Texas Rangers 2024-2025 Offseason Thread

[WastinSomeTime]

From Abby Jones:

The Diamondbacks are officially moving in a different direction with Jordan Montgomery and are willing to eat some of his $22.5M salary.

Will Monty make his way back to the Rangers?

The guy was amazing for us in many pressure packed games.

 

[Kelleyman]

From Abby Jones:

The Diamondbacks are officially moving in a different direction with Jordan Montgomery and are willing to eat some of his $22.5M salary.

Will Monty make his way back to the Rangers?

Very well could be. Might move Gray then

 

[saddles]

Very well could be. Might move Gray then

If they get him and Eovaldi they could trade Tyler Mahle.

 

[saddles]

From The Prospect Times:

The Surprise Saguaros (17-10) won 8-5 against the Rafters (16-13) today.

Alejandro Osuna went 3-for-5 with a run.

Max Acosta went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and a run.

Marc Church pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing 1 hit and 1 strikeout. He earned his 2nd save.

 

[Kelleyman]

What’s up with this BlueSky? Baseball is supposed to be non political IMO

 

[saddles]

What’s up with this BlueSky? Baseball is supposed to be non political IMO

This is how I put it to one guy on Twitter. "It is ridiculous that people let their hatred, that their politics uncover, make choices for them."

And I felt the same way 4 years ago when the other side wanted to leave Facebook.

 

[Kelleyman]

This is how I put it to one guy on Twitter. "It is ridiculous that people let their hatred, that their politics uncover, make choices for them."

And I felt the same way 4 years ago when the other side wanted to leave Facebook.

Honestly I was ok being on Facebook on ESPN. It was wife’s anyways. Twitter or X (whatever). Is my only social media now. I hate to do anymore than that

Politics is a messy business and I have enough going on to try to keep myself down the straight and narrow.
I saw your post and wondered which Ranger resources have left. Steph?

 

[saddles]

Honestly I was ok being on Facebook on ESPN. It was wife’s anyways. Twitter or X (whatever). Is my only social media now. I hate to do anymore than that

Politics is a messy business and I have enough going on to try to keep myself down the straight and narrow.
I saw your post and wondered which Ranger resources have left. Steph?

I don't know of any that left, but I do know Evan, Newberg, Scott Lucas, and Kennedi are now on Bluesky.

I spend too much time checking Twitter now. I certainly cannot go to an additional place. Lol

 

[saddles]

Evan touched on something today that I have been thinking about. It may behoove the Rangers to be a little more aggressive in improving the team if they want to impress Roki Sasaki.

If they sign Sasaki and another pitcher like Snell, they could save some money by trading both Gray and Mahle.

A strong bullpen would be impressive to Sasaki, I would think.

 

[Kelleyman]

I don't know of any that left, but I do know Evan, Newberg, Scott Lucas, and Kennedi are now on Bluesky.

I spend too much time checking Twitter now. I certainly cannot go to an additional place. Lol

I am thinking of letting my Athletic lapse. All this is a bit annoying to me TBH

 

[Kelleyman]

Baltimore moving those fences up in LF
Probably smart for them

Works for Wyatt too

 

[scotsman#1948]

been out of town and couldn't access this site so if this has already been posted sorry.

https://www.mlb.com/rangers/news/rule-5-draft-prospects-protected-on-40-man-rosters-2024?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

shows us needing to protect 5

Teodo
Santos
Curry
Stephan
Acker

 

[saddles]

From Jamey Newberg:

Who might be in the mix for roster spots in the Rangers’ master blueprint? Let’s separate the candidates into two groups — the tough calls once you get past Teodo and Santos (and the already rostered Curvelo), and the ones who are probably victims of a numbers game and drop out before the final conversation.

First, the above-the-line group:

• Pitchers:
  • RHP Dane Acker (my No. 19 Rangers prospect in March, then No. 29 in my August update)
  • LHP Bryan Magdaleno (unranked and unranked, the latter of which I will defend shortly!)
  • RHP Josh Stephan (No. 17; No. 34)
• Position players:
  • IF Max Acosta (No. 58; No. 51)
  • 1B Abimelec Ortiz (No. 14; No. 35)

And group two:

• Pitchers:
  • LHP Robby Ahlstrom (No. 64; No. 46)
  • RHP Aidan Curry (No. 13; No. 36)
  • LHP Avery Weems (No. 52; No. 65)
• Position players:
  • 1B Blaine Crim (No. 26; No. 41)
  • 3B Cody Freeman (No. 69; No. 53)
  • IF Keyber Rodriguez (No. 65; No. 55)

The second group includes prospects who made gains in 2024, but probably just not quite enough given who’s ahead of them (Ahlstrom, Freeman); one who was probably considered as strong a bet as Santos coming into the season but struggled in 2024 (Curry); one who missed almost all of the last two seasons after Tommy John surgery (Weems); and three who have fans in the system but whose limitations are such that it’s likely going to take a right-place-right-time confluence of events for them to ever get a shot here (Crim, Rodriguez).

