Rangers sign Joe Nathan

[scotsman1948]

There is setting your sights high and asking for a lot and then there is CJ Wilson. So Wilson's agent says 6 years 120 million. Rangers counter with 4 for 48 or something very fair and in the neighborhood. Wilson and his agent become insulted and decide to take the same or worse offer from some other team because the Rangers disrespected them. I can see that happening.

i can see the Rangers offering a max of 5 years and around 70-75M and if that doesn't do the job then it's ta-ta to CJ.

 

[Ginger]

if you don't improve your starting pitching for the regular season then you don't make the post-season. Colby may be the best post-season pitcher on the roster but a 2-year record of 26-23, 56 homers, 121 walks and a WHIP of 1.2 isn't a solid regular season contribution. if you can replace him with someone who is going to produce a better regular season then you do it. the post-season record can not be your only justification for keeping him.

I have to disagree. Those are very solid numbers. A 1.2 WHIP is really fantastic especially when the guy is the 4th or 5th best starter. The home run totals are troublesome though, but is somewhat muted by the reasonable WHIP.

 

[Ginger]

i can see the Rangers offering a max of 5 years and around 70-75M and if that doesn't do the job then it's ta-ta to CJ.

When you think about it that is a LOT of money and I mean a lot of money. I don't think I go that high. I don't think I do anything more than 4 years and something under 60 million. I don't give him the full 15 mil/year.

 

[scotsman1948]

I have to disagree. Those are very solid numbers. A 1.2 WHIP is really fantastic especially when the guy is the 4th or 5th best starter. The home run totals are troublesome though, but is somewhat muted by the reasonable WHIP.

and those numbers can be improved on. he is barely a .500 pitcher and has reached the pinnacle of his performance level. if you can find a pitcher with more of an up-side then you make the move. if they truly plan on using Feliz as a starter and then they re-sign CJ, then who's the odd man out. my book says Lewis is #1 on the short list. Holland & Harrison are locked, Ogando is pretty much a lock and CJ would be a lock, if re-signed. that leaves 1 starting position between Lewis, Feliz or Scooter. the order, again in my book, is Feliz, Scooter and then Lewis.

 

[scotsman1948]

When you think about it that is a LOT of money and I mean a lot of money. I don't think I go that high. I don't think I do anything more than 4 years and something under 60 million. I don't give him the full 15 mil/year.

well then you make the 5th year an option year but you aren't going to beat any other team with 4 years & something under 60M. it will take 13.5 to 15M a season to sign him. if you aren't willing to go to that level then don't even bother to get into the bidding process

 

[scotsman1948]

Interesting note from TexasRangers.com:

The chances of Wilson returning to the Rangers seemed to dim when the club signed Nathan to a two-year, $14.5 million contract to be their closer. The signing allows Texas to move Neftali Feliz from the bullpen to a rotation that will also include Alexi Ogando, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland and Colby Lewis.

But the Rangers are not ruling out re-signing Wilson if it is a deal that makes sense to them. That would give them extra starting pitching that club officials said could lead to a trade at some point later in the winter or in Spring Training.

"When was the last time the Texas Rangers had too much pitching?" Daniels said.

The Rangers are only interested in somebody who would clearly fit at the front end of a rotation. They are not interested in a middle-of-the-rotation starter. That would limit Daniels' options to Wilson, possibly Mark Buehrle, or Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish if he decides to jump to the United States next year. That decision hasn't been made yet.

Wilson appears to be the most coveted free-agent starting pitcher on the market. The southpaw and his agent, Bob Garber, met with the Angels on Monday night in Southern California and could meet with other teams after Thanksgiving.

Daniels spoke with Garber on Monday to let him know the Rangers were going to sign Nathan and move Feliz to the rotation. The two sides could meet again either next week or at some point during the Winter Meetings, which run from Dec. 5-8 in Dallas.

Wilson said Tuesday he was not prepared to discuss his situation publicly because "it is still early in the process."

