Texas Rangers 2024-2025 Offseason Thread

[saddles]

From mlbtraderumors.com:

Rangers Hire Skip Schumaker As Senior Advisor; Expected To Hire Luis Urueta As Bench Coach​

Maybe our next manager

 

[scotsman#1948]

first strong challenger for Eovaldi has stepped forward. Atlanta has lost Fried and Morton to free agency and have made Eovaldi one of their top targets

 

[saddles]

From Jamey Newberg:

• Kiley McDaniel (ESPN) takes a similar shot at predicting free agent deals, including:
  • Eovaldi: 2 years, $45 million
  • Yates: 2 years, $24 million
  • Heaney: 3 years, $28 million
  • Robertson: 1 year, $11.5 million
  • Scherzer: 1 year, $13.5 million
  • Carson Kelly: 2 years, $17.5 million
  • Profar: 3 years, $45 million
  • Bieber: 3 years, $54 million
• According to Mark Bowman (MLB.com), Eovaldi “ranks near the top of the Braves’ wish list” this winter.

 

[saddles]

Weems with another good outing yesterday in the AFL.

 

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Hedges has signed with Cleveland so we don"t have to worry about that. Lol

 

[saddles]

The Cubs have a young prisoect who plays RF, who is blocked with them. Word is, the are trying yo trade him. He hit well in AAA thus year. I wonder if the Rangers would be interested in adding a prospect who looks to be ready for the big leagues and who plays RF. I wonder if the Cubs would want another prosoect back or if they want a big leaguer. His name is Owen Caissie.

 

[saddles]

From the mlbtraderumors.com chat today:

Johnny5Alive
10:37
The rangers want to cut payroll... but some of the contracts just seem unmovable (i.e. semien, degrom)... thoughts?

Tim Dierkes
10:38
Jon Gray seems to be mentioned often for this purpose. Moving Nathaniel Lowe could work. Leody Taveras probably. I think Adolis Garcia stays, but that's possible.

Darragh McDonald
10:38
They don't need to move contracts to cut payroll. They are currently projected to be about $40MM below last year's spending. I think they will just have a more modest offseason and hope for bouncebacks from their internal guys who struggled in 2024.

Steve Adams
10:39
I think people interpreted the "they want to be under the luxury tax line" incorrectly. They're already under the tax line, so it's not so much about dumping huge contracts as spending more responsibly than in the past (which they also did last winter). I could see them moving Jon Gray, Jonah Heim, Leody Taveras, Nate Lowe, Dane Dunning

I don't think they're going to look to move Semien or deGrom, but you're right that they wouldn't be able to do so without taking on some cash.

 

[saddles]

Start times for Spring Training games

 

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Rankings, contract predictions for top 40 MLB free agents

Contrary to popular belief, Juan Soto is far from the only star MLB free agent. Here’s our top 40, with contract predictions.

nypost.com

 

[saddles]

From Texas Rangers PR:

Congratulations to the following Rangers prospects, who have been selected to participate in Saturday's Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game in Mesa:

INF Max Acosta
RHP Marc Church
INF Cody Freeman
OF Alejandro Osuna
RHP Josh Stephan*

*will not participate

 

[saddles]

Stephan pitched last night and had a rough outing. He still finished up with great numbers.

Osuna only went 1 for 10 in his last couple of games, but still finished with great numbers.

 

[saddles]

From Jamey Newberg:

The exercise of predicting free-agent deals is in full swing. At The Athletic, the trio of Tim Britton, Chad Jennings, and Aaron Gleeman offer the following spitballs among their top 40 free agents (note that they apparently are listing the best bets for destinations alphabetically, rather than in order of likelihood):

Nathan Eovaldi: 2 years, $45 million (Best fits: ARI, ATL, TEX)

Kirby Yates: 1 year, $10.5 million (Best fits: MIN, PHI, TEX)

Andrew Heaney: 2 years, $35 million (Best fits: ATL, BAL, TEX)

Shane Bieber: 2 years, $30 million (Best fits: CLE, STL, TEX)

Blake Treinen: 1 year, $12 million (Best fits: ATL, LAD, TEX)

 

[saddles]

.Ore from Jamey Newberg:

A “veteran GM” predicts: “I think this is going to be a different winter than in the past. I could see teams trading major-league players for major-league players, just like the old days. If nothing else, I think things will move quicker once we get to the winter meetings.”

