Series Thread: Rangers on the Road to Face Pirates May 22-24

[scotsman1948]

Love of Grossman and no Duran.

Could as easily have been Love of Smith and not Duran by your thinking.

Smith 3 homers, 4 RBI’s around .220 ba
Duran 7 homers, 23 RBI’s and around .300ba
Grossman 5 homers, 26 RBI’s and around .250 ba.
If you were Bochy and thought like Bochy Which 2 should play and which 1 should sit.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

backup C is probably at the bottom of my priority list. they'll use Garver until he's hurt and then plug Leon or Huff in. a backup C isn't on the roster for their offense, they're just there to rest the starting C.

 

[saddles]

So Montero and Abreu signings not looking so good this morning. Signing relievers can be risky

Not signing them can be catastrophic. You just have to be as careful and as diligent as you can, same as with any other free agent.

 

[scotsman1948]

Nothing is free.

Rather, if we’re going to trade good prospects, that we use them on a more needed area: relievers

 

[saddles]

Love of Grossman and no Duran.

Yep. And that is with Grossman putting up these numbers in May.

.231/.253/.346/.599

And he is 3 for his last 19.

Of course, now he will hit 2 HR and go 4 for 5 today.

.

 

[Kelleyman]

Wonder if Duran has a minor injury

 

[saddles]

backup C is probably at the bottom of my priority list. they'll use Garver until he's hurt and then plug Leon or Huff in. a backup C isn't on the roster for their offense, they're just there to rest the starting C.

Yeah, I don't think they care too much about that now. I do think they will either decide Huff is ready to back up Heim or trade for a backup at the deadline. Well, unless Garver plays well and stays healthy longer than he has up to this point with us.

 

[saddles]

Wonder if Duran has a minor injury

Either that or Bochy has a minor flaw where it concerns Grossman.

It is in MLB manager's DNA to play veterans. The best ones fight to override their default settings as often as they can.

 

[armadillooutlaw]

Which position player's success this year has been the most exciting/had the biggest impact to you guys?
Personally, I'd say Marcus Semien has been the most exciting and has helped elevate the offense tremendously.
Adolis has been a very close second.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Yeah, I don't think they care too much about that now. I do think they will either decide Huff is ready to back up Heim or trade for a backup at the deadline. Well, unless Garver plays well and stays healthy longer than he has up to this point with us.

I don't see them trading for a backup C. and personally I don't want them wasting trade assets on a backup C. they need to put their efforts towards upgrading the bullpen. it's literally their only weakness right now.

 

[saddles]

Which position player's success this year has been the most exciting/had the biggest impact to you guys?
Personally, I'd say Marcus Semien has been the most exciting and has helped elevate the offense tremendously.
Adolis has been a very close second.

It is hard to argue with either of those two, but I will go with Duran simply because no one was expecting it.

 

[armadillooutlaw]

I don't see them trading for a backup C. and personally I don't want them wasting trade assets on a backup C. they need to put their efforts towards upgrading the bullpen. it's literally their only weakness right now.

Agreed. And hopefully they aim to acquire 2-3 very good to dominant bullpen pieces rather than just "good enough".
I especially want the best closer we can possibly get via trade.

 

[scotsman1948]

Wonder if Duran has a minor injury

Duran has recently struggled at the plate so they’re giving him a couple of days off with Thursday being a travel day. Besides Smith needs some playing time even if it’s at DH.
But that might explain why they stuck Miller in for that last at bat

 

[scotsman1948]

Agreed. And hopefully they aim to acquire 2-3 very good to dominant bullpen pieces rather than just "good enough".
I especially want the best closer we can possibly get via trade.

Díaz from the Reds would be the best closer we could get but it would cost 2 or 3 real good prospects/ MLB players at minimum. Probably more

 

[saddles]

I don't see them trading for a backup C. and personally I don't want them wasting trade assets on a backup C. they need to put their efforts towards upgrading the bullpen. it's literally their only weakness right now.

A decent backup catcher probably wouldn't cost very much. Benjie Molina was acquired for not much at all and he was much more than a backup for us. It would be a lower level of assets than required for good relievers. Maybe guys on the level of Ryan Garcia, Cam Cauley, or Ian Moller.

They could always decide on going with Garver or Huff though. I just don't want to go into the postseason with Leon as the backup. We need to be 26 deep at that point.

 

[Kelleyman]

Maybe Huff will be ready to back up come postseasons

 

[armadillooutlaw]

Díaz from the Reds would be the best closer we could get but it would cost 2 or 3 real good prospects/ MLB players at minimum. Probably more

Certainly a steep price but it might be worth it. Texas would have control of him for years to come.
The only prospects I'd consider untradable would be Carter, Porter and maybe Leiter and Acuña.

 

[saddles]

Everyone seems to think the Rangers are stuck with internal candidates for the bullpen for the next 7 or 8 weeks. I wonder how the Rangers will handle finding guys internally since most of them are not of the 40 man. I guess the following are our internal options at this point.

Chase Lee
Grant Anderson
Marc Church
Taylor Hearn
Tyler Zombro
Yerry Rodriguez
Alex Speas
Antoine Kelly


Only Hearn and Yerry are on the 40 man. Of the others, Speas, Lee and Zombro are the most intriguing to me.

Of course there is always Heaney or Dunning as well.

It might be time to promote both Kelly and Speas to see how they handle AAA. Or, they could leave them in Frisco until they decide to try them up here.

 

[saddles]

Certainly a steep price but it might be worth it. Texas would have control of him for years to come.
The only prospects I'd consider untradable would be Carter, Porter and maybe Leiter and Acuña.

I think if they are going to go all in for him, then they might as well go ahead and sweeten the pot and see if the Reds will bite now. I am not necessarily on board with doing so, even at the deadline. It would cost a lot. if they are going after him then do so as early as possible.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

A decent backup catcher probably wouldn't cost very much. Benjie Molina was acquired for not much at all and he was much more than a backup for us. It would be a lower level of assets than required for good relievers. Maybe guys on the level of Ryan Garcia, Cam Cauley, or Ian Moller.

They could always decide on going with Garver or Huff though. I just don't want to go into the postseason with Leon as the backup. We need to be 26 deep at that point.

best case scenario for postseason is Heim and Garver, as far as C goes. but i remain of the opinion that C is the lowest priority for now and then.

bullpen, bullpen, bullpen.