The first group is where we’ve got to talk a bit. Just as I’m betting the Rangers are.

Of the pitchers, Stephan is the one I felt best about coming into 2024, but I lost a little short-term steam on the South Grand Prairie High School product as he battled through a second straight season abbreviated by injury — a back issue in 2023, an elbow thing this year. Having logged only 58 ⅓ innings this season (after just 66 ⅔ the year before), the Rangers decided Stephan had some tread left on his 2024 tires and sent him to Surprise for the Arizona Fall League. He hadn’t thrown in a game since July 9. But he shoved.

 

[saddles]

This is how Jamey Newberg would handle the roster additions.

Following up on this week’s major-league deal for reliever Luis Curvelo, on Tuesday the Rangers will add starting pitchers Emiliano Teodo, Winston Santos, and Josh Stephan; reliever Bryan Magdaleno; and infielder Max Acosta to the 40-man roster as well, removing two players — let’s say reliever Matt Festa and outfielder Sandro Fabian — to make room for them. Others will be dropped later from the roster, as veteran free agents and trade acquisitions are added.

 

[saddles]

Jamey doesn't even mention Ryan Garcia in either of his groups, but he is eligible to be taken. I would protect him as the Rangers need AAA depth for both starting pitchers and relievers.

 

[saddles]

Here is the order I would want to protect guys in.

Teodo
Santos
Stephan
Acker
Crim
Garcia
Ortiz
Magdaleno
Acosta

I would protect the first 8 guys. If they will remove Ornelas, I would also add Acosta.

 

[scotsman#1948]

Here is the order I would want to protect guys in.

Teodo
Santos
Stephan
Acker
Crim
Garcia
Ortiz
Magdaleno
Acosta

I would protect the first 8 guys. If they will remove Ornelas, I would also add Acosta.

less than 34 hours til we find out

 

[saddles]

From The Athletic's Noah Furtado:

Stephan’s AFL showing may not determine the Rangers’ plans for him, but at the very least, he reminded people in the organization what he’s capable of when healthy. A stress fracture in his back and a season-ending UCL sprain forced Stephan to miss time in each of his past two minor-league seasons. The last time he pitched a full season’s workload was in 2022, when he posted a solid 3.14 ERA in 103 1/3 innings between Low A and High A.

“It’s definitely taken into consideration,” Rangers pitching coordinator Jordan Tiegs said of evaluating Stephan’s AFL outings. “Whether it changes what we’re going to do or not, I can’t really speak on that. … I wouldn’t say it necessarily changes our mind that much in terms of the Rule 5 stuff, or what we’re doing. We know what we have in Josh and we’re good with that.”

Ranked by The Athletic’s Keith Law as the Rangers’ 10th-best prospect coming into the season, Stephan possesses a four-pitch mix that thrives on command as opposed to power. His low-90s sinker and cutter aren’t particularly devastating. But he’s got decent to good movement on all of his pitches, including his plus slider.

Rangers player development had Stephan prioritize regaining a feel for his slider, considering he had last pitched in July before arriving in Arizona.

Stephan exceeded expectations on that front, according to his Double-A pitching coach Jon Goebel, who accompanied him to the AFL as part of the Surprise Saguaros staff. Specifically, Goebel pointed out how well Stephan adjusted to the baseball used in the AFL that is also used in the majors and Triple A, which has always been distinctly different from the one in Double A — and sometimes frustratingly so.

“His stuff is better with the big-league ball,” Goebel said.

“It’s tough on guys sometimes because you go from Double A to Triple A, it’s a different baseball and all of a sudden you have pitches doing different things.”

 

[saddles]

The Rangers have too many lackluster options on the 40-man roster not to make room for at least 7 or 8 new guys.

 

[saddles]

It seems like we haven't seen a lot of trades in the last day or two before the 40-man roster decisions have to be made to prepare for Rule 5 over the last few years. Maybe that is because other teams try to hold you up since they know you are looking to clear out room. I imagine the trades will come later, with maybe an exception for a very minor trade or two.