2017 Texas Rangers offseason thread

[saddles]

FYI. What I heard that a complete fold the tents tank like the Astros did and to a lesser extent the Cubbies does not reap the same amount of draft talent award that it did in the past. Also TV revenues are a factor in totally tanking

Anybody else heard anymore?

Tanking isn't being called for in the article though.

Tanking in September of 2014 would have been very beneficial for us though. The Wash resignation was the worst thing for the team at that time. Any of those 3 SS would have been much better than Dillon Tate.

Tanking isn't what is needed though. Like the article said, "Texas doesn’t need to tank; it needs to stop focusing on outside acquisitions in their 30s."

 

[Kelleyman]

 

[Kelleyman]

Tanking isn't being called for in the article though.

Tanking in September of 2014 would have been very beneficial for us though. The Wash resignation was the worst thing for the team at that time. Any of those 3 SS would have been much better than Dillon Tate.

Tanking isn't what is needed though. Like the article said, "Texas doesn’t need to tank; it needs to stop focusing on outside acquisitions in their 30s."

True but that is not always perception

In that mode though, if we don't pick up pitching I think we will be unloading at ASB first of which is Hamels.
Would be interesting if we move him for 2 SP this winter. I would not be against it

 

[True Rangers Fan]

It begins...

Shohei Otani has hired a U.S. agent

 

[scotsman1948]

I think we should have moved more pieces at the deadline.

yep we should have moved everything of value from Hamels, Cashner, possibly Perez, Beltre, Odor and even possibly Andrus. it might have taken 5 to 8 years to rebuild but what's time

 

[scotsman1948]

Tanking isn't being called for in the article though.

Tanking in September of 2014 would have been very beneficial for us though. The Wash resignation was the worst thing for the team at that time. Any of those 3 SS would have been much better than Dillon Tate.

Tanking isn't what is needed though. Like the article said, "Texas doesn’t need to tank; it needs to stop focusing on outside acquisitions in their 30s."

Tanking isn't being called for in the article though.

Tanking in September of 2014 would have been very beneficial for us though. The Wash resignation was the worst thing for the team at that time. Any of those 3 SS would have been much better than Dillon Tate.

Tanking isn't what is needed though. Like the article said, "Texas doesn’t need to tank; it needs to stop focusing on outside acquisitions in their 30s."

yep any player over 25 should not be looked at.

 

[saddles]

Sad news. Roy Halliday has been killed in a plane crash.

 

[saddles]

yep any player over 25 should not be looked at.

Hyperbole must be your strong suit.

 

[saddles]

what's time

To answer your question, time is a necessary ingredient in the process of building a World Series champion. How much time depends on how successful you can be in drafting and developing talent, how good you are at finding foreign free agents, and how successful you are at traditional signing free agents.

It doesn't have to be a 5-8 years process unless your team is dirt poor and cannot pursue free agents and is starting from scratch. Neither is the case with this franchise.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Sad news. Roy Halliday has been killed in a plane crash.

Don't go on his Twitter. Utterly depressing.

 

[Duane1952]

RIP Roy Halladay.

 

[Kelleyman]

A guy like Hallidsy was an ideal role model in the game and from what has been said and seen a really loving person. Takes guts to perform your best in the big stage in the playoffs and even getting that rare no hitter.

These are the types of rare breed pitchers the Rsngers need but still baseball takes second place to this personal tragedy which is so prevalent in this world. Thinking and praying hard due to recent events

 

[DT LUNA]

A guy like Hallidsy was an ideal role model in the game and from what has been said and seen a really loving person. Takes guts to perform your best in the big stage in the playoffs and even getting that rare no hitter.

These are the types of rare breed pitchers the Rsngers need but still baseball takes second place to this personal tragedy which is so prevalent in this world. Thinking and praying hard due to recent events

Well spoken.

 

[scotsman1948]

When I see articles that suggest the the Rangers consider bringing in Matt Garza in 2018 I read an author suggesting tank. Instead of Garza I would rather see Mikolas being suggested. At least there is some positive with Mikolas

 

[DT LUNA]

When I see articles that suggest the the Rangers consider bringing in Matt Garza in 2018 I read an author suggesting tank. Instead of Garza I would rather see Mikolas being suggested. At least there is some positive with Mikolas

Articles are plural. What are they?

