Texas Rangers 2022 - 2023 Offseason Thread

[Duane1952]

From Jeff Wilson:

The owner of Bally Sports is reportedly headed toward bankruptcy.

Diamond Sports Group LLC, a subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, operates Bally Sports. Diamond, backed by Sinclair, is losing so much money that it might be unable to make payouts on the $55 billion worth of media rights deals it holds after acquiring the Fox Regional Sports Networks in 2019.

This isn’t just an MLB problem. NBA and NHL teams, including the Mavericks and Stars, are locked into deals with Bally, too.

Bloomberg News is reporting that Diamond is pursuing an $8.6 billion restructuring and also hoping that Bally Sports +, a direct-to-consumer streaming service, will help make up for the massive losses suffered from cord-cutters ditching cable. Streaming services have been unable to negotiate a price to their liking with Diamond to carry the Bally regional networks.

Bally Sports + costs $19.99 a month, and it hasn’t gained enough traction yet.

The sports leagues have attempted to negotiate with Diamond, but The New York Post reported that last month that negotiations weren’t going well. The Post said that creditors would try to persuade a judge to have the existing rights contracts rejected if Diamond went into bankruptcy.

Sources told the Post that MLB has been working to create new contracts with potential rejected teams and to directly air games in local markets. One source said MLB believes it could launch quickly but hasn’t guaranteed how quickly.

Ultimately, the bankruptcy could lead to an entirely new way people consume sports, with streaming services like Apple TV + and Prime Video becoming a bigger player.

I hope they go under. The only ones that carry them in my area now is DirectTv and spectrum. I would be interested in seeing what they wanted to charge the carriers and that dropped them.

 

[saddles]

Zavala says he is in his second week of throwing and that he should start hitting at the end of Feb. He seems to be slightly ahead of schedule.

 

[saddles]

Leiter talks about making some tweaks in 2023.

 

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[True Rangers Fan]

OK if all those guys are in town then they should be at FanFest!!!

 

[saddles]

OK if all those guys are in town then they should be at FanFest!!!

There are several others in town too. I saw a quick video of them watching the Stars play. I know I saw Acker and Ornelas in a group of 7 or 8. They are having meetings with them this week.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Rangers’ prospects crowd into Top 100

 

[saddles]

 

[saddles]

Rangers’ prospects crowd into Top 100

These are the Rangers’ prospects in the Top 100:

34: Josh Jung, 3B
41: Evan Carter, OF
66: Owen White, RHP
71: Luisangel Acuña, 2B/SS
78: Jack Leiter, RHP
94: Brock Porter, RHP

 

[saddles]

These are the Rangers’ prospects in the Top 100:

34: Josh Jung, 3B
41: Evan Carter, OF
66: Owen White, RHP
71: Luisangel Acuña, 2B/SS
78: Jack Leiter, RHP
94: Brock Porter, RHP

Here is what I had back in mid-September as our top 6 guys. I don't see much reason to change them yet.

1. Jung
2. Carter
3. Leiter
4. White
5. Foscue
6. Zavala

I very well could move Porter up to top 5, but I at least want him to pitch first. I want to see Acuna have success at the upper levels too.

 

[saddles]

 

[Kelleyman]

Guess not considered big news

 

[saddles]

Guess not considered big news

I think they are looking for some AAA depth to team with The Viper.

 

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[saddles]

From Jeff Wilson:

Not all of the Rangers’ top prospects are in town this week for a mini-camp at Globe Life Field.

Josh Jung, Owen White and Cole Winn are on the 40-man roster and weren’t obligated to attend. They also participated last year. Outfielder Dustin Harris and infielder Jonathan Ornelas, though, are on the 40-man roster and were two of the 11 prospects in attendance.

Also among the 11 were outfielder Evan Carter and right-handers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter.

Injured outfielder Aaron Zavala was there, and he’s already throwing after offseason UCL band surgery in his elbow. Harris, who hurt his left wrist last season, said he’s fine.

Carter and second baseman Justin Foscue married their longtime girlfriends in the offseason. Left-hander Cody Bradford is already married, and he’s also already in Arizona for spring training.

Ornelas, an Arizona native, and righty TK Roby took part in a press conference that unveiled Rangers U, which is a series of courses designed to help player development while also counting as college credits. Abilene Christian designed and teaches the courses, and an estimated 30 minor-leaguers have been in the virtual classroom this offseason.

Roby then shifted gears to another hard-hitting line of questions as the guest on the upcoming Rangers Today Baseball Podcast.

He’s a cool customer, smart, good on the mound, and has made a favorable impression on the field and off it with club officials.

Right-hander Dane Acker seems to have forged a quick bond with Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux. Infielder Thomas Saggese seems to have forged a bond with everyone.

Next up is a couple more weeks of workouts before spring training. Harris and Ornelas will be in big-league camp, and some of the remaining nine will be non-roster invitees. That list is due soon.

 

[saddles]

From Evan Grant:

At the center of the investment in player development are Leiter and Rocker, the Rangers’ first-round selections in the last two drafts. Leiter went second overall in 2021, Rocker third in 2022. How they pan out will likely determine just how successful Young’s tenure is.

Challenged with going straight to Double-A in his first year as a pro, Leiter struggled. His stride got a little long, his fastball straight and his command suffered. He walked 56 batters in 92 innings, finished with a 5.54 ERA and was mentally exhausted by season’s end.

Leiter did not participate in Rangers’ U — he’s had two-plus years of a Vandy education — but did spend significant time working on adjusting his daily routine, making the tweak to a shorter stride and shorter arm stroke and digesting everything he experienced in 2022.

“There were more downs than ups, but I learned a ton from it,” said Leiter, who seemed more at ease on Thursday than he had in any previous public interaction as a Ranger. “I think it just came down to trying to do too much. There were a lot of times I got too far into the weeds on metrics and information and got away from the primal competitiveness.

“It took the full season to realize this is a different routine than I had in college and understand what I needed to do,” he added.

 

[Kelleyman]

Texas Rangers (6)
This isn’t the most high-ceiling group you’ll find on this list. Josh Jung is the highest-ranked at No. 34, and he’s coming off a 2022 campaign in which he missed much of the season with a left shoulder tear. But the fact that it’s this deep should give additional hope to a Texas fanbase already hoping for a 2023 turnaround following the additions of Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney this offseason.
Evan Carter (No. 41) and Luisangel Acuña(No. 71) could both be darkhorses to impact the Major League lineup this season after ending 2022 at Double-A, while Owen White(No. 66) may just need health and repeated upper-level starts to give himself a shot at the Texas rotation soon. By keeping him in the Top 100, we’re banking on Jack Leiter (No. 78) learning from his Double-A bumps last year and making the adjustments necessary to prove why he was the top pitcher selected in the 2021 Draft. Another right-hander Brock Porter (No. 94) is just getting his career going and has the four-pitch mix much more akin to his signing bonus ($3.7 million) than his Draft spot (fourth round).



Not too glowing for a deep program

 

[saddles]

@Ephland might be another autograph you could get.