Mazara in the of and Choo at DH so where do we play Gallo?

 

[saddles]

and then what do we do with Gallo? we have Beltre at 3rd, Calhoun/Robinson, DeShields & Mazara in the of and Choo at DH so where do we play Gallo?

I think you missed the sarcasm.

 

[saddles]

Question: Should the Rangers be eyeing Jake Arrieta? And if not him, then whom? (excluding Andrew Cashner)

Sherrington: I think it's funny that we always think a pitcher like Jake Arrieta or Clayton Kershaw would come here just because it's home. When you make the money these guys do, home is anywhere you want it to be. And I'm a Texas boy, born and bred, but if I'm pitching for a living, I think I'd prefer something a little more pleasant than the Globe on a July afternoon. Arrieta will be close to the top of the market after Darvish, so he'll have plenty of options. I think the Rangers need to think about adding players who will still be in their prime in two or three years, when they should be rounding out of this lull, if we want to call it that. I don't think they're bottoming out, as the wild card chase this year indicated. But they need to get a few positions resolved as well as the pitching to compete head-on with the likes of Houston.

Question: What team other than San Diego could be a trade partner for the Rangers/Jurickson Profar?

Sherrington: No idea, but I don't think the Rangers should be too quick to just give him away. Look, they should be considering all potential ways to improve this team. Does Roogie Odor have big trade value? Maybe they ask around, see what they could get (middle rotation pitcher and prospect or two?) and let Profar play second. He doesn't have same power, but his skill set is very similar to what we've seen from Elvis lately. He'd likely have a much better OBP than Odor, and he'd provide better defense. Only question in my mind is whether he'd like playing 2B. He's always identified as a SS, which is why he hasn't adjusted so well to the super utility role the Rangers have wanted. Bottom line: He's not the player he was projected to be, as a two-time top prospect in baseball, but he's still pretty good. No reason to just give up on him without making sure you're getting a good return, which is going to be hard to get at this point.

I like the idea of seeing what they can get for Odor. Sherrington has an even more optimistic idea of what they could get for him than I did when I suggested we could get a minor league pitcher who projects to a middle of the rotation type pitcher.

As I have said before I would be leery of Arrieta based on his history while pitching in our league.

The reason Profar didn't adjust to the utility role was due to the fact that most young players cannot hit well when playing sparingly. Organizations doom a young player to failure when they bench him for going through a slump when the only way out of it is to play on a regular basis. Yet, they will stick with a slumping veteran like Napoli for months.

Odor on the other hand, has played on a regular basis up here for a very long time and he continues to slump. The idea that it might take an offseason to correct mistakes is an excuse that I don't believe I have heard before. Seems like I can recall many players breaking out of slumps and bad habits during the season.

 

[saddles]

Rangers position outlook: Texas' challenge with Rougned Odor, and what to do with Jurickson Profar
By Evan Grant, Staff Writer Contact Evan Granton TwitterEvan_P_Grant

ON THE ROSTER
Hanser Alberto: Pre-arbitration

Rougned Odor: Signed through 2022

Jurickson Profar: Arbitration eligible

Drew Robinson: Pre-arbitration

WHAT THEY DID WELL
Showing up is important. From a performance standpoint, Rougned Odor's season was mostly an unmitigated disaster, but he did play in all 162 games and that is an accomplishment. He dealt with the day-in, day-out physical grind of the season and the mental grind of a season-long offensive struggle and still came back for more. It's a starting point.

Also, his defensive improvement should not be overlooked. He went from -9 in Defensive Runs Saved, according to Fangraphs, to a +3. He's never going to be a smooth- or sleek-fielding second baseman and he's still got a long way to go, but he did make significant improvement.

WHAT THEY DIDN'T
Where to even begin? Odor signed a six-year, $49.5 million contract in spring training, hit two homers on opening day and then proceeded to put together one of the absolute worst seasons in the majors. According to Fangraphs, his WAR of -1.0 was the fifth-lowest among the 144 qualifying players. His .649 OPS was the lowest ever by a player with at least 30 homers. The list of failures and historic lows go on and on.

To the observer, it appeared as if home runs only made Odor lust more heavily to swing at anything and everything. When he got to two strikes, which was often, he was incapable of doing anything with the at-bat. He was one of 83 players with at least 300 plate appearances that went to two strikes; he ranked 82nd in on-base percentage (.186). His strikeout rate jumped from 16.8 percent in 2015 to 21.4 percent in 2016 and up to 24.9 percent in 2017.