 

[scotsman1948]

Hyperbole must be your strong suit.

actually I was being cynical but that's okay.

 

[scotsman1948]

Articles are plural. What are they?

Must have drug my finger across the s.

 

[DT LUNA]

Must have drug my finger across the s.

OK. What was the article? Would like to read who is that crazy.

 

[saddles]

Rangers position outlook: How will Texas try to revitalize its single-biggest liability of 2017?

ON THE ROSTER
RHP Tony Barnette: Free agent

RHP Matt Bush: Pre-arbitration

LHP Alex Claudio: Pre-arbitration

LHP Jake Diekman: Arbitration eligible

RHP Nick Gardewine: Pre-arbitration

RHP Jason Grilli: Free agent

RHP Keone Kela: Arbitration eligible

RHP Jose Leclerc: Pre-arbitration

RHP Ricardo Rodriguez: Pre-arbitration

WHAT THEY DID WELL
While all around him there was chaos, Alex Claudio, featuring a mid-80s fastball, simply executed. Claudio was the bullpen's lone bright spot, turning himself into a multi-inning, multi-faceted weapon. His 82 innings (which included four in an emergency start) ranked third in the majors among relievers. Of the 28 relievers who worked at least 70 innings (a big workload for a reliever), his 2.29 relief ERA ranked fifth. Oh, and when the Rangers had nobody else to close games, he took that job on, too.

WHAT THEY DIDN'T
The Rangers' inability to close out games scuttled their season. They went through two failed closers (Sam Dyson and Matt Bush) and ended up last in the AL (58 percent) and 28th in the majors in save percentage. They blew 21 saves, with the great majority coming before the All-Star break. If they had simply been league average in save percentage - 66 percent - they finish the year at 82-80. If they had converted 70 percent of their chances, they finish within one game of wild card participant Minnesota. The bullpen was the team's downfall.

WHAT'S IN A NUMBER
40: The Rangers were the worst in the AL in stranding inherited runners. They allowed 104, the most in the AL, of 263 runners to score for the 40 percent total. The league average: 30 percent.

WHAT'S ON THE FARM
The Rangers are likely to need waves of relievers and they at least have some internal options. It's very possible Gardewine and Rodriguez both open the season in the minors and will figure in again somehow.

The wild card is Connor Sadzeck, who transitioned from starter to reliever in 2017. He struggled with command, which has always been an issue for him, but he's got closer "stuff." He can have an impact.

Other guys to keep an eye on: Hard-throwing Reed Garrett and possibly John Fasola, who is coming back from two seasons worth of arm troubles.

WHAT'S ON THE MARKET
The Rangers need to reinforce the back end of the bullpen and need a more veteran presence. The problem is that paying for relievers in free agency is the height of financial risk. Relief performance is often fickle from year to year and those that get to free agency have often been ridden hard in the last year of their contract.

That said, Chicago's Wade Davis, who worked like a dog over the last two postseasons, and Colorado's Greg Holland highlight the closer market. After that it's even slimmer: Maybe Washington's Brandon Kintzler, who closed for the first time this year, or former Arlington High's Chris Martin, who spent the last two seasons in Japan. Martin, like Tony Barnette two years ago, might be the kind of low-risk go

2018 OUTLOOK
There are still promising arms here: A healthy Diekman, Bush and Kela is a good place to start building a back end of the bullpen. Add in the versatility of Claudio and they could have the making for a four-man rotation of "winning pieces" to finish out the final three innings of games. The key word, of course, is "could." But even if they are reliable, if that's all the Rangers have to offer in close/winning situations, they will burn the arms out by mid-season.

Bullpens are so unpredictable. Coming out of spring training, this looked like it would be a huge asset for the Rangers. It ended up being the single-biggest liability. Maybe the best way to fix it: Don't change anything. There is an old adage in baseball - or maybe I just made it up - but often the best way to fix a bad bullpen is to bring it back in its entirety since the performances vary so wildly from year to year.

 

[saddles]