Texas Rangers 2021 - 2022 Offseason Thread

[saddles]

Also from Jeff Wilson:

Some big news was delivered to media members’ inboxes Wednesday — John Blake is pulling back on his duties as the Rangers’ lead PR man and taking a new role that focuses more on being the club spokesman and working with alumni.

He explained that he had been toying with the idea for a while. He helped navigate the COVID-19 season and the opening of Globe Life Field, and, as he said, 43 years as a day-to-day PR man was probably enough.

On a personal note, John has had a big impact on me during my time on the beat, which now dates 14 years. He has been supportive of the Newsletter and is even a paid subscriber (you should be, too).

Blake’s new title is executive vice president of public affairs. Rich Rice will take over atop the PR food chain, and Angie Swint will handle the TV side.

The hunch here is Blake will still be fairly visible, that the Twitter account @RangerBlake isn’t going anywhere, and that the team’s daily communications will remain among the best in the game. But, hopefully, he will feel that it’s OK to leave a 15-1 game before the final out or just not come to ballpark at all some days.

 

[Uncle Siggy]

Also from Jeff Wilson:

Some big news was delivered to media members’ inboxes Wednesday — John Blake is pulling back on his duties as the Rangers’ lead PR man and taking a new role that focuses more on being the club spokesman and working with alumni.

He explained that he had been toying with the idea for a while. He helped navigate the COVID-19 season and the opening of Globe Life Field, and, as he said, 43 years as a day-to-day PR man was probably enough.

On a personal note, John has had a big impact on me during my time on the beat, which now dates 14 years. He has been supportive of the Newsletter and is even a paid subscriber (you should be, too).

Blake’s new title is executive vice president of public affairs. Rich Rice will take over atop the PR food chain, and Angie Swint will handle the TV side.

The hunch here is Blake will still be fairly visible, that the Twitter account @RangerBlake isn’t going anywhere, and that the team’s daily communications will remain among the best in the game. But, hopefully, he will feel that it’s OK to leave a 15-1 game before the final out or just not come to ballpark at all some days.

So what happened to the girl they supposedly just hired for PR

 

[saddles]

So what happened to the girl they supposedly just hired for PR

Which girl is that?

There was a young lady who tweeted that she had been hired to work in player development. Then she took the tweet down.

 

[Uncle Siggy]

Which girl is that?

There was a young lady who tweeted that she had been hired to work in player development. Then she took the tweet down.

Yeah that one...

(I got mixed up over PR and PD)

 

[DT LUNA]

Yeah that one...

(I got mixed up over PR and PD)

Having trouble with the ladies ,are ya?

 

[Uncle Siggy]

Having trouble with the ladies ,are ya?

She is a bit easier on the eyes than the guys on the team...

 

[Kelleyman]

She is a bit easier on the eyes than the guys on the team...

That’s not saying much though,hmmm

 

[DT LUNA]

That’s not saying much though,hmmm

he can't fool us.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Word on the street is that Story may end up in BOS or NYY on a 1-year "prove it" deal

 

[DT LUNA]

Word on the street is that Story may end up in BOS or NYY on a 1-year "prove it" deal

Have you been talking to the Waco Kid again?

 

[saddles]

Word on the street is that Story may end up in BOS or NYY on a 1-year "prove it" deal

Let's hope it is Bos so we can keep the Yankees interested in IKF.

 

[saddles]

Jeff Wilson is saying that the Rangers are planning on playing Dustin Harris in LF, paving the way for Blaine Crim to become the system's top 1B prospect.

 

[saddles]

Part of what Jeff Wilson reported:

Dustin Harris was selected as the Texas Rangers’ Minor League Player of the Year in September after a breakthrough 2021 campaign in which he batted .327 with 20 home runs across two A-ball levels.

Of all the players in the minor leagues, and there are thousands of them, Harris was the only one to hit .300 with 20 doubles, 20 homers and 20 steals.

The only one.

He did most of his damage as a first baseman, though he played some at third base as well. He is the Rangers’ top-rated first baseman, a position that the club admits is thin on depth.

Yet, the plan for 2022 is for Harris to play mostly left field, leaving first base even thinner. Oh, and Curtis Terry has signed with the Minnesota Twins.

Now, first base is as thin as a marathon runner.

But that’s not to say there isn’t a talented hitter ready to assume the No. 1 spot should Harris vacate it. There is, and all he has done since turning pro is hit.

It’s Blaine Crim, who might have been the runner-up to Harris as player of the year and is making a case to be the player of the year in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Crim opened eyes in 2021 and would become the best prospect at first base if Harris sticks in the outfield.

“I think that's probably fair to say,” assistant general manager Ross Fenstermaker said. “The year that he had probably put himself on the map in terms of proximity and quality. And losing Curt to Minnesota probably makes that a little bit clearer for him. But ...”

 

[saddles]

More about Crim from Jeff Wilson:

Ah, yes, the but. Crim is a right-handed hitter at a position that traditionally profiles for left-handed hitters. That’s not to say there aren’t any righty-hitting first basemen, but they are generally elite players at their position.

Albert Pujols is the best ever. Today, the top righty-hitting first basemen are Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jose Abreu, Paul Goldschmidt, Pete Alonso and even Yuli Gurriel, who won the American League batting title in 2021.

That’s the level of production teams want from a first baseman who bats right-handed, and what Crim would have to meet.

“The bar to clear as a right-handed hitting first baseman is pretty high,” Fenstermaker said. “He's going to have to produce at a high level in order to sustain a major-league career as a right-handed first baseman.”

Here’s another but: No one is saying Crim can’t develop into a productive big-league hitter. All he’s done since the Rangers drafted him in 2019 (19th round, Mississippi College) is hit at a high level.

Crim batted .335 with eight homers in 53 games in 2019 in short-season A ball and batted .296 this year between High A Hickory and Double A Frisco. He led the system with 29 home runs — nine more than Harris.

Now playing for Mayaguez in Puerto Rico, Crim entered Friday batting .395 with 1.025 OPS in 21 games.

“He keeps mashing,” Fenstermaker said.

Crim has more natural movements in his swing than Terry, which make the Rangers believe he has a better chance to hit in the majors. He has some areas where he gets himself in trouble, Fenstermaker said, but that can be said about a lot of hitters.

“He's got snap in the bat, he has the ability to impact the baseball, and he leverages the body extremely well in terms of generating force in swing,” Fenstermaker said. “But as an amateur he’s done nothing but hit, and as a professional he's done nothing but hit either.”

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Have you been talking to the Waco Kid again?

Not much news out of Waco these days. TWK is most assuredly trying to get through the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

 

[saddles]

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Let's hope it is Bos so we can keep the Yankees interested in IKF.

Whenever there is a post about a team linked to Story, there will always be some fans of that team who comment they prefer their team to pass on him. I'm guessing we were looking at him through rose colored glasses.

 

[saddles]

Whenever there is a post about a team linked to Story, there will always be some fans of that team who comment they prefer their team to pass on him. I'm guessing we were looking at him through rose colored glasses.

I think there are just a lot of fans out there who simply look at his home road splits and make their judgment based on that.

 

[saddles]

I am beginning to think, if Huff is going to have a future here, that he has to both hit a better and he has to be able to catch.

 

[saddles]

So, we have news that Dustin Harris will try converting to an outfielder, but nothing on Duran or Smith. Maybe they have talked with Harris, but not the other two. Maybe they will discuss it with Smith while he is in Arizona this week.