2022 Texas Rangers Spring Training Thread

[darrylgann]

Makes me think some trades are coming.

Me thinks as well! Sonny Gray maybe?

 

[scotsman1948]

Me thinks as well! Sonny Gray maybe?

might as well

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

I don't understand why he thinks this. He didn't really get more than what people thought he would get and it was only for a year.

 

[saddles]

I wonder if Kershaw wanted the one year deal to reconsider coming home in a year?

 

[saddles]

Well, we got Perez for a starter and Workman for the pen. Now we can sign Holt or Culbertson and be all set.

 

[Kelleyman]

Well, we got Perez for a starter and Workman for the pen. Now we can sign Holt or Culbertson and be all set.

Workman was once good but it’s a MILB offer right? And this is still basically a placeholder year unless we got alot of pitching and already Jung news did not help

 

[DT LUNA]

Not looking for much based on what we have seen today

 

[saddles]

From Jeff Wilson:

The best thing for the Texas Rangers about the bad situation that was the 99-day MLB lockout was all the attention their big-league coaches and executives could give to the farm system.

Much of the major-league coaching staff, including manager Chris Woodward, and most of the front office started watching Feb. 21 at the start of the minor-league mini-camp.

Faces were put with names. Relationships were started. Impressions were made.

The overriding impression is that the Rangers have a lot of talent at all levels of the system.

“I like to under-promise and over-deliver, so I don't want to go too far,” general manager Chris Young said. “But the talent in our system is real. It's been really fun to watch these guys. Just the work ethic, the way that they've come in the purpose, the commitment, the way these guys reported early, even before early minor-league camp. We've got a great bunch.”

The players who you would expect to be mentioned — Jack Leiter, Cole Winn, Owen White, Cody Bradford, Jake Latz, Bubba Thompson, Dustin Harris, Blaine Crim, Aaron Zavala and others — are getting mentioned.

And then there are guys who are maybe a tick under the radar or further away from the majors. They have been seen by the bigwigs, too.

After five days of informal polling, here are the players whose names keep coming up again and again.


Davis Wendzel, 3B
Wendzel is a name you’d expect to be mentioned, but his is the one that has been most mentioned among position players.

The platitudes have ranged from the shape he is in, to the way he is moving around the infield, to the steps he has taken offensively after spending part of the offseason with minor-league hitting coordinator Cody Atkinson.

With third baseman Josh Jung out until August, Wendzel could be a big-leaguer’s sprained ankle or pulled hamstring away from his MLB debut. The Rangers, though, also want to see him stay healthy and log games in the minors, presumably at Triple A Round Rock.


Josh Smith, SS
Yes, Smith is also a prospect who should be impressing, but this is also the first opportunity some Rangers coaches have had to see him work.

Smith was one of the four players acquired from the Yankees in the Joey Gallo trade, and he finished his season at Double A Frisco. He is moving around this spring to other positions after the addition of Corey Seager at shortstop.

The Rangers haven’t seen anything they don’t like.



Marcus Smith, OF
The headlining return in the Mike Minor trade, even more so than Harris, was Smith. Harris, though, shot past Smith, who pulled his right hamstring twice. The first pull was in the third season of the game.

Smith might be the most electrifying player in minor-league camp, with an ability to hit for power and average. The A’s third-round pick in Kansas City can run, too, and has no trouble navigating center field.

For those looking for a prospect who could take off this season, don’t lose track of Smith.


Cam Cauley, SS
The native Texan and 2021 third-round pick was mentioned by Woodward on Friday during the initial post-lockout news conference.

Woodward likes the way Cauley works and carries himself, which is quite a compliment for a 19-year-old. Woodward mentioned Zavala in the same vein.

Cauley has a long way to go after playing in the Arizona Complex League last season after the draft. But he has also caught the attention of the major-league manager.


Zak Kent, RHP
The pitcher whose stock seems to be climbing the most rapidly is Kent, the 2019 ninth-rounder from Virginia Military Institute. Bradford, selected three rounds earlier, might be second on the Rangers’ minor-league pitching stock market.

Both finished last season at Double A Frisco and could be ticketed to start there this season. Kent spent the entire offseason in Surprise and focused mostly on his fastball, but he also worked to make his changeup more effective.

Kent has mid- to upper-90s velocity, but his best pitch is his slider.

Daniel Robert, RHP
When the Rule 5 draft was still looming, as recently as Thursday morning, the players the Rangers feared losing most were Latz, Thompson and Robert, a hard-throwing reliever who has been been described as “nasty” and/or “filthy.”

Those are good things, mind you.

The right-hander doesn’t have to worry about the Rule 5 anymore, with it canceled for the year, and he is also one of the internal invites from minors to big-league spring training. He has an opportunity to pitch in the majors this season.

 

[saddles]

Workman was once good but it’s a MILB offer right? And this is still basically a placeholder year unless we got alot of pitching and already Jung news did not help

Well, with the signings we had before the lockout, who knew if this was a placeholder year or not, especially with the constant rumors of even more signings and trades. Unless this the the calm before the second storm, maybe we are only looking for placeholders at this time.

 

[scotsman1948]

Well, we got Perez for a starter and Workman for the pen. Now we can sign Holt or Culbertson and be all set.

dear god that is a horrible idea

 

[scotsman1948]

all i see left is Seiya Suzuki from my original post-Lockout plan so i guess we need to look at the trade scenario path now.

Sonny Gray and Matt Olsen any one

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Guessing the Kershaw miss was about team strength? Money doesn't seem like it was the issue.

 

[scotsman1948]

Guessing the Kershaw miss was about team strength? Money doesn't seem like it was the issue.

it was thought that Texas was winning to give him more than 17M

 

[True Rangers Fan]

it was thought that Texas was winning to give him more than 17M

That's what I'm saying. He preferred another shot at a championship

 

[scotsman1948]

That's what I'm saying. He preferred another shot at a championship

probably true. i think he was sitting back watching what we were going to do and realized we weren't committed to taking a winning path

 

[True Rangers Fan]

probably true. i think he was sitting back watching what we were going to do and realized we weren't committed to taking a winning path

Oh no i disagree completely. Dodgers are contenders now, we're two seasons away. He doesn't have that kind of mileage left. We're on a winning path, but the Dodgers are already at the destination.

 

[saddles]

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Splitting the offseason up makes it seem like we haven't done much.

 

[DT LUNA]

Splitting the offseason up makes it seem like we haven't done much.

We haven't really. And we want till owners get serious. As long as we fill the seats nothing will change. Carrot before the horse theory is what they do. For years the NO Saints filled the stadium up and lost nearly all their games. People finally saw what was happening and owners began to change and today they are a winning team.