The Rangers were one of the busiest teams in the spending spree that led up to the lockout in early December, giving out over half a billion dollars to Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jon Gray and Kole Calhoun. However, there are still areas of the roster that could be upgraded, if there’s still money left to do so.
Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at some paths the club could take after the lockout, emphasizing that the main priority is starting pitching, with the unresolved Clayton Kershaw situation being a key pivot point for the Rangers. Most of the top free agent starters were snapped up before the lockout, leaving Kershaw and Carlos Rodon as the only front-end options remaining. Although both of those hurlers have questions about their health after dealing with injuries in 2021, they should garner plenty of interest after the lockout due to the dearth of similar options. The Rangers may be uniquely positioned to take advantage of the Kershaw situation, however, given that he is a Dallas native and may prefer to stay near his home as much as possible. Furthermore, Kershaw has a connection to Rangers manager Chris Woodward, who was with the Dodgers as third base coach from 2016 through 2018. Woodward admitted in November that the club has had discussions with Kershaw.
Despite dealing with injuries in 2021, Kershaw threw 121 2/3 innings with a 3.55 ERA, 29.5% strikeout rate and 4.3% walk rate. Although he’ll turn 34 in March, he’s still an elite pitcher when healthy and would provide a huge boost for the Rangers. Gray currently occupies the top spot in the rotation, followed by a pile of wild cards and question marks. Dane Dunning, Taylor Hearn, A.J. Alexy, Spencer Howard, Kolby Allard, Glenn Otto, Yerry Rodriguez, Brock Burke and Cole Winn are among the options to fill out the remaining spots, but most of them have little or no MLB experience at this point. They also all have minor league options, meaning there’s plenty of room to make external additions and bump everyone else down a peg. If the club isn’t able to nab Kershaw or Rodon, they could pivot to players such as Yusei Kikuchi, Tyler Anderson, Matt Harvey, Johnny Cueto, Michael Pineda, Zack Greinke, and many others.
The Rangers are known to be interested in Seiya Suzuki and Grant suggests that the club touch base with him after the lockout. They currently project to have an outfield of two Calhouns, Kole and Willie, along with Adolis Garcia and depth options such as Leody Taveras, Nick Solak and Eli White. Taveras and White both have options and could spend some time in the minors if another outfielder is added into the mix. Solak also has options but could be best suited as a utility option off the bench, given his ability to play the infield as well. How Suzuzi will fare against MLB pitching can’t be known for sure, but given his success in Japan, he seems likely to be able to contribute as an everyday player. He hit at least 25 home runs in each of the past six seasons and his 2021 line was .317/.433/.639, with 38 homers and nine stolen bases.
Grant also throws out the idea of calling Oakland and trying to acquire Matt Olson, who is expected to be traded after the lockout. Nathaniel Lowe is currently the club’s first baseman and had a fine season in 2021, hitting .264/.357/.415, wRC+ of 115 and 1.6 fWAR. However, Olson would be a clear upgrade, as evidence by his 2021 line of .271/.371/.540, wRC+ of 146 and 5.0 fWAR. But it may be difficult for the Rangers to win the Olson sweepstakes, given that they are division rivals with the A’s. Oakland may not want to send him to a team that they will have to play so regularly, and Texas may also be loath to watch a package of highly-touted prospects flourish in Oakland for years to come.
Much like the rotation, the bullpen could also be bolstered by a veteran presence. The club’s current mix of relievers is entirely composed of hurlers with less than three years’ service time, such as Joe Barlow, Spencer Patton, Brett Martin and others. Jose Leclerc has more than five years on his résumé, but he underwent Tommy John surgery last spring and figures to miss at least part of the season. Grant suggests that the club reunite with former Rangers Jake Diekman and Ian Kennedy, though those are just two of dozen of potential bullpen options on the market. Kenley Jansen, Collin McHugh, Ryan Tepera are among the dozens of others who could be considered.
There’s also the matter of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was one of the team’s bright spots in 2021 but has now been squeezed by new additions. In 158 games last year, he hit .271/.312/.357, which was only good enough for a wRC+ of 85, but was still worth 2.3 fWAR thanks to his baserunning and defensive contributions. Now that Seager and Semien are plugged in at shortstop and second base, Kiner-Falefa seems likely to start the season as the regular third baseman but could be bumped into a super utility role once prospect Josh Jung is deemed ready to join the big league club. Grant suggests that the club could preemptively try to take advantage of this infield surplus by shopping Kiner-Falefa to the teams who need a shortstop but aren’t planning on spending big on the position, such as the Yankees. Whether the club has another big move left up their sleeve or not, they’ve already done enough to have a more interesting season than last year. If they have more chips to push into the center of the table, they still have lots of options for exactly how they do it.
Post lockout? Gonna be a while.
They got nothing else to write about with lockout still going on and looking like it’s going to be a long wait
Should probably just sign Correa and Story and call it a day.
I gotta chuckle that Matt Harvey is still being mentioned as an option for teams. Like how bad does he have to be before we accept things?
I’ve been wondering that for years lol….him and Shelby Miller like how are they still in the league? Lol
Given Harvey’s struggles in the rotation the past several years, is there a reason someone hasn’t given him a shot in the BP? It seems so obvious that he should be moved to a relief role. I’m clearly missing something because there are dozens of really good GMs, pitching coaches and analytical staffs that have chosen not to do so.
@Cosmo2 Beat me to it. Harvey has proven conclusively in the last two seasons that he has no business being paid to be in any team’s starting rotation.
Ikf , BMartin, JKing, Ibanez, Walker to Toronto for Gurriel or remove Jking from trade and take Grichuk + 1 15-20 seems reasonable. Ikf provides upgrade defensively, Jays add relief help and Rangers get a LF or a deadline trade person in Grichuk.