WHAT'S ON THE FARM
Isiah-Kiner Falefa and Josh Morgan are intriguing utility middle infielders who are also honing catching skills, but neither will be ready to help at the major league level in 2018. Beyond them, the best every day middle infield prospect is 19-year-old Anderson Tejeda, who spent 2017 at low Class A Hickory where he had 41 extra-base hits in 115 games.

WHAT'S ON THE MARKET
The Rangers will not be players on the acquisition side of this market. They have a long-term commitment to Odor.

They do, however, need to make trading Profar a priority. Due to number of unforeseen circumstances, Profar's only route to playing time with the Rangers ended up being in a utility role and it has not worked. He became frustrated at the trade deadline that he wasn't dealt and that was exacerbated in September when he was not called up. The decision not to call him up, though, helped preserve a year of service time, which should restore a bit of trade value. For Profar's good, the Rangers need to allow him to move on.

2018 OUTLOOK

It will be better. First, it can't be much worse. More significantly, Odor is a driven player. He must adjust, and he will, but it simply became too big a task for him to do so during the season. There were too many bad habits that couldn't be broken without an extended rest. He will get that over the winter.

The Rangers' challenge is to communicate the changes he must make in a way he can understand and digest. There might be a minor mechanical tweak or two, but the big element is getting him to understand the areas of the strike zone in which he succeeds, recognizing those pitches and eliminating others. It's not telling him he must "take more pitches," or "walk more." The emphasis with a young player should be on what he does well, not what he doesn't.

Robinson has a future on this team as a utility man. He takes professional at-bats, and that will only improve. To maximize the opportunity, he must become a more proficient shortstop.

I think I would put Seise and Ibanez at the top of the middle infield prospect list.

 

[scotsman1948]

I think you missed the sarcasm.

i did sorry

 

[saddles]

Over the next few weeks you may hear folks suggest we should trade more good prospects to try and make the playoffs next year. When they do remember how much better off this franchise would be right now had we kept Lewis Brinson, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Kyle Hendricks, and Carl Edwards Jr. If we still had those guys we could consider trading Taveras and maybe even Calhoun to get more pitching prospects.

 

[scotsman1948]

I like the idea of seeing what they can get for Odor. Sherrington has an even more optimistic idea of what they could get for him than I did when I suggested we could get a minor league pitcher who projects to a middle of the rotation type pitcher.

As I have said before I would be leery of Arrieta based on his history while pitching in our league.

The reason Profar didn't adjust to the utility role was due to the fact that most young players cannot hit well when playing sparingly. Organizations doom a young player to failure when they bench him for going through a slump when the only way out of it is to play on a regular basis. Yet, they will stick with a slumping veteran like Napoli for months.

Odor on the other hand, has played on a regular basis up here for a very long time and he continues to slump. The idea that it might take an offseason to correct mistakes is an excuse that I don't believe I have heard before. Seems like I can recall many players breaking out of slumps and bad habits during the season.

normally odor's team friendly contract would attract teams but his lack of disipline at the plate and his porous defense are factors that will keep most if not all from actually doing anything. i think that the Rangers have to bite the bullet on him and work on improving his deficencies here and if necessary sit the guy

 

[scotsman1948]

Over the next few weeks you may hear folks suggest we should trade more good prospects to try and make the playoffs next year. When they do remember how much better off this franchise would be right now had we kept Lewis Brinson, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Kyle Hendricks, and Carl Edwards Jr. If we still had those guys we could consider trading Taveras and maybe even Calhoun to get more pitching prospects.

we made moves that JD and his staff thought at the time made sense some did come to fruitation some didn't but one thing we have right now is an excess of positional prospects that could be turned into either mlb ready needs or possibly pitching prospects

 

[saddles]

we made moves that JD and his staff thought at the time made sense some did come to fruitation some didn't but one thing we have right now is an excess of positional prospects that could be turned into either mlb ready needs or possibly pitching prospects

His moves made sense to some, but they didn't make sense to others.

 

[saddles]

we made moves that JD and his staff thought at the time made sense some did come to fruitation some didn't but one thing we have right now is an excess of positional prospects that could be turned into either mlb ready needs or possibly pitching prospects

We don't have the quality in excess that could bring us MLB ready players or very high quality prospects. The list you gave the other day included some very sketchy prospects like Heineman, Morgan and others. We have very few high quality positional prospects above the High-A level. After Guzman and Calhoun we don't have anyone who looks like they will be ready anytime soon that is a high quality positional prospect. Trevino hasn't proven he can be more than a backup catcher yet. Who knows if DeLeon or Tejada will ever pan out. They are very far away. We have some interesting CF prospects, but lets see what they can do at the AA level before we consider the possibility that we have any excess.