The Rangers may or may not acquire another front-line starter, but they are still looking for bullpen help -- even after signing Nathan. Texas still needs left-handed relief, and could re-sign Darren Oliver. Another hard-throwing right-hander to go with Mark Lowe, Mike Adams and Koji Uehara is also a possibility, and the Rangers have interest Frank Francisco, who used to call Arlington his home.

"We're focused right now on the bullpen," Daniels said.

 

[SandyBeach26]

Minny will miss you Joe....
Good luck...though not if you try to close against the Rays or Twins.

 

[Al Falfa]

Harrison is probably pretty close to being a lock for next year. He's just one tick away from being a great #3.

He's also a tick away from being a #5. He's good against Western division teams, but pretty mediocre otherwise.

 

[romeo212000]

He's also a tick away from being a #5. He's good against Western division teams, but pretty mediocre otherwise.

True. I think we need another year to see though.

 

[Al Falfa]

True. I think we need another year to see though.

Yep, he's probably a lock for another year.
Not sure where the western division came from.

 

[guitarmy21b]

I wouldn't bet on any more rotation moves being made. I think we're looking at our starting 5 and it's a damn good one.

 

[Al Falfa]

I wouldn't bet on any more rotation moves being made. I think we're looking at our starting 5 and it's a damn good one.

Other than talking about them, have they really made any rotation moves yet? The reality is that CJ isn't signed and Feliz hasn't made it out spring training. As of right now we don't have a veteran starter to front the rotation.

 

[Windingmywatch]

don't accept #2 yet. i still think this is a move to force CJ's hand

Totally agree ... Nathan/Feliz moves strengthen TEX position in dealing with CJ.

CJ's best shot of returning to playoff baseball as the #1 is with TEX. Other teams his role will either not be as their #1 ... or with lesser chance of a making the playoffs ... or both.

 

[Windingmywatch]

I wouldn't bet on any more rotation moves being made. I think we're looking at our starting 5 and it's a damn good one.

You never have too much starting pitching.

 

[scotsman1948]

I wouldn't bet on any more rotation moves being made. I think we're looking at our starting 5 and it's a damn good one.

Has Feliz ever started a game in the Majors? it is difficult to say they're a damn good starting 5 when 1 has never started a major league game

 

[romeo212000]

Feliz is a huge question mark for me. Personally I don't see a starting pitcher in him right now, but I really hope I'm wrong.

 

[guitarmy21b]

I'm confident that Holland will end up being better than CJ if he isn't already. So there's that. As for Feliz, he has one of the best arms in the bigs and has 4 pitches he can use. He's simply too good to be a closer. I don't understand the doubt. It's like he's being docked points for being so good all he's really needed is one pitch to strike you out. Just because all he needs that doesn't mean that's all he has.

 

[bone3421]

I'm confident that Holland will end up being better than CJ if he isn't already. So there's that. As for Feliz, he has one of the best arms in the bigs and has 4 pitches he can use. He's simply too good to be a closer. I don't understand the doubt. It's like he's being docked points for being so good all he's really needed is one pitch to strike you out. Just because all he needs that doesn't mean that's all he has.

i know its like everyone forgot he was the number 1 pitching prospect 2 years ago and being a closer just happened because of a major need--pasted old article below

This time a year ago, Neftali Feliz was simply a pitching prospect who had more upside than any other pitcher in the minor leagues. A couple months later, he was blowing American League hitters away with a "you can't hit this even though you know it's coming" fastball that took the league by storm. This off-season, there was debate whether or not he should go back to the minors to work on being a starter or stay in the majors and be a dominant reliever.


Thanks in part to Feliz's dominance and in part to Frank Francisco's inability to close out games, the Rangers have turned to their 21-year-old phenom for late inning help, but the team says the move is only temporary until Francisco figures out what is causing his lack of confidence and velocity. That may be the plan for now, but if Feliz excels in the role, the team will be hard-pressed to remove him from his 9th inning duties. Regardless, success as a closer could spell the end of Feliz's career as a starter.

 

[bone3421]

im pretty confidant feliz will do just fine as a starter

 

[bone3421]

Neftali Feliz Minor League Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com