The Rangers have already created some buzz today at the Winter Meetings, and now here’s more out of Texas…
- It is “unlikely” that the Rangers will sign a “big ticket” free agent, GM Jon Daniels told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). Texas has been linked to the likes of Edwin Encarnacion, Ian Desmond, Mark Trumbo and other notable free agent names this winter, and the team has notable question marks at first base, center field and DH. If free agency isn’t as likely an option for the Rangers, they could continue to pursue trades. To that end…
- The Rangers asked the Braves about Ender Inciarte but talks “went nowhere,” Evan Grant tweets. Inciarte has drawn trade chatter ever since the Braves acquired him as part of the Shelby Miller trade with the D’Backs last offseason, but it is clear Atlanta regards the defensive standout as a building block in center field.
- Also from Grant in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link), the Rangers don’t have interest in dealing Rougned Odor or Nomar Mazara. It would’ve been rather surprising to see Texas trade either young cornerstone player, though the Rangers have been linked to some big names in trade talks (i.e. Chris Sale) that would require a major return.
- Alex Cobb’s name has been discussed between the Rays and Rangers, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (via Twitter). The Rangers have targeted such Tampa pitchers as Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Drew Smyly in the past, though Cobb would theoretically come at a lower price tag. He is only under control through the 2017 season and he missed all of 2015 and most of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery.
- The Rangers are in ongoing talks with Shawn Tolleson about a reunion, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports (Twitter link), as the club wants to bring the former closer back on a minor league deal. Tolleson elected to become a free agent after a very rough 2016 season that saw him lose his closing job in Texas, spend time on the 60-day DL with a back injury and ultimately get outrighted off the Rangers’ 40-man roster. The season was a stark contrast to 2014-15, when Tolleson posted very good numbers out of the Texas bullpen.
- Similarly, the Rangers are talking to outfielder Jared Hoying about a reunion, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Hoying, who made his big league debut last season, was non-tendered by the Rangers earlier this week.
Sorry Rangers, Inciarte is not going anywhere..hopefully! Besides, what do they have that the Braves would want? Oh yeah, more prospects probably that they will throw out there to make the fans feel better about their future.
Well, since you work in the Braves front office…right? I actually hope the Braves make this trade just to prove you wrong and in return the Braves get a couple of low level prospects.
Good luck with that. We still feel the sting of the Teixeria deal, so you owe us an oversell. You want it now or when you’ve restocked your farm? Your choice.
Very true, haha.
JD was most likely just checking in on Inciarte just for the sake of due diligence. Might as well.
Honestly I would rather not trade Inciarte as he is very valuable to our young team, however his value is tied mainly to his speed on both offense and (at least a good portion) on defense. Any decline in his speed or if he is unable to stay healthy could cause a drastic decline in value. This leads me to rethink that he could be at peak value now. It seems like the Braves were at least somewhat chasing Sale and interested in other top arms that would cost us greatly. I would suggest that, although unlikely because of being in the same division, they should see what the Nationals want for Giolito. They seem willing to sell prospects for CF if this is the case with Cutch and Inciarte would provide excellent balance in there lineup with premium defense. If the Nats would take Inciarte (possibly another piece as well) for Giolito, should we make that deal? I would think that Giolito is the closest we may get to an ace coming through in prospects in the next 3 years as Newcomb and Sims are still struggling with control and Touki, Allard and Soroka are all quite young still and Fried needs to build up his innings. Giolito could start at the back end of the rotation or in Triple A and would potentially be our 1 or 2 in the next two years.
I would say the rangers could give us demeritte and some other guy for inciarte, but they gave us demeritte for Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez
Curious who the rangers offered for inciarte?
A year ago I would have said something w/ Gallo, but I think Gallo’s stock is falling now.
Gallo’s stock has plumeted. He is more of a change of scenery prospect now. Dont see him being moved this winter with his value being so low. And if next season he figures things out and cuts down the K’s he would be too valuable to trade.
Rangers gave up on Chris Davis and paid for it. There several players in MLB history who had wonderful careers but didn’t get off to good starts and took several years to “get it.” No reason to quit on Gallo right now.
Gallo, Profar,
For Inciarte & Kemp ?
Braves can unload a contract.
Texas need DH/cf.
You get 3b/ultimate utility player.
(Texas might be getting a better deal but Kemps contract should offset that)
Gallo and Profar have 0 value. That might get you Kemp and most of his salary paid.
If texas pays for Kemps salary you can’t ask or much. You’re over valuing him. to be fair maybe texas throws in Taveras their best outfield prospect but no more than that.
No thats Atl. S.D. and L.A. paying the majority of kemps contract. Texas on the hook for 2 mil a year tops.
Ok fair enough then yes they would need to add Taveras and Ragans to profar & gallo.
Closer to $8.5 million per year (3 years) for Kemp, but who’s counting?
Gallo is headed into Brandon Wood territory. To be honest Gallo would have to IMPROVE at the big league level to reach what Wood actually accomplished. That doesn’t even include that Gallo’s only even average (or above) tools were his arm and his power. He probably is even worse defensively at third than Garcia.
Don’t get me wrong, Gallo might still turn it around, but I think most ‘experts’ feel that the chances he becomes even a decent major league regular are rapidly diminishing.
