Texas Rangers 2024-2025 Offseason Thread

[WastinSomeTime]

That's true. I just don't see how he comes close to being one of three young pitchers who have a chance at the rotation between when he starts pitching again and say toward the end of next season. He will have Bradford, Rocker, Leiter, Teodo, Santos. Acker, Stephan, and Rosario in front of him. A couple of those guys may falter by the early part of next season, but that still leaves a lot of conpetition. If we get a rash of injuries he could have a chance by the middle of next year, but let's hope that doesn't happen. And that is if CY doesn't go out and sign another SP next offseason.

That leaves out guys like Bratt, Drake, and Davalillo. We are currently blessed with a lot of good possibilities for the future rotation.

Hope they all pan out. Sure would be nice.

 

[Kelleyman]

It was good to hear CY and Fenstermaker on The DLLS podcast with Jeff Wilson and John Rhadigan. Ross was asked for his next under the radar breakout candidate. Last year he picked Rosario, when asked the same question, and he definitely picked that one right. This year he chose David Davalillo as the breakout camdidate.

It would have be nice to have then answer a few of the fans questions especially those of this hooola site. lol

 

[saddles]

6 More Days

 

[saddles]

From Evan Grant:

Who plays center?​

Actually, this could be expanded to the entire outfield because so much depends on Evan Carter’s health, which is no small consideration. If Carter is healthy, it sets up the possibility of a transition in center, with Leody Taveras yielding playing time to him.

But Carter, a left-handed hitter, has struggled against left-handed pitching in his brief time in the majors and would likely get regular rest against them. Taveras is a switch hitter, but his splits against lefties have always been well-below acceptable. By the second half of last year, Bruce Bochy was platooning Taveras in center, sitting him against lefties. That could mean Wyatt Langford, last year’s primary left fielder, might be asked to move to center when the Rangers face a lefty. Langford did play 14 games in center last year.

Rather than move two outfielders around on those days, should the Rangers simply consider using Langford, who was their primary left fielder in 2024, as their everyday center fielder? Left might be less taxing for his hulking upper body, but he’s built along similar lines to Mike Trout. And Trout played center just fine for a decade.

If Carter were to play left and sit against lefties to start, it also makes things easier to work right-handed hitting Ezequiel Duran into the lineup. Duran started 17 games in left in 2024 and showed off a strong arm, as well.

That, of course, leads to this question: If the Rangers aren’t going to play Taveras against lefties, what exactly would be his role? Perhaps as a part-time right fielder to give Adolis García more regular rest, particularly against right-handed pitching? Or is Taveras simply an insurance policy against an injury? And, if so, can a team dangerously close to the Competitive Balance Tax threshold afford to carry a $4.75 million insurance policy?

Lot of questions to sort through. And we haven’t even gotten to whether or not García can rebound from his dramatic dropoff in 2024. That will likely be determined by how he handles the fastball and the Rangers aren’t likely to get a good answer on that until regular-season games begin.

 

[saddles]

From Evan Grant:

Who hits leadoff?​

When last season came to a close, the Rangers left open the possibility they could experiment a bit at the leadoff spot to see if they could help the lineup function more efficiently. The leadoff spot, where Marcus Semien has started 309 of the Rangers’ 324 regular season games under Bochy, produced just a .305 on-base percentage. It ranked 25th among the 30 teams in leadoff OBP.

There is no better time to experiment than spring training.

Here again, we should insert the Evan Carter disclaimer since so much rides on his health, but “Full Count” Carter profiles as a more prototypical leadoff guy. He’s picky at the plate and makes good swing decisions. He’s an on-base guy with above-average speed. Expect Carter to hit leadoff this spring, at the very least on days that Semien doesn’t play.

But, if he’s going to sit against lefties or need to be dropped in the order come the regular season, it either forces the Rangers to move multiple bodies around or have yet another alternative at leadoff. If the Rangers move Semien, it’s best to just move him, period, and let him get comfortable in another spot. Semien likes routine and responds best to it.

He hit just .237 with a .699 OPS last year and stole only eight bases, all numbers that might suggest it’s time to consider other ideas. Then again, he did score 101 runs in 2024, the fifth time in the last six years he’s reached that mark (the only exception: The Covid-shortened 2020 season). He’s reliable and durable. And he’s got a long track record of bouncing back from sub-par seasons with outstanding ones.

“He’ll tell you, he didn’t have the offensive season that he normally has,” Bochy said. “But you look at his numbers up there, he scored over 100 runs. He had over 20 home runs and [74] RBIs. That’s pretty good for a leadoff guy. I know we’ve set the bar pretty high, and Marcus has for himself, but it’s not a bad season.”

 

[saddles]

From Evan Grant:

What does super-utility really mean?​

In Josh Smith, the Rangers have an honest-to-goodness super-utility option. A year ago, he appeared at five different positions over 149 games, won a Silver Slugger at the utility spot and, honestly, should have at least been a finalist for a Gold Glove there, too. With Corey Seager and Josh Jung limited to 169 games between them, there was a daily need for an extra infielder.

In 2024, the Rangers needed Smith to be a super-utility guy. This year, they hope, comes a harder act: Using him as a super-utility guy because they want to.

This spring it’s going to be important for the Rangers to identify ways to get Smith regularly into the lineup. Because every team has a guy who can play multiple positions, but to be a true super-utility guy, you’ve got to take every day at-bats.

It’s a challenge to shove a 10th regular into a nine-man lineup. It means communicating with other regulars an idea for regular rest. To get the most out of Smith offensively, it probably means bunching his at-bats during the week so he can more easily find a rhythm. Does it mean playing one game at second, the next at short, a third at third base and a fourth either at DH or in the outfield? If so, it would probably help everybody involved to have a clear idea of expectations going in. This one is more about communication than spring execution.

