2017 Texas Rangers offseason thread

[Kelleyman]

Rangers only 2 non West coast team? What does that say about others including Astros? Hmm

 

[saddles]

11:40pm: The Angels are indeed one of the finalists, as per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter).

10:39pm: The Angels are thought by “multiple sources” to be one of the finalists, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets. The Tigers are out of the running, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press.

 

[Hambombs]

Here is some highlights of Ohtani. Remember watching Yu over web prior to winning bid. Was a real fun time thinking of getting Yu. Ohtani has a filthy slider, great velo movement. If he can get movement on FB. Comps to Noah S

Oof, sick

 

[True Rangers Fan]

This Ohtani thing has me so excited.

 

[scotsman1948]

they are talking that the Rangers are looking at a 6 man rotation if they get Ohtani and possibly even if they don't. with Hamels, Perez and Fister that leaves 3 holes in the Rotation(i don't see Bush as an option. yes they will give ST starts but in the end he will open the season in the pen). so that's 3 spots that need to be filled. Ohtani is use to starting once a week so that might be a selling point to him plus with the DH we could let him hit 3 or 4 times a week(of course we would need to trade Choo). that leaves 2 holes to fill

 

[saddles]

they are talking that the Rangers are looking at a 6 man rotation if they get Ohtani and possibly even if they don't. with Hamels, Perez and Fister that leaves 3 holes in the Rotation(i don't see Bush as an option. yes they will give ST starts but in the end he will open the season in the pen). so that's 3 spots that need to be filled. Ohtani is use to starting once a week so that might be a selling point to him plus with the DH we could let him hit 3 or 4 times a week(of course we would need to trade Choo). that leaves 2 holes to fill

Evan Grant has floated that idea as a possible way to lure Otani. That is a long way from the Rangers considering it. Not that they won't, but so far it is just Evan surmising.

 

[saddles]

Shohei Ohtani Plans To Meet With Seven Teams

Shohei Ohtani has already narrowed his list of potential landing spots to seven team, according to multiple reporters (with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM the first to tweet the final seven). Only the Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Padres, Mariners, Rangers and Cubs will receive meetings with Ohtani. While Ohtani has three weeks to negotiate with teams, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that Ohtani could make a decision well before that point, noting that he could be introduced by his new club at next week’s Winter Meetings.


Of the remaining teams in the fold, the Rangers still have the most money to offer Ohtani, at $3.535MM, though his signing bonus seems increasingly to be a secondary consideration in where he ultimately signs, especially after last week’s reports that Ohtani could top $20MM in annual earnings in marketing endorsements. Certainly, his list of finalists reflects a preference for West Coast teams and a proximity to Japan, though the presence of the Rangers and Cubs indicates that he’s not quite locked into that mindset just yet.

 

[saddles]

they are talking that the Rangers are looking at a 6 man rotation if they get Ohtani and possibly even if they don't. with Hamels, Perez and Fister that leaves 3 holes in the Rotation(i don't see Bush as an option. yes they will give ST starts but in the end he will open the season in the pen). so that's 3 spots that need to be filled. Ohtani is use to starting once a week so that might be a selling point to him plus with the DH we could let him hit 3 or 4 times a week(of course we would need to trade Choo). that leaves 2 holes to fill

I think if they do go with a 6-man rotation that Bush would likely be one of them if he shows anything in ST. Then again, I am not counting on them doing the 6-man rotation at this point.

 

[scotsman1948]

I think if they do go with a 6-man rotation that Bush would likely be one of them if he shows anything in ST. Then again, I am not counting on them doing the 6-man rotation at this point.

neither am i but it would be a possible selling point to a guy use to pitching once a week. and i don't think Bush has the developed 3 pitch rep necessary to be an effective mlb starter so yeah give him starter reps in ST but don't waste the kid's natural ability as a reliever.

 

[scotsman1948]

I think if they do go with a 6-man rotation that Bush would likely be one of them if he shows anything in ST. Then again, I am not counting on them doing the 6-man rotation at this point.

he has gone 114 innings in 115 appearances. that is less than 1 inning per appearance and we are suddenly going to stretch him out to 5 plus innings, what are you going to expect from him? having him pitching every 5 days is going put a lot of stress on a pen that was overworked last season and only has 3 returning fixtures(Claudio, Diekman & Kela) without Bush. are we going to sign 3 bullpen arms or depend on untried arms?

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Here's some news to blow your skirts up...

 

[saddles]

he has gone 114 innings in 115 appearances. that is less than 1 inning per appearance and we are suddenly going to stretch him out to 5 plus innings, what are you going to expect from him? having him pitching every 5 days is going put a lot of stress on a pen that was overworked last season and only has 3 returning fixtures(Claudio, Diekman & Kela) without Bush. are we going to sign 3 bullpen arms or depend on untried arms?

Guys transition from the pen to starting in ST at times. That is not unheard of at all. He did pitch over 2 innings once this year. I remember wondering at the time if they were trying to get a feel for how he would do in an extended outing. Also, it would be at most every 6 days that he pitched in a 6 man rotation and he would skip some starts as well. If he took a spot in the rotation instead of the pen it would be easier to replace him in the pen. Relief pitchers are usually easier to find than starting pitchers.

 

[saddles]

Hurlbut, 28, was drafted by the Twins in ’09 and ’11 and has spent his entire career in the Minnesota organization. He reached the Triple-A level in both of the past two seasons and has a solid 3.58 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 47 percent ground-ball rate in 163 1/3 innings there.


Lopes, 25, was the Blue Jays’ seventh-round pick in 2011 and has spent his whole career in that organization. He’s a lifetime .262/.336/.376 hitter in his six minor league campaigns and reached Triple-A for the first time last year, where he batted .261/.349/.402 in 92 games.

 

[saddles]

It seems like Otani is going through this process fairly rapidly. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a decision by the end of the week.

 

[DT LUNA]

Here's some news to blow your skirts up...

Yep. Skirts up.

 

[donaldson79]

It seems like Otani is going through this process fairly rapidly. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a decision by the end of the week.

And I like/respect the way he's approaching the process......Also LIKE the idea we're still in the hunt.

 

[Duane1952]

It seems like Otani is going through this process fairly rapidly. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a decision by the end of the week.

I read where they think he will make a decision by the winter meetings. It's not a difficult decision Ohtani, just say Rangers.

 

[saddles]

Barnette is signed for $1.5 million. I think that makes a lot of sense.

 

[saddles]

I wonder if Nick Martinez comes back on a minor league contract.

 

[saddles]

Let me say now that no matter if we get Otani or not I say kudos to JD and staff for getting this far into the process.