Texas Rangers 2021 - 2022 Offseason Thread

[Kelleyman]

 

[Kelleyman]

Rangers are not even considered in the mix to many in media. We shall see

 

[saddles]

Rangers are not even considered in the mix to many in media. We shall see

I think when we signed both shortstops it could have changed our level of interest in Suzuki. I think at this point we may be looking for one short term member of the rotation and maybe a bench player if we plan on trading IKF. I guess there is a possibility we could go after a relief pitcher as well. If a good hitter is left wanting to sign a one year deal then we could pursue someone like that as well, but who knows if that happens or not.

That is, unless we are in win-now mode. If we are in win-now mode then I can see us signing two more rotation members, another hitter for the lineup, as well as being willing to trade several top 20 prospects between now and the trade deadline. I really hope that is not the case.

 

[saddles]

It seems like both sides are extremely slow in making their counter proposals. Too many cooks in the kitchen, perhaps.

 

[Kelleyman]

He had a very distinct swing I remember as a young guy

 

[Kelleyman]

So as owners profit from government financing and MLB players try to tap in the revenue raising the minimum salaries which are pretty huge in my book
The MILB community are pawns without much representation in all this
US government laws give pretty much a shielding of doing the right thing.

So yes the MILB WILL shrink as maybe it should but I dO think there is an injustice and most media ignore this giving justificatory both parties to not settle.

Real bad look for the game

 

[saddles]

The ESPN top 100 prospects list is out, but it is behind a paywall.

 

[saddles]

Here is the final list from the LSB community poll where the readers and followers of Lone Star Ball vote on who they consider the top prospects. I think they have about five guys on their list that I didn't have on mine.

1 — Jack Leiter

2 — Josh Jung

3 — Cole Winn

4 — Justin Foscue

5 — Dustin Harris

6 — Ezequiel Duran

7 — Owen White

8 — Evan Carter

9 — Josh Smith

10 — Sam Huff

11 — Ricky Vanasco

12 — Luisangel Acuna

13 — A.J. Alexy

14 — Thomas Saggese

15 — Aaron Zavala

16 — T.K. Roby

17 — Glenn Otto

18 — Maximo Acosta

19 — Davis Wendzel

20 — Ronny Henriquez

21 — Blaine Crim

22 — Yerry Rodriguez

23 — Bubba Thompson

24 -- Cole Ragans

25 -- Yeison Morrobel

26 -- Cody Bradford

27 -- Cam Cauley

28 --- Ian Moller

29 -- Zak Kent

30 -- Trevor Hauver

 

[True Rangers Fan]

 

[scotsman1948]

we're weeks maybe months away from any semblance of MLB play.

 

[Kelleyman]

More chiming in.

The laws that buffer owners need to change not to so much give leverage to the MLBPA but the groups that are affected by the owners and MLBPA. It is a given that the owners are out to make a buck and don’t care about the game but don’t kid yourself the ones representing the players are no saints

While they haggle everyone suffers

 

[True Rangers Fan]

More chiming in.

The laws that buffer owners need to change not to so much give leverage to the MLBPA but the groups that are affected by the owners and MLBPA. It is a given that the owners are out to make a buck and don’t care about the game but don’t kid yourself the ones representing the players are no saints

While they haggle everyone suffers

Explain what makes them "no saints"

 

[Kelleyman]

Explain what makes them "no saints"

Because all the proposals do not take into account MILB players, support staff,concessionaire’s etc.

The sport is becoming elitist as opposed to the working man sport. 9/10 media expert portray the players as victimized. Not saying they should roll over and let owners profiteer without giving back even to be more equitable with the players but there are more players in the mix

I have not seen one altruistic demand BT the players. That being said The owners and Manfred have no desire to make the game better but I do think some of the players do want game improvement

 

[Kelleyman]

Obviously the owners implemented the lockout holding baseball hostage

 

[saddles]

The problem with most of these guys in the media and the twitterverse is that they see this whole process as winning and losing and they take it extremely personally. It seems every topic nowadays has to be filled with angst, hostility, and bitterness.

It is simply a negotiation between two parties. It isn't life or death or someone trying to abduct their family. The negotiation process will eventually bring about an agreement.

This situation is just another piece of evidence as to how far our society has devolved into one filled with way too much hatred, animosity and bitterness.

If the CBA remained status quo for the next 30 years both owners and players would be in very good shape. If it changed and either side got 80% of what they wanted then both sides would still be in very good shape, even if everything stayed that way for the next 30 years. No one is going to face a bad situation. There is no cause for all of the anger within either party, and especially not among the bystanders.

Now, the minor leagues is a whole different story.

 

[scotsman1948]

More chiming in.

The laws that buffer owners need to change not to so much give leverage to the MLBPA but the groups that are affected by the owners and MLBPA. It is a given that the owners are out to make a buck and don’t care about the game but don’t kid yourself the ones representing the players are no saints

While they haggle everyone suffers

sorry but the Players are not much better than the owners i find it so funny to hear dozens of players making 10's of millions a year talking about how hard it is for them and how they want a fair share of money coming in. if the MLBPA wants my support than let their spokesmen be the kids who struggle supporting themselves and their families at the minor league levels where they may spend 3 to 7 years or longer struggling along instead of the Scherzer's and the Trout's and the Verlander's etc.

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

There is a really good article by Ken Rosenthal on The Athletic this morning about the various issues in the CBA negotiations. He did a good job of pointing out some possible unintended consequences. Here is one excerpt:

"An increase in the minimums, some agents believe, might only accelerate the trend of teams spending less on the middle class, making it more difficult for aging veterans to secure major-league contracts and potentially driving some out of the game. On the other hand, it will be impossible for the union to satisfy every sub-set of players in these negotiations. And if it can negotiate increases in luxury tax thresholds and reductions in penalties, all free agents might benefit."

 

[scotsman1948]

I think when we signed both shortstops it could have changed our level of interest in Suzuki. I think at this point we may be looking for one short term member of the rotation and maybe a bench player if we plan on trading IKF. I guess there is a possibility we could go after a relief pitcher as well. If a good hitter is left wanting to sign a one year deal then we could pursue someone like that as well, but who knows if that happens or not.

That is, unless we are in win-now mode. If we are in win-now mode then I can see us signing two more rotation members, another hitter for the lineup, as well as being willing to trade several top 20 prospects between now and the trade deadline. I really hope that is not the case.

what if we in a win-more-than-last year-mode we could with your premise have a better hitting team but the same questionable level of starting pitching which could only generate a small level of improvement in the team's win total.

 

[saddles]

Here is another excerpt from Roaenthal's article regarding salary arbitration.

"Some on the players’ side view a reduction in eligibility from three years to two as the most significant gain the players could make. Others are less sure, worried that the clubs would exploit such a revision, offering contracts only to the best two-plus players and flooding the free-agent market by non-tendering less talented members of the class."

"Some non-tenders have fared better as free agents than they likely would have in arbitration; slugger Kyle Schwarber and reliever Blake Treinen are recent examples of players who beat their arbitration projections in the open market. A greater number of non-tenders, however, fall victim to the laws of supply and demand, and are left to scratch and claw for major-league contracts, if they get them at all."