Rangers middle infielder Jurickson Profar will (again) be shut down for a few months with the hope of bringing his shoulder issues to an end, writes Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest. Despite already missing all of this season, Profar remains a question mark heading into the offseason, according to GM Jon Daniels. “Bottom line is we’ve gone down a similar path before and [there is] definitely a level of frustration that we haven’t been able to get better answers and to get him back to this point,” said Daniels. He went on to say that it was premature to discuss whether Profar would have a big league roster spot next year: “That’s getting way ahead of ourselves. I wouldn’t even venture a guess. … That’s probably two or three steps beyond where we are right now.”
Here’s more from the AL West:
- Former Rangers star Michael Young has bowed out of consideration for the team’s managerial opening, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. After speaking with Daniels about the position, Young said he was honored to be considered but preferred to spend more time with his family at this stage.
- Third baseman Kyle Seager has put together a complete season for the Mariners, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Manager Lloyd McClendon rightly credits the 26-year-old with taking the next step after very good 2012-13 campaigns. Indeed, his power output — 25 home runs and a .192 ISO — both rate within the top thirty in the game. Eligible for arbitration for the first time after the season, Seager should be in line for a handsome payday and certainly seems to be an intriguing extension candidate.
- The Angels could give righty Cory Rasmus a chance to earn a rotation spot next year, writes MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. Rasmus, 26, had been shifted to the bullpen full-time in the minors after battling injury issues, but his multiple quality offerings hold the promise of success as a starter. (He actually has five starts on the year, but those came in “bullpen games;” Rasmus has not gone past 59 pitches in any of them.) One of the team’s pleasant surprises this year, Rasmus has thrown 53 innings of 2.38 ERA ball, notching 9.2 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9.
Texas’ offseason will be interesting to watch. I think they could be a dark horse for Scherzer, but pouring more money into expensive players in their 30s will shorten this team’s window even further.
Hey the rangers are going to get Scherzer and get bautistia from the blue jays and sign victor martinez
It’s difficult for me to see them really being able to compete in the AL West next year regardless of what they do. It just seems like they have to many question marks. Can Fielder and Choo live up to their contracts? Can their pitchers recover and return to form? How will their young players come along? Is expanding their payroll with more guys in their thirties help out? It’s just tough to see. Theoretically their is enough talent their to compete with anyone given everything clicks and they add a pitcher and outfielder. I just can’t see everything clicking. I fear the next 3 or 4 years may be tough for the Rangers.
The Angels have so little rotation depth we are going to have to risk ruining a good reliever and turning him into a starter. It is always a risk trying to convert relievers it to starters…. Daniel Bard for example.
Texas seems to have alot of luck doing it but most other teams seem to have difficulty.
I can only think of C.J. Wilson working out well and of course he’s an Angel now. Ogando, Scheppers and Feliz couldn’t sustain the workload, and Robbie Ross Jr. forgot how to pitch along the way.
I haven’t paid alot of attention to Texas lately but Ogando and Feliz seemed to start of well after the switch. I remembered Ogando set or almost set a record when he made the switch of winning his first 3 consecutive starts.
They both started off well but both have had arm issues and control issues since.
It’s taken Feliz 2 full years to recover and he’s just now starting to have consistent velocity
If you go back far enough, Kenny Rogers was converted from reliever to starter, but I think it took three tries.
Nobody has rotation depth to counter losing 2 starters for the season and having one have one suddenly tank down the stretch. But thats not even the key. It’s their offense and bullpen. They’re proving right now that you can have a rotation full of average 5 inning pitchers and still win with a deep bullpen, a good defense, and a dangerous offense. But they’ve also proven that a team can create depth by using players in the right spots. I think it’s worth it to try Rasmus. I see a potential good #3 in him if he can find the durability. Also creates similar versatility as Santiago.
“They’re proving right now that you can have a rotation full of average 5 inning pitchers and still win”
Lets see how that holds up in October. It’s hard to picture them matching up well in a series with some of the staffs in the AL.