Rangers With Pitching Surplus?
Jesse Thomas is a writing teacher from Wichita Falls, Texas. He follows the Rangers religiously, and is going to contribute some posts here at MLBTradeRumors.com. Below is his first.
I know it’s something not commonly associated with the Texas Rangers, but an abundance of quality pitching may force Jon Daniels to look at potential trade suitors at the end of Spring Training. The Rangers have no less than five guys competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, and they are overflowing with relievers.
The Rangers had made it clear that they would’ve liked one of their in-house guys to win the starting job. Josh Rupe seemed to be the favorite early on, but has struggled recently. The Rangers brought in veterans Bruce Chen (5-0, 0.72 ERA in winter ball) and Jamey Wright, and they have impressed. However, look for the decision to come down to Wright or Kameron Loe.
Believe it or not, the team is even more crowded in the bullpen. With Eric Gagne as the projected closer and Akinori Otsuka as the setup man, the Rangers have a host of guys, some of whom have no minor league options, competing for one or two spots.
What this all means is that the Rangers will most likely have a few extra pieces at the end of camp. Not superstar quality types, but serviceable major league pitchers. Look for Daniels to trade one or two of these guys for either a backup to Gerald Laird at catcher or a utility infielder if Jerry Hairston or Desi Relaford do not perform. The one fly in the ointment is if a team like Boston or Cleveland in need of a closer blows away Daniels with an offer for Otsuka (32 saves, 2.11 ERA). He’s not shopping the guy, but he will listen to offers.
More On Rowand Rumors
Just a few tidbits regarding yesterday’s Sun-Times story that the White Sox may reacquire Aaron Rowand.
The Philadelphia Inquirer says that the White Sox have been scouting recent Phillies games, though Rowand did not play yesterday. Additionally, the Delco Times speculates that the availability of Rowand is directly related to the fine play of Greg Dobbs this spring. The waiver pickup could platoon with Jayson Werth in right field, with Shane Victorino moving to center.
In a related topic, Buster Olney said today that any Lieber/Rios talks are dead but that the Rangers might make sense for Lieber.
Is Sosa A Mistake For Rangers?
Josh Lile is a history major at the University of Texas. I’ve brought him aboard as MLBTR’s Rangers correspondent. For his first post, Josh weighs in on Sammy Sosa and the consequences of giving him a roster spot.
Sammy Sosa beat out an infield single in today’s game vs. the Cubs. Let me repeat that. Sammy Sosa beat out an infield single. The main point of contention behind Sosa coming to camp is Sammy turning into Juan Gonzalez part deux. Juan Gonzalez, in the minds and hearts of Rangers fans, is remembered as a guy who half-heartedly played the field, walked out infield contact, and barely put any effort into anything. The same reputation was earned in Texas by Alfonso Soriano. Somehow Sammy has been humbled by his year off, and he appears to be hungry enough to make some magic this year.
Sammy, after today’s game vs the Cubs, is hitting .500 in Spring Training games with two homers. His main competition is 26 year-old Jason Botts, a monster who dropped a .980 OPS in AAA Oklahoma last year. The outfield and DH spots are virtually set with Frank Catalanotto, Nelson Cruz, Brad Wilkerson, and Kenny Lofton as the other four.
The last spot will come down to Sosa and Botts. Coming into today Botts was hitting .400, so he isn’t playing himself out of the lineup. So if you have a 38 year-old coming off a year off after steroid rumors, or a 26 year old masher, who do you choose? Personally I think you have to go with Botts or risk him developing into Travis Hafner with another team. However, Ron Washington seems to be drinking the Sosa Kool-Aid. Ron had this to say in Tom Singer’s article on at MLB.com: "People say he can’t do this or can’t do that, but he hasn’t showed me any of that. He can do anything. It’s his reward for working so hard."
So the question is this: which Sammy shows up if he makes the Opening Day roster? Do we get the slacker Sammy that will do his Juan Gonzalez impersonation, or do we get the hard-working Sammy who will come in and endear himself to Rangers fans? Since 2001 when John Hart blew $100 million on old corner infielders and relievers, the Rangers PR department has failed miserably and alienated many fans. If the hard-working Sammy shows up there is almost no chance Ron Washington keeps him off the roster, and the fans may start to come back.
Teixeira Possibilities
Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News weighs the possibilities for first baseman Mark Teixeira, a Scott Boras client set to hit free agency after the 2008 season.
When he hits arbitration after the 2007 season, it will be the first time Teixeira can request a salary commensurate to his peers. Carlos Delgado would be a good match; I would expect Boras to ask for $14-15MM at that time. PECOTA sees Teixeira as a $20MM player annually through 2011, so it will be money well spent.
