Texas Rangers 2020-2021 Offseason Thread

[scotsman1948]

There is nothing to keep the Rangers from spending as early as 9 months from now, should they decide to do so.

perhaps

 

[True Rangers Fan]

No one that I can think of. It has been a long time since then, though.

Elvis was the last.

Have to say, Young is certainly jumping in with both feet to the FO.

 

[scotsman1948]

Elvis was the last.

Have to say, Young is certainly jumping in with both feet to the FO.

He understood that Elvis deserved better than sitting on the bench and made this move more for him than the team. Now, do the Rangers hang on to Davis or DFA him? Or do they bench either Calhoun or Dahl? Calhoun is a detriment in the field and was going to probably going to be our DH with Dahl playing LF. What now?

 

[Kelleyman]

What I said prior to last year re delaying rebuild for business reasons

 

[Kelleyman]

He understood that Elvis deserved better than sitting on the bench and made this move more for him than the team. Now, do the Rangers hang on to Davis or DFA him? Or do they bench either Calhoun or Dahl? Calhoun is a detriment in the field and was going to probably going to be our DH with Dahl playing LF. What now?

Willie is the better bat but he did get beaned and wonder how that affects him going forward despite saying that right things. Flip if the coin if they keep Davis IMO

 

[jta4437]

I see Davis getting flipped, like the move

 

[DTC]

He understood that Elvis deserved better than sitting on the bench and made this move more for him than the team. Now, do the Rangers hang on to Davis or DFA him? Or do they bench either Calhoun or Dahl? Calhoun is a detriment in the field and was going to probably going to be our DH with Dahl playing LF. What now?

curious if Calhoun gets traded now.. as part of a package with some relievers or something..

 

[saddles]

What I said prior to last year re delaying rebuild for business reasons

They should have began the rebuild after the 2013 season. The Choo acquisition was the epitome of what was wrong with the organization. That offseason either needed a lot of big spending or none. None would have been the best answer.

At least, they appear to be doing the right thing now.

 

[saddles]

curious if Calhoun gets traded now.. as part of a package with some relievers or something..

Davis probably gets released or traded. It would make no sense to start a declining veteran instead of Calhoun.

 

[saddles]

What I said prior to last year re delaying rebuild for business reasons

But, they did go into rebuild mode just as it opened. Once they stumbled with Rendon they decided to fully rebuild. They were kind of rebuilding prior to that though.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

He understood that Elvis deserved better than sitting on the bench and made this move more for him than the team. Now, do the Rangers hang on to Davis or DFA him? Or do they bench either Calhoun or Dahl? Calhoun is a detriment in the field and was going to probably going to be our DH with Dahl playing LF. What now?

I don't think "Elvis deserving better than the bench" is why Young made this move. They are clearing payroll and rebuilding.

 

[scotsman1948]

I don't think "Elvis deserving better than the bench" is why Young made this move. They are clearing payroll and rebuilding.

They actually took on salary this season

 

[saddles]

They actually took on salary this season

Overall they are shedding salary though. Their payroll is so low now, that they didn't mind adding some now, to benefit them in the future.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

They actually took on salary this season

I thought I read that this trade saves them a few million in the grand scheme of things.

 

[WilltheThrill]

I thought I read that this trade saves them a few million in the grand scheme of things.

Per ESPN, the A’s come out $2.5 Million ahead when all dollar figures (salaries + cash) are considered. But when you look at it purely from a team salary perspective, Saddles is correct that the Rangers shed payroll over the long haul. The A’s will be paying Andrus for 2 more years while we only owe Khris Davis for this season (and maybe not even that long if we’re lucky enough to find a taker).

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Per ESPN, the A’s come out $2.5 Million ahead when all dollar figures (salaries + cash) are considered. But when you look at it purely from a team salary perspective, Saddles is correct that the Rangers shed payroll over the long haul. The A’s will be paying Andrus for 2 more years while we only owe Khris Davis for this season (and maybe not even that long if we’re lucky enough to find a taker).

As far as I'm concerned, the only way to look at it is from a team salary perspective. If the Rangers are saving money overall, then that's why this deal was made.

 

[WilltheThrill]

The majority of Rangers fans HATE this trade, and I can understand why. From purely a business standpoint and a futures standpoint, it’s a win for the Rangers. They shed the bloated salary of a rapidly-declining player and picked up an ok prospect in the process. That’s a win.

But this deal just feels like the final nail in the coffin I think for so many fans. It’s an emotional loss. Elvis was truly the last reminder of a time when the Rangers seemed to care more about winning than money. He was the last link to happier times. And I think what the Rangers have suffered from perhaps even more than losing over the last 3-4 years is a complete lack of anyone to whom the fans can relate.