• Steve Adams, Anthony Franco, Darragh McDonald and Tim Dierkes (MLB Trade Rumors) give it their own shot:
  • Nathan Eovaldi: 2 years, $44 million (“Texas president of baseball operations Chris Young said the Rangers hope to bring Eovaldi back. A return to Boston could make sense, while the Orioles, Rangers, Angels, Mets, Braves, Nationals, Tigers, Dodgers, and Cubs are other possibilities.)
  • Kirby Yates: 1 year, $14 million (predictions: Blue Jays [two of the writers], Yankees, Phillies)
  • Andrew Heaney: 2 years, $24 million (“Young already said he considers Heaney a ‘priority,’ but if a reunion isn’t in the cards, then the Tigers, Orioles, Braves, Royals, Red Sox and Giants could all shop in this aisle.” Dodgers, A’s, and Nationals all mentioned as well.)
  • Max Scherzer: 1 year, $16 million (predictions: Tigers, Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies)
  • David Robertson: 1 year, $11 million (predictions: Cardinals, Dodgers, Pirates, Nationals)
  • Shane Bieber: 1 year, $12 million
  • Sean Manaea: 3 years, $60 million (“The Mets could bring Manaea back. They’ll face competition from teams like the Angels, Rangers, Tigers, Orioles, Blue Jays, Nationals, Cubs, and Dodgers, among others.”) (NOTE: I wouldn’t count on this one — Manaea got a Qualifying Offer from the Mets, and I doubt Texas will want to surrender a draft pick to sign him. Full list of QO players below.)
  • Yusei Kikuchi: 3 years, $60 million (“The Astros would surely love to have him back but have foreshadowed payroll constraints. Other viable suitors include the Tigers, Dodgers, Giants, Orioles, Red Sox, Rangers, and Royals.”)
  • Kyle Gibson: 1 year, $13 million (predictions: Rangers, Blue Jays, Angels, Nationals)
  • Tomoyuki Sugano: 1 year, $12 million (“He’s now coming to the majors at 35 years old, which won’t help his earning power, but he’ll do so as one of the most successful active pitchers in NPB. Sugano’s former agent said at the time that six MLB clubs made offers. The Padres and Jays were reportedly among them. Other teams reported to have interest that offseason included the Red Sox, Mets, Giants, and Rangers.”)
  • Shinnosuke Ogasawara: 2 years, $12 million “Teams like the A’s, White Sox, Angels, Twins, Rangers, Brewers, Padres, and Cardinals might feel this is a chance to land an Erick Fedde-esque bargain.”)
  • Jeff Hoffman: 4 years, $44 million (“Any contender could use Hoffman. The Phillies will need to replace him if they don’t bring him back. The Dodgers, Rangers, Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays, Giants, and Nationals are other potential fits.”)
  • Carlos Estevez: 3 years, $27 million (predictions: Phillies, Rangers, Blue Jays, Athletics)
  • Tommy Kahnle: 2 years, $13 million (predictions: Angels [two of the writers], Rangers, Nationals)
  • Andrew Kittredge: 2 years, $14 million (predictions: Rangers, Blue Jays, Twins, Athletics)
  • Jurickson Profar: 3 years, $45 million
  • Michael Conforto: 2 years, $18 million (predictions: Rangers, Blue Jays, Pirates, Royals)
  • Kyle Higashioka: 2 years, $15 million (“San Diego could look to bring him back, while teams like the Rays, Cubs, Rangers, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Nationals could also fit.”)

 

[Kelleyman]

Sasaki getting posted

 

[Kelleyman]

Of course we hope it is premature but i am surprised he was posted. It cost his team money. International pool money is a factor
Rangers have been loading up for this

Hoping we have a shot or at least Pads who have Yu instead of LAD

Sign a FA potential buddy?

 

[saddles]

Sasaki getting posted

I guess Jeff Wilson's source was right.

It would be great to land him.

 

[scotsman#1948]

Sasaki getting posted



View attachment 379990

Teams that can participate in Sasaki sweepstakes: all 30 teams

Teams that have a real shot at getting Sasaki: Dodgers and Padres

 

[saddles]

From Evan Grant:

It’s natural to think Sasaki already has the Los Angeles Dodgers in mind. If you believe he’s a follower. He could join Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the world champions and blend right in. It’s the Kevin Durant school. Although the Japanese media contingent that would follow that team might be bigger than one covering the White House.

If, however, he wants to blaze his own trail, then it’s going to come down to who can present him the best vision.

Enter Chris Young.

“Vision,” particularly connected with Young, is a word every big-time free agent the Rangers landed in the last three years has mentioned in explaining why they came to a team that lost 102 games in 2021. Young sold them on his “vision” first. It worked with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Worked again on Bruce Bochy. And then Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi.

When he gets going on the vision thing, Young’s passion for winning is palpable. His delivery is earnest, energetic and focused. His drive is singular: Winning. He is not about the college recruiting pitch, which may have been the biggest weakness, if there was one, in the presentation to Ohtani back in 2018. Young was a player and a pitcher. He’s won a World Championship as both a player and an executive. Even with a language barrier, he can reach a player. He went to see Sasaki pitch in person at the end of the Rangers’ season, so he’s not simply relying on others.

But the others in his orbit on this have strong ties in Japan. Assistant general manager Josh Boyd has spent more than a decade building and maintaining strong relationships in Japan. Pacific Rim Operations director Joe Furukawa was instrumental in building the initial relationship with Yu Darvish and has spent the last 15 years in Japan.

And if Sasaki wants to win a world championship, well, the Rangers do have a still relatively shiny one. It’s only a year old. The core of that team remains. Seager’s presence alone makes a pretty good argument.

 

[saddles]

From FanDuel:

 

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More Sasaki thoughts from Evan Grant:

If you land Sasaki, it changes every dynamic. Might even change the financial component, too. It is going to create marketing opportunities in Japan, which is a whole new revenue stream. And it makes a compelling argument to maybe not go over the CBT threshold, but to take a Price is Right approach: Get as close as possible without going over. It’s essentially a free addition. You can either take the savings and smile or you can say there is real reason to get more aggressive.