Whether Texas will commit the $100+ million contract Teixeira will require after that remains to be seen. Jon Daniels seems to be on decent terms with Boras, with recent signings of Eric Gagne and Kevin Millwood.
Last Year’s Oswalt Trade Details Surface
Mark Hale of the New York Post was able to dig up some new details on the machinations that almost left Roy Oswalt a Met. He’d certainly look good with this group.
The Mets were dying to get him last July, but didn’t have the goods to make a direct swap with Houston. The Astros wanted a hitter, perhaps Hank Blalock from the Rangers or Miguel Tejada from the Orioles. Morgan Ensberg, Brad Lidge, John Danks, Thomas Diamond, Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Heilman, and Brian Bannister were all names that surfaced in connection to a possible trade.
A Little Help: Rangers
More rumors, news, and analysis is always a good thing, and I really like the early work of Jacob Burch as our Dodgers correspondent. If I do this right we can really expand the quality content at MLBTradeRumors.com over the next couple of months. Today I’m looking for someone to represent the Texas Rangers.
What am I looking for in this person?
- Solid writing skills and a style that fits with MLBTradeRumors. Basically, I’ll know it when I see it. I’m looking for the same type of analysis you see here every day.
- Someone who can post up-to-the-minute Rangers rumors as they surface. I want a person who follows the Rangers religiously and will have every source (traditional newspapers, high quality blogs, radio) covered. Would make sense to have all the pertinent websites on an RSS reader. You should be near a computer most times and able to hop on and write a post if something happens.
- While this person is probably a Rangers fan, objective analysis is preferred. Additionally it would be nice to provide the local vibe/sentiment that people might otherwise not know about. That might sound contradictory but I don’t think it is.
- The benefit to you: a decent-sized audience and a chance to do a little sportswriting. It could be a nice resume-builder and I would be happy to serve as a reference for you. And I will give you some insight on how I do what I do, for what that’s worth.
- Email me at mlbtraderumors@gmail.com if this interests you and explain why you’re the best candidate. I’ll choose one person and unfortunately won’t be able to reply to all. A sample post of a rumor/signing (whether fake or true) might help make your case. Note: long-winded posts are not my style! Brevity is a plus – I like 3-4 paragraph posts.
NOTE: Please don’t contact me about doing this for other teams. I just want a Rangers person at the moment.
Comparing Carlos Guillen and Michael Young
Michael Young‘s recent contract extension, which 56.6% of you liked, could inform negotiations for Carlos Guillen‘s next deal. Guillen is among the ten best free agents available after the 2007 season.
Let’s compare the two shortstops. They have nearly identical body types, though Guillen is a year older. Guillen’s got a touch more power; both consistently hit for a high average. Guillen draws more walks, so he’s in better shape if the batting average starts to decline. Both have questions about their ability to stay at shortstop in the long term. Both are significantly underpaid this year.
The largest difference is that Young is far more durable. That’s a huge factor. If you factor in the health and age difference, it’s obvious Guillen should not get a five-year, $80MM deal. The Tigers seem willing to offer a four-year extension, taking him through 2011. Rather than Young’s $16MM AAV, Guillen should be in line for something more like $14-15MM. He wants to stay in Detroit, so something like 4/52 might make sense. PECOTA would support Detroit making such an offer.
What say you? Guess the length and AAV of Guillen’s contract in today’s MLBTR poll and compare to other readers.
Today’s Poll: Michael Young
We’re trying something new here at MLBTradeRumors.com, a reader poll. Today’s question:
Was Michael Young‘s contract extension a smart move by the Rangers?
Click here to take the poll; you can also view the results.
Michael Young Gets $80MM Deal
Rangers shortstop Michael Young finalized his five-year, $80MM contract extension today. The deal runs from 2009-13.
Granted, Young is a huge bargain for 2007-08. The Rangers basically erased that advantage by overpaying him past his peak. I will have more thoughts on this later tonight, but I have a feeling that this contract will not be well-received by analysts.
Lone Star Ball has a poll up about the signing; most Rangers fans responding feel that it is an "Okay deal for the Rangers — they overpaid, but not by enough to make it a bad deal."
Kinsler Next Up For Rangers
With Michael Young nearly locked up long-term, the Rangers are now trying to lock up his double-play partner Ian Kinsler. Kinsler would be arbitration-eligible after the ’08 season. It’s a Ranger tradition, the multiyear contract to avoid arbitration.
The outlook is good for Kinsler entering his age 25 season. He hit .286/.347/.454 as a rookie in 120 games. He spent a quarter of the season on the DL with a dislocated thumb but is ready to go this spring. The Rangers will bat him second, ninth, and occasionally leadoff. Kinsler’s PECOTA calls for a jump to .285/.345/.475 this year.