Bo is their shortstop and so I don’t feel Ikf is a defensive upgrade anywhere else but short. Bo isn’t moving at this point.
IKF would manage 3b where he won a gold glove.
(1) Yerry is no longer being groomed as a starting pitcher and has been converted to relief full time.
(2) There’s no way Winn is going to be rushed, break camp with the team and have his contract purchased for the 40, when there is a roster crunch. He will spend at least the first couple months in the minors until rotation injuries and his development push the envelope.
(3) Kennedy seems like a no brainer to reunite with. Solid season with them. Pitchers park. Good pitching coaches. Help fortify the back end of the pen. I’m not counting on Leclerc for anything. Even before his injury, his trajectory was looking remarkably similar to Sam Dyson’s decline … lost his ability to locate pitches and the bite on his slider was inconsistent at best.
Would love to see Kershaw go to Texas. Reminds me when Ryan pitched for them in the late stages of his career. Just be fun to see him on a different team and in that new ballpark.
I agree it would be fun. What is crazy is Kershaw is 8 years younger than Nolan when he played for the Rangers in 1989.
Half a billion and still an also-ran at this point. That rotation is rough. Without a couple of upgrades this team isn’t ready to contend.
they aren’t trying to contend in 2022
If they have an expanded playoff picture after the CBA is agreed upon, the Rangers might try and sneak into the postseason like many other teams
I like thd idea of Clayton in Arlington. I am not really buying the interest in Olsen though. The Rangers aren’t really even trying to win at the moment, the target is still 2023 and 2024 I think, not sure how Olsen fits into that picture.
Olson ain’t coming to Texas, but I do think he is traded to NYY.
Wait…I thought that the Rangers signed Kershaw…Damn never mind that was my MLB The Show franchise. Come on baseball. Expand the the playoffs and raise the minimum. Maybe give the players 4 years of arb. Instead of 3. The rest is a bunch of nonsense. Let’s go!
Hard pass on all those propositiions
I think the reds match up well w texas in a trade. Castillo winker and Suarez could all be trade targets if the price is right
Winker is probably not getting traded. It would take too much to get him. Castillo is possible, but only if the terrible Suarez contract is added to the trade. Texas won’t be trading Leiter, Winn, Or Jung.
Suarez contract is not that terrible. He hurt his shoulder in a fall. He will be back to 100% this yr
We also stole from the [Nationals, I belive.. outfielder Anthony Gutierrez, who ranks No. 6 on MLB.com’s Top 50 International Prospects list, for $1,997,500, and outfielder Jose De Jesus, No. 27, for $1,197,500. The Rangers have a base signing pool of $5,179,700.
Not sure why no one has reported it yet on this site
If the Rangers make a trade I feel Foscue and IKF are the most expendable options. Rangers will likely hold onto Leiter and Winn. Highly doubt Jung goes anywhere. Would a trade of Foscue, Lowe, and a bullpen arm get it done for Olson?
That would be a great start, but I think you have to add either Allard, Arihara, or Solak + plus a 20-30prospect.
They can have any of those 3 and another prospect, IMO. Where do I sign?
I don’t understand why teams think they can still buy a championship in today’s MLB. The Yankees, Marlins, and Mariners all learned the hard way. FA should be used to upgrade a position here and there and to bring in an Ace or staff workhorse. The Rangers were not ready for additions like these. Seimen is already a year or 2 into his prime. Seager was the only signing that made sense because of his age. The AL West is too tough to buy your way into the top of the standings. Houston is far better on paper The Angels are 1 more solid mid rotation arm from contending and Seattle is knocking on the door. The Rangers spent a half billion for 3rd place at best. If the A’s (nice young pitching prospects) surprise everybody and don’t sell off their stars it could be 4th.
It’s more about ticket sales than trying to buy a championship. Jon Daniels has ran this organization straight into the ground. Nobody was going to come to the ballpark next season without some big ticket acquisitions. They had the payroll space, and had to overspend to convince players to come play for a loser. No Ranger fan who has been paying attention expects Daniels’ plan to work, but at least we won’t be watching a team full of AAAA players. They’re Going To Need A Lot Of Luck!
Daniel’s is the reason rangers went to the WS. While Hicks was taking the heat Daniel’s was building the Rangers. This has even came out of Hicks mouth. Rangers had a record over 9+ Tommy John’s surgeries in one year in the minor leagues that really hampered them. Yes he has made some bone headed calls but Daniel’s has done more than any other GM has for TX
The Texas Rangers have not made the playoffs in 5 years. They’ve only made the playoffs 2 of the last 9 years. The last two seasons they’ve finished in the bottom of the league. Yeah, Jon Daniels is great at his job.
“…if there’s still money to do so.”
That’s a scary first paragraph. There better be more money, or what’s been spent is for a lost cause. Still no pitching, and holes remain in the lineup.
The main owner, I believe Ray Davis. It could be the other one has already said money is not the problem and they have more if needed.. no one knows how rich they’re but they know it’s a lot. You’ll also won’t find any interviews with him
3 yrs 90 million to Texas,2yrs 60 million,&1 yr 40 million.Kershaw seen what Scherzer,Verlander,Thor & watched what the Rangers just gave Seager.He could retire or take someone 100 million.
You can get Kershaw for a lot less than that. Given his health and general decline I’d think that he’s closer to $25mm per season or lower over a couple of years of contract. We’ll see where he ends up.
It’s all well and good to play the hypothetical game but trying to buy a championship rarely works. Seager, Semien, and Gray aren’t moves for 2022. They’re for 23 and beyond. Let prospects get their toes wet next season and then go all in after that.