 

[DT LUNA]

From Evan Grant:

Who plays center?​

Actually, this could be expanded to the entire outfield because so much depends on Evan Carter’s health, which is no small consideration. If Carter is healthy, it sets up the possibility of a transition in center, with Leody Taveras yielding playing time to him.

But Carter, a left-handed hitter, has struggled against left-handed pitching in his brief time in the majors and would likely get regular rest against them. Taveras is a switch hitter, but his splits against lefties have always been well-below acceptable. By the second half of last year, Bruce Bochy was platooning Taveras in center, sitting him against lefties. That could mean Wyatt Langford, last year’s primary left fielder, might be asked to move to center when the Rangers face a lefty. Langford did play 14 games in center last year.

Rather than move two outfielders around on those days, should the Rangers simply consider using Langford, who was their primary left fielder in 2024, as their everyday center fielder? Left might be less taxing for his hulking upper body, but he’s built along similar lines to Mike Trout. And Trout played center just fine for a decade.

If Carter were to play left and sit against lefties to start, it also makes things easier to work right-handed hitting Ezequiel Duran into the lineup. Duran started 17 games in left in 2024 and showed off a strong arm, as well.

That, of course, leads to this question: If the Rangers aren’t going to play Taveras against lefties, what exactly would be his role? Perhaps as a part-time right fielder to give Adolis García more regular rest, particularly against right-handed pitching? Or is Taveras simply an insurance policy against an injury? And, if so, can a team dangerously close to the Competitive Balance Tax threshold afford to carry a $4.75 million insurance policy?

Lot of questions to sort through. And we haven’t even gotten to whether or not García can rebound from his dramatic dropoff in 2024. That will likely be determined by how he handles the fastball and the Rangers aren’t likely to get a good answer on that until regular-season games begin.

If we are depending on Taveras for any reason, we are in bad shape. Between Carter Landford Smith Duran Garcia and possibly prospects if necessart the OF is in good hands.

 

[saddles]

Jamey Newberg has an article out this morning discussing the Rangers reasons for staying under the CBT threshold this season. He pretty much gave the same reasons as we have read about all winter. He than went on to mention some moves the Rangers could make next offseason.

He suggested going after a hitter like either Kyle Tucker or Vlad Jr. He mentioned the starting pitchers we could go after. He very briefly mentioned a closer or three we could pursue. He also quickly dismissed the possibility of us pursuing J. T. Realmuto.

I have always thought they intended to go back over the threshold next year. That makes me think they still have a contract to be traded in the next few weeks as they are perilously close to the first threshold now. Mahle alone could put them over if he makes his incentives, not to mention a trade or two at the deadline, putting them over. They have gone this far, so they have to stay below now. They decided not to get a closer just so they can stay under, so it would be failure to go slightly above, leading to them going without a closer and still not resetting the CBT. They have gone this far, they have to make sure the CBT is reset now.

They have to trade Taveras or Mahle to prevent that kind of failure. Gray has too much value to the team to trade him.

Let's see how the upper level starting pitching develops this year before deciding we need to pursue starting pitching next offseason. Hopefully, between Rocker, Leiter, Acker, Teodo, and Rosario, we will see we have the pitching to replace Gray in the 2026 rotation, if he indeed lands in the rotation this year.

Hopefully we can turn our attention next winter to a closer and maybe even a hitter. If Adolis and Marcus struggle again this year, we may desperately need another bat for 2026. Then again, maybe Walcott will be that hitter. If Marcus does struggle again, then the biggest question will be what will CY and Fenstermaker do with him.

We shouldn't discount the possibility of pursuing Realmuto. Let's see what Heim has to offer this year and then decide that.

 

[saddles]

5 More Days

 

[Kelleyman]

The Tigers have designated right-hander Mason Englert for assignment, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

What do you know

 

[DT LUNA]

The Tigers have designated right-hander Mason Englert for assignment, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

What do you know

Know dfa is not a good sign.

 

[saddles]

The Tigers have designated right-hander Mason Englert for assignment, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

What do you know

I wonder if the Rangers will be interested if he clears waivers.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I wonder if the Rangers will be interested if he clears waivers.

I would be okay with him pitching at AAA.

 

[saddles]

Ronny Henriquez has also been DFAed.

He has a big leagur ERA of 2.90 in 31 innings.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Ronny Henriquez has also been DFAed.

He has a big leagur ERA of 2.90 in 31 innings.

Load up I say unless they are complete garbage.

 

[Kelleyman]

Maybe if w shave someone ready to DFA we can play the waiver game with depth pitching

 

[saddles]

4 More Days

 

[saddles]

I saw this on Twitter.

1968, Bob Gibson - June and July, he had
•12 starts
•12 complete games
•12–0 record
•108 innings, 63 hits, 16 walks, 91 strikeouts
•one home run
•ERA: 0.50

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I saw this on Twitter.

1968, Bob Gibson - June and July, he had
•12 starts
•12 complete games
•12–0 record
•108 innings, 63 hits, 16 walks, 91 strikeouts
•one home run
•ERA: 0.50

Bob Gibson and Lou Brock were my favorite players at that time. Gibson ended up with an ERA of 1.12. He had a great fastball but I saw guys fall backwards onto the ground with his breaking pitch and it would be a called strike. Fortunate enough to see him pitch against the Astros in Houston as my dad was being transferred from Hawaii to Cape Cod and we stopped or a few days in Houston.

 

[saddles]

3 More Days