Texas Rangers 2022 - 2023 Offseason Thread

[saddles]

This is the kind of pitching coaches we need in our organization.

“Our pitching coach has been great -- Julio [Pimentel, a coach in the Royals organization] -- he knows the vibe of the guys every time we show up to the park, and he’s there to make great adjustments for us,” Rocker told MLB Pipeline. “He’s been a great resource to use here."

 

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Rocker continues to improve in Arizona Fall League

MESA, Ariz. -- Eerie Halloween music emanated from the Sloan Park speakers following batting practice on Monday afternoon, a precursor to the terror that would be trying to hit against Kumar Rocker during his fifth Arizona Fall League start. The third overall pick from the 2022 Draft spun his best

www.mlb.com

 

[saddles]

I am ready to get the Word Series over and move on to the Hot Stove League.

 

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This is from a Facebook post I saw this morning, just in case anyone is interested in going.

"Former Rangers outfielder Pete Incaviglia will be our guest at the November 14 DFW SABR meeting at 7:00 pm at the Stub Hub Club at Globe Life Field. He will be with Rangers VP and 2022 Rangers HOF inductee John Blake in a Q&A format, followed by a book signing. Guests will be able to purchase copies of 50 Years of Texas Rangers Baseball that night or bring their copies of the book to be signed. Pete is one of the top 50 players featured in the back portion of the book. He also managed Ranger first round draft pick Kumar Rocker at Tri-City this season. Copies of the book are $40 plus tax, credit cards only."

"Our other guest will be Texas Rangers’ Director of Baseball Operations Paul Kruger who will discuss the hiring of new manager Bruce Bochy, the Rangers off-season, player development, prospects for the 2023 season, etc."

 

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Per Levi Weaver, the 2023 schedule will have the Rangers traveling about 5000 less miles than this year's schedule did.

 

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From Jeff Wilson:

Twitter provided some Rangers news Thursday afternoon, when baseball writer Francys Romero reported that Cuban outfielder Geisel Cepeda will sign with the Rangers for $200,000 when the next international signing period begins Jan. 15.

The Rangers don’t confirm international agreements until contracts are signed. A baseball source, though, said the Rangers expect the deal to be completed.

Cepeda defected in October 2021 while a Cuban team played in the U-23 World Championships in Mexico. He made his way to the Dominican Republic and has been working out there.

He made his pro debut in Cuba in 2016. His best season came in 2020-21, when he posted at .354/.457/.504 slash line. He walked 51 times in 73 games and struck out only 15 times.

Those are solid numbers, but some Cuban prospects need time to adjust to baseball in the United States as well as the culture here. Rangers minor-leaguer Julio Pablo Martinez talked about that with Rangers Today over the summer.

Among the more coveted prospects in this class, the Rangers have been linked to Sebastian Walcott, a shortstop from the Bahamas who could pocket a bonus of around $3 million.

 

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The Cuban kid seems to be called Geyser Cepeda on Baseball Reference.

 

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From MLBTR:

Tigers left-hander Andrew Chafin is planning to decline his $6.5MM player option and return to free agency, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

From a financial point of view, the decision isn't shocking since Chafin had an excellent season in 2022. He threw 57 1/3 innings with a 2.83 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 51.3% ground ball rate. Signed by the Tigers to a two-year, $13MM deal coming into 2022, the deal allowed Chafin to opt out after the first season. There had been some speculation that he might choose to stay since Detroit is fairly close to his Ohio home, which is partially why he signed there in the first place. However, he will head to the open market and see what other offers await him.

Once the offseason begins, Chafin will be one of the top southpaw relievers available, alongside Taylor Rogers, Brad Hand and Matt Strahm. Though he will turn 33 in 2023, Chafin should still be able to land himself another multi-year guarantee based on his quality work and relatively thin class of fellow lefties.

 

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Here is an example of how those who make prospect rankings seem to jump to the conclusion too quickly that a pitching prospect is destined to the bullpen. This is MLB Pipeline's assessment of Christian Javier in 2018 when they had him ranked as only the 19th best prospect in the Astros system. The next year, they didn't even have him in the top 30.

"Javier doesn't have much projection in his 6-foot-1 frame, so he probably will have average fastball velocity at best. After his walk rate jumped to a career-worst 4.1 per nine innings in 2017, he'll have to guard against nibbling at the strike zone too much as he rises through the Minors. He still has to prove he's durable enough to log a full season of starts, and if he can't his curveball and slider could make him a useful right-on-right reliever."

 

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"Javier doesn't have much projection in his 6-foot-1 frame, so he probably will have average fastball velocity at best

This this quote from last night.

"He had the best fastball I have ever seen,” says catcher Christian Vázquez.

 

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[Kelleyman]

Rocker continues to improve in Arizona Fall League

MESA, Ariz. -- Eerie Halloween music emanated from the Sloan Park speakers following batting practice on Monday afternoon, a precursor to the terror that would be trying to hit against Kumar Rocker during his fifth Arizona Fall League start. The third overall pick from the 2022 Draft spun his best

www.mlb.com

I heard he was despite obvious better outing he was working to get more consistent repeatable pitches

 

[True Rangers Fan]

There's only one way that I can attend a better Rangers game than Dutch's Game 4 masterpiece in 2011.

 

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Keith Law lists Profar as the 11th best free agent this year. Verlander is 13th and Perez is 14th.

Kodai Senga is 18th.

 

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Law had this to say about Kershaw.

"I’d give him a year and $25 million, or maybe something with a vesting option if he gets to 120 innings again for a second year at the same value."

 

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[True Rangers Fan]

As people pointed out in the original thread - in what capacity? Just mentioning a "link" is lazy and pointless.

 

[saddles]

As people pointed out in the original thread - in what capacity? Just mentioning a "link" is lazy and pointless.

My guess would be Assistant GM or special consultant to the GM. It could be his official title is still being formulated.