Also for some reason (it appears at least) the Braves actually feel that Kemp is worth his contract. As a Braves fan I can only hope he can improve his defense and continue to hit as well as he did after coming to Atlanta last season (.280/.336/.519 after coming to the Braves). I just don’t see Texas as having the right fit for the Braves (of course I’ve been wrong before).
Dude markakis made more errors than kemp did look at there stats
Kemp hasn’t had positive dWAR value since 2008 when he was 23. Markakis did in 2016.
Kemp drove in 100 runs, again, for bad teams. He can hit..
Errors don’t show how good of a defender is or isn’t
It’s hard to make many errors if your range sucks so bad you can’t get to any of the balls hit in your area.
That just means Kemp made most of the plays he got to (which wasn’t many). If I’m Coppy I REALLY don’t want Kemp’s arthritic hips patrolling my outfield, especially with all the young pitchers the Braves will have coming up in 2017.
Braves are still looking to add salary, they don’t need to dump Kemp. Especially considering how good he played for in the second half. I think Profar has value but he’s redundant with Albies in the system.
Profane isn’t redundant. He can play outfield and 3b if Gallo doesn’t workout to platoon against tough lefties.
Profar has lost his shine. He was once a top prospect who lost 3 years of development to injury. Hard to believe he is still only 23. But he is out of options and he isnt ready for the majors. Could still be a special player but as of now 3 lost years to injury and a .652 career ops. Doesnt have much value.
Inciarte and Kemp for Ibanez Gallo Taveras is a good deal for both sides.
No 3 really good prospects for 2 good/great mlb players doesn’t even out. 2 each( more like 2 & 1/2 for inciarte 1& 1/2 for kemp
No thanks. Would be different if they still had Lewis Brinson, but no thanks. Anyone taking on Joey Gallo at this point is a major risk. Gallo isn’t the type of guy Braves FO goes after.
He’s more valuable up the middle and the Braves have that covered. A third baseman or outfielder without a lot of pop (Profar) who doesn’t have a track record for swiping a ton of bags isn’t what the Braves are looking for.
How true and how sad.
Don’t see any way that helps the Rangers at all.
No way. Much rather have Inciarte and Kemp. Kemp isn’t a bad contract for the Braves. We aren’t trying to unload his contract. Not to mention I don’t trust Profar or Gallo to stay healthy or put it all together at this point.
Profar has 3 years of team control. He has 0 options remaining, which means he will have to stay on the 25 man or be exposed to waivers. He hasnt shown enough to even justify his roster spot. The “He was a top prospect with high potential” card can only be played for so long.
Gallo has passed the threshold so he is no longer a prospect. Has over 3 times more K’s (76) than hits (23) and a .649 ops. Yes a small sample size but the same trend in the minors. Can hit the ball a mile if he makes solid contact. His power hasnt translated to the majors.
At this point Profar is borderline orginational filler. And Gallo is a bust. They have sky high potential but unfortunately its the reality that most just dont make it.
I like that deal, but the Braves should pay down the Kemp contract and get back Brett Nicholas. Then make a deal for McCutchen or Trumbo. Braves lose nothing by letting Inciarte go and the two 23 year old Texas infielders are a perfect fit for the Braves.
Well your 1,2,3 and 6 hole hitters are now gone so you’re gonna have to do something JD.
JD will make moves. I don’t think he needs to prove himself at his job after all these years.
Well since you work in the Rangers front office….right?
If i was the Rangers GM. I would try as hard as i could for Billy Hamilton. He is exactly what the Rangers need. Inciarte would be a good fit but would take the farm for Coppy to change his mind. Cinci is more than willing to deal tho.
Wouldn’t touch Cobb
For the right price it would be foolish not to check him out. High risk high reward.
Cobb had some bright spots in his comeback. Would be worth kicking the tires.
Cobb was 1 year removed from TJ. With a regular offseason he may find consistency. Doubt the Rays sell that low on Cobb and his TOR potential. But then again that is a big financial gamble for the Rays so may get him for a steal.
Just so talks went nowhere, Coppy probably asked for like Ibanez, Taveras, Ragans, Speas and Matuella…. TEX probably laughed and that’s how it went down. Less than a 5 minute conversation.
Why would he do that. Not a good prospect in the bunch.
Sort of like what I imagine the braves Chris sale conversation:
CWS: So I hear you guys want sale
ATL: Yeah. Who?
CWS: Swanson and someone
~hang up~
i dont think they can afford to trade both profar/gallo now unless they are getting something mlb-ready in return.
They have odor @ 2nd an Beltre at 3rd both all- star caliber. Beltre is HOF worthy.
Could see them asking about Inciarte to kick the tires on Mallex Smith. Smith would be a good fit with the Rangers. Lead off potetial and + defense. Not sure how they line up on a trade with Atl. tho.
Now you’re talking. They’ve been linked to Billy Hamilton, and he’d be an up-and-coming version of Billy without the pricetag and possibly a better OBP, comparable speed (if looking at minor-league totals & above average defense (not Billy’s level though)).
I could envision him more of a Michael Bourn than Billy Hamilton. Good defence in center with the speed to make up for bad reads/routes but a weak arm. Has more pop than Hamilton but behind him on basrunning and defence
Erick Aybar is pretty decent but nothing special
I’d rather see Texas bring back Carlos Gomez, who turned things around with the Rangers. Good glove…had a good attitude and hits with power.
Just throwing this out there. The Braves are GOING to have to move either Inciarte or Mallex sooner or later.