Think about the 80’s and 90’s when the Rangers stunk. Even then they had lovable fan favorites like Buddy Bell, Pete Incaviglia, Pete O’Brien, Ruben Sierra, Julio Franco, Nolan Ryan, Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock, etc. They stunk as a team, but they had personality. They had all-star level players. Then, of course, when they got good 10-12 years ago, they were chock-full of identifiable and likeable players- Young, Kinsler, Cruz, Josh, Napoli, Vlad, Beltre, Elvis, Neftali, Lee, Colby..the list goes on and on. Every single one of those guys the fans had a major emotional tie to in some way. They weren’t just random guys wearing Rangers uniforms. We weren’t just cheering for laundry.

But we are now. Big time. Beltre and Elvis were the last two remaining lovable characters on the whole team. Who do we have now?!?! Nobody. Joey Gallo is the closest thing we have to an identifiable player. Nobody is buying a Willie Calhoun jersey. No one is showing up early to get Kiner-Falefa’s autograph (even though he’s a solid player). Jose Trevino and Nick Solak could walk into any local Wal-Mart and maybe one person might recognize them. And would ANY fan really care if we traded any of our pitching staff? Would anyone even notice if Jordan Lyles or Kolby Allard weren’t on the team anymore? The entire roster, minus Gallo and Odor, is a bunch of nobodies. There is zero individual personality. Gallo is known for striking out a lot, hitting bomb home runs, and a cannon arm from the outfield. Rougned Odor is known for punching Jose Bautista and being unusable since then. The rest of the team has nothing noteworthy. Power? Not really. Speed? No. Defensive wizardry? Maybe IKF. Ace pitching? Shutdown closer? Quirky personality? Any personality?

Fans need either a winning team or lovable (and identifiable) losers to cheer for. The Rangers are neither. So I get why the trade is being met with such vitriol online. I was as critical of Elvis as anyone, and from a performance perspective, I’m not sorry to see him leave. But I am bummed from an emotional standpoint.

 

[saddles]

Heim slots in at #26 on MLB Pipeline's list of Rangers prospects. That is 11 slots behind Catcher, David Garcia, who is our best catching prospect behind Huff and Trevino. So it is

1. Sam Huff
2. Trevino(not actually a prospect any longer)
3. David Garcia
4. Jonah Heim

 

[saddles]

I never realized when our system passed Oakland's, to the extent that their 9th best prospect would be our 26th best prospect.

 

[saddles]

The majority of Rangers fans HATE this trade, and I can understand why. From purely a business standpoint and a futures standpoint, it’s a win for the Rangers. They shed the bloated salary of a rapidly-declining player and picked up an ok prospect in the process. That’s a win.

But this deal just feels like the final nail in the coffin I think for so many fans. It’s an emotional loss. Elvis was truly the last reminder of a time when the Rangers seemed to care more about winning than money. He was the last link to happier times. And I think what the Rangers have suffered from perhaps even more than losing over the last 3-4 years is a complete lack of anyone to whom the fans can relate.

Think about the 80’s and 90’s when the Rangers stunk. Even then they had lovable fan favorites like Buddy Bell, Pete Incaviglia, Pete O’Brien, Ruben Sierra, Julio Franco, Nolan Ryan, Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock, etc. They stunk as a team, but they had personality. They had all-star level players. Then, of course, when they got good 10-12 years ago, they were chock-full of identifiable and likeable players- Young, Kinsler, Cruz, Josh, Napoli, Vlad, Beltre, Elvis, Neftali, Lee, Colby..the list goes on and on. Every single one of those guys the fans had a major emotional tie to in some way. They weren’t just random guys wearing Rangers uniforms. We weren’t just cheering for laundry.

But we are now. Big time. Beltre and Elvis were the last two remaining lovable characters on the whole team. Who do we have now?!?! Nobody. Joey Gallo is the closest thing we have to an identifiable player. Nobody is buying a Willie Calhoun jersey. No one is showing up early to get Kiner-Falefa’s autograph (even though he’s a solid player). Jose Trevino and Nick Solak could walk into any local Wal-Mart and maybe one person might recognize them. And would ANY fan really care if we traded any of our pitching staff? Would anyone even notice if Jordan Lyles or Kolby Allard weren’t on the team anymore? The entire roster, minus Gallo and Odor, is a bunch of nobodies. There is zero individual personality. Gallo is known for striking out a lot, hitting bomb home runs, and a cannon arm from the outfield. Rougned Odor is known for punching Jose Bautista and being unusable since then. The rest of the team has nothing noteworthy. Power? Not really. Speed? No. Defensive wizardry? Maybe IKF. Ace pitching? Shutdown closer? Quirky personality? Any personality?

Fans need either a winning team or lovable (and identifiable) losers to cheer for. The Rangers are neither. So I get why the trade is being met with such vitriol online. I was as critical of Elvis as anyone, and from a performance perspective, I’m not sorry to see him leave. But I am bummed from an emotional standpoint.

This fan needs a team moving in the right direction. I think we are finally doing that now. Whether or not the front office has the ability to get where we are headed toward is another matter entirely.