The latest on the Rangers via GM Jon Daniels and assistant GM Thad Levine:
- Levine joined Mike Ferrin and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio and said Texas will be present at any workouts Roy Oswalt holds. The Rangers hope to limit Neftali Feliz to 140-160 innings in 2012.
- Levine said the Rangers and Mike Gonzalez maintain mutual interest, Bowden tweets.
- Regarding Josh Hamilton's next contract, the outfielder's recent comments "don't play into it much," Daniels said in an online chat with Dallas Morning News readers. The GM added, "Maybe I'm an optimist but I'd like to think that at the appropriate time, we'll sit down and be able to work something out." Daniels noted that they'll "revisit contract talks privately at some point."
- Asked about the limits on draft and international player spending in the new collective bargaining agreement, Daniels said, "It seems to limit teams in those areas, and if it plays out that way, I won't be a huge fan. Just think clubs should have the freedom/flexibility to make individual decisions in the best interests of their franchise – and we're all in different situations."
- Daniels confirmed Joe Nathan is his closer. The 37-year-old righty signed a two-year, $14.75MM deal in November, with extra benefits for games finished.
- Highly regarded pitching prospect Martin Perez has a shot to make the team, but "Ideally, he'll get more minor league innings as a starter, which is where we see him long term."
Finally one GM is upfront and honest about the stupid CBA.
Dear MLBTR readers,
Please comment, I am bored at work.
-Paul
P.S. Daniels comfortable with Nathan as his closer? Eech. Also Hamilton wants to get paid, unless Daniels offer an above market contract(Ryan Howard) I dont see him not going to free agency. Plus I think its better to see if he can stay healthy first.
They’ve already agreed to let Hamilton test free agency. Joe Nathan pitched like his old self the second half of the season last year. I’m not worried about him.
Absolutey need to wait and see what Josh does on the field this year before extending him.
Absolutely—his major problem as I see is not his off-field demons, but his on-field injuries. Hamilton will be 31 at the end of the season, having missed significant time in 2009 and 2011, and I’d be wary of giving him more than 3 or 4 years.
If he lights it up… it might be out of there range. It only takes one team to offer crazy money & he is gone. Look what happened to Albert…
Not sure what it has to do with anything but here is my opinion.
Perez has the better “stuff” of the two. But Banuelos is close to major league ready and has had better results in the minors. Most scouts rank them pretty closely.
Edit: Baseball America has Banuelos 29th and Perez 31st in their 2012 top 100. They say Banuelos ETA is 2012 and Perez 2013.
Both prospects have to harness their control…but Perez much more than Banuelos. I think its fair to say Banuelos is more polished than Perez at this moment but Perez has hit AAA before turning 21, still very young. It would be a bit aggressive to throw Perez into the fire when the Rangers seem to have a bit of depth at SP