Texas Rangers 2024-2025 Offseason Thread

[saddles]

Those are pretty ambitious inning counts IMO

I like to think of it as being slightly optimistic. Lol. I do think the doomsday predictions about them only getting 120 innings is off. If someone gets injured then things would look different, and at least 2 or 3 of them will probably miss 3 or 4 starts due to injury.

I do think we could have traded a starter and between Dunning, Leiter, Acker, and Teodo we would be fine.

 

[saddles]

From Shawn McFarland:

The average major league offseason is, in some form or another, spent focused on rehabilitation, refinement or conditioning. Texas Rangers right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning chose all three after the worst statistical season of his professional career.

“I can point my finger in multiple directions,” Dunning said Saturday during a Rangers winter caravan stop at Rough Riders Field, “but I don’t know if I can exactly pinpoint, ‘Hey, this is what happened.’”

He has a few theories, though, and a few thoughts on how to fix it after an injury-ridden, regressive season provided plenty of improvement points. Among them: his weight, his health and his mechanics. Dunning — a 30-year-old who bounced between the Rangers’ rotation and bullpen in 2024 before a late-year move to the minor leagues — said that he got “a little too heavy” toward the end of the season and moved slower and sluggishly because of it.


“I wanted to cut some of the bad weight down and start moving quick again and be able to be explosive,” said Dunning, who was listed at 225 pounds to start last season and shed 11 pounds this winter. “It’s been really good. I’ve been working on a lot of things this season and cleaned up a lot of the problems I created for myself last year.”

 

[saddles]

More on Dane Dunning from Shawn McFarland:

The stuff tells the tale. Dunning’s sinker was one of baseball’s best individual pitches two seasons ago and, according to Baseball Savant, was the third most valuable pitch of its type leaguewide. It was an average pitch last season and its velocity (which was not all that speedy to begin with) decreased too. His sinker dropped one whole tick to 89.7 mph last year and averaged just 88.4 mph in August before his demotion.

Dunning became too hittable and, in turn, got hit. Opponents hit .341 against him in 30 second-half innings last season and slugged .442 against his sinker alone. He allowed the sixth-most home runs per nine innings (1.71) among American League arms that cleared 90 frames.

His physical status didn’t help. Dunning took two trips to the injured list with right shoulder ailments and, in an effort to return quickly, “created some problems that might’ve hurt me in the long run.” His mechanics didn’t help either: Dunning considered it a “directional” problem with his hips, and he’s worked this offseason to be more “direct” when he moves toward the mound.

“It’s been really good so far,” said Dunning, who’s undergone physical therapy this offseason to strengthen his shoulder. “I feel like I’ve made some major improvements.”

 

[Kelleyman]

I like to think of it as being slightly optimistic. Lol. I do think the doomsday predictions about them only getting 120 innings is off. If someone gets injured then things would look different, and at least 2 or 3 of them will probably miss 3 or 4 starts due to injury.

I do think we could have traded a starter and between Dunning, Leiter, Acker, and Teodo we would be fine.

I jut don’t think Leiter gets many starts 5-10 Tops
Dunning gets less unless he improves
The rest may be ok but yes optimistic

 

[Kelleyman]

Yes Dunning was on my mind. If Dunning can make productive starts. That would be huge

 

[saddles]

I jut don’t think Leiter gets many starts 5-10 Tops
Dunning gets less unless he improves
The rest may be ok but yes optimistic

For Leiter, you have to remember that I said combined starts in AAA and with the Rangers. As for as Dunning goes, i said if he, like the others, were in a rotation all year long.

 

[saddles]

Yes Dunning was on my mind. If Dunning can make productive starts. That would be huge

He was named our pitcher of the year just about 15 months ago. I think k he will rebound

 

[scotsman#1948]

another closer gone. Carlos Estevez to KC

 

[saddles]

I think if we were planning on trading for a closer that we would have already done so. Nothing has really changed that would have kept us from doing so before it changed. They knew the budget situation from the beginning and that they couldn't afford a closer. So, I think we have what we have. Again, Fannin isn't coming to help the Alamo part of the bullpen.

 

[saddles]

The projection by Fangraphs:

 

[saddles]

The projection by Fangraphs:

View attachment 387199

I only projected 18 innings more. That is about two-thirds innings more per week.

 

[Kelleyman]

I think if we were planning on trading for a closer that we would have already done so. Nothing has really changed that would have kept us from doing so before it changed. They knew the budget situation from the beginning and that they couldn't afford a closer. So, I think we have what we have. Again, Fannin isn't coming to help the Alamo part of the bullpen.

It takes 2 teams to trade.
Cards are asking too much IMO first both players they want to trade

 

[saddles]

It takes 2 teams to trade.
Cards are asking too much IMO first both players they want to trade

Once training camp starts and injuries start to occur, the price for any pitcher will go up, due to supply and demand. The price has been too high and they will only get higher.

Also, Helsley will make $8.2 million in 2025. The Rangers don't have that much to spend in the budget.

The fact that it does take two teams to trade makes it even harder to make a trade in the first place. That is why teams can't afford to wait and trade this close to ST.

Unless something very strange takes place, I think we have what we are going to have.

 

[saddles]

In an article on MLBTRADERUMORS.COM about where Cleveland could find a CF, they had this to say:

Beyond Robert, the Guardians would need to a find a team that feels it has a center field surplus. The Rangers seem like the best fit. Leody Taveras is ticketed for a fourth outfield role behind Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Adolis García. Texas is at roughly $235MM in luxury tax commitments and doesn’t want to go beyond the $241MM CBT marker. Taveras is making $4.75MM for his second of four arbitration seasons. Their biggest concern is bullpen depth, an area of strength for Cleveland. Speculatively speaking, the Guards could offer a pre-arbitration reliever like Erik Sabrowski or Andrew Walters. Taveras is coming off a down season, but he was an average hitter who played strong center field defense between 2022-23.

 

[saddles]

In an article on MLBTRADERUMORS.COM about where Cleveland could find a CF, they had this to say:

Beyond Robert, the Guardians would need to a find a team that feels it has a center field surplus. The Rangers seem like the best fit. Leody Taveras is ticketed for a fourth outfield role behind Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Adolis García. Texas is at roughly $235MM in luxury tax commitments and doesn’t want to go beyond the $241MM CBT marker. Taveras is making $4.75MM for his second of four arbitration seasons. Their biggest concern is bullpen depth, an area of strength for Cleveland. Speculatively speaking, the Guards could offer a pre-arbitration reliever like Erik Sabrowski or Andrew Walters. Taveras is coming off a down season, but he was an average hitter who played strong center field defense between 2022-23.

I would definitely take one of them for Taveras.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Trevor Bauer is willing to pitch for the league minimum which is $740,000 along with incentives. He pitched well in Japan 2 years ago and in the Mexican league this past year which I don't put a lot of stock in that. But for that price I would test the waters with that guy.

 

[saddles]

Trevor Bauer is willing to pitch for the league minimum which is $740,000 along with incentives. He pitched well in Japan 2 years ago and in the Mexican league this past year which I don't put a lot of stock in that. But for that price I would test the waters with that guy.

Definitely