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Jurickson Profar

AL Notes: Rangers, Astros, Red Sox, Tigers

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So far during their brief major league careers, Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo have not lived up to the hype they received as prospects, and Rangers general manager Jon Daniels doesn’t believe the organization has put either player in proper position to succeed. “Don’t hold it against these players,” Daniels told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. “That’s on us. We promoted them aggressively because they were advanced in a lot of ways, and when you get to Triple-A at age 19 or 20 years old and reach the big leagues at 20 or 21, that’s unusual. The guys that hit and perform immediately are on the fast track to the Hall of Fame discussion.” Considering they’re only entering their age-24 seasons, there’s certainly still time for Profar and Gallo to establish themselves in the infield or outfield. Texas, for its part, remain bullish on the pair. “The talent and the instincts haven’t gone anywhere,” Daniels noted. With their farm system having thinned out recently and several of their top players on the wrong side of 30, the Rangers have a lot riding on the development of Profar and Gallo, posits Crasnick.

More from the AL:

  • The Astros’ success this year figures to largely hinge on the bounce-back abilities of their top starters, 2015 Cy Young-winning southpaw Dallas Keuchel and right-hander Lance McCullers Jr., who endured injury-shortened campaigns last season. Keuchel, who hasn’t started since Aug. 27 on account of shoulder inflammation, could be ready for game action during the upcoming week, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Thanks to elbow problems, McCullers’ latest start came Aug. 2, though he’s also on the right track now. The 23-year-old threw 43 pitches in live batting practice Saturday and will make his Grapefruit League debut Thursday.
  • Red Sox skipper John Farrell indicated Sunday that reliever Fernando Abad will put himself in a less-than-ideal position by leaving the team to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, per Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com. “You love the fact that his country looks upon him as a guy to contribute for the WBC,” said Farrell. “He’s pitched four times; there’s been early-camp mixed results, which are not uncommon. But in those positions of competing for a spot, you’d like to think that a guy’s going to be here to make that mark here. He’s aware of his status on the roster competing for a spot. When he returns, it’s constant evaluating that’s going on.” Abad’s battling for a spot on the team with fellow left-hander Robby Scott, whom Farrell complimented Sunday, and his shaky spring has come on the heels of a disappointing showing with Boston in 2016. After the Red Sox acquired Abad from the Twins at the trade deadline, he allowed nine earned runs on 13 hits and eight walks in 12 2/3 innings. It’s worth noting that Abad’s $2MM salary for 2017 won’t become fully guaranteed until Opening Day, so his place in the organization could be in jeopardy.
  • Another Red Sox reliever, offseason acquisition Tyler Thornburg, also hasn’t enjoyed a great spring thus far, as John Tomase of WEEI writes. Having yielded nine earned runs on seven hits in 1 1/3 frames, the righty will stay away from game action for the next few days as he attempts to fix his mechanics. “It’s been more timing in his delivery,” Farrell observed. “He’s out of sync right now. His body is drifting to the plate too quick, you see a number of pitches left up of the strike zone up to his arm-side. To see him hit a guy the other day with a changeup, that just says his timing right now needs a lot of work.”  Boston sent three players to Milwaukee for Thornburg, who was among the game’s premier relievers last year.
  • The elbow MRI that Tigers reliever Adam Ravenelle underwent after leaving the team’s game Saturday didn’t show any structural damage, according to manager Brad Ausmus (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). “He’ll get a second opinion to be safe, but they don’t think it’s anything major. I’m sure he feels better about it, more than anyone else, having been through surgery already,” said Ausmus, referring to the ulnar nerve procedure Ravenelle underwent in 2012. Baseball America ranks the 24-year-old as Detroit’s No. 8 prospect.

Market Notes: Profar, Utley, Francoeur, Masterson

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The Rays have at least opened a dialogue with the Rangers about infielder Jurickson Profar, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It seems that the discussions are just preliminary at this point, but it does seem there’s a rather intriguing possible match on paper. Tampa Bay is in need of a second baseman after trading Logan Forsythe (and might also like the idea of having another player capable of playing short). For Texas, Profar is something of an underutilized asset; the Rays possess a variety of pitchers that might be of greater function. Of course, lining up on value and finding common ground isn’t as simple as finding mutual interest; it remains to be seen whether these talks will gain traction.

  • Veteran second baseman Chase Utley has received “multiple offers” and appears to be nearing a decision, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). We haven’t heard much at all of late as to what teams might be in pursuit — beyond the incumbent Dodgers, at least, though they don’t seem like much of a fit at this point. Still, it’s not surprising to hear of rather robust interest in Utley, who is a highly respected talent and still managed to hit at just below the league-average rate (.252/.319/.396) in near-regular duty last year. He is especially useful against right-handed pitching, and might suit a variety of organizations depending upon how much playing time he is seeking.
  • Though the Braves remain interested in bringing back veteran outfielder Jeff Francoeur, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, the club is only willing to offer a minor-league deal to do so. Francoeur is still hoping to find a guaranteed contract, though Bowman notes that he has yet to receive such an offer. The 32-year-old spent much of the 2016 season in Atlanta, where he also once starred as a rookie. Over 331 total plate appearances, including a late-season run with the Marlins, he hit just .254/.297/.378.
  • Righty Justin Masterson is planning to build up for a late-February showcase, per Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer (via Twitter). The 31-year-old last put together a successful MLB campaign back in 2013, with shoulder and knee injuries playing a big role in the 5.79 ERA he has posted ever since (over 188 innings in the 2014-15 seasons). Masterson did pitch last year, throwing 59 1/3 minor-league innings in the Pirates organization, but managed only a 4.85 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9.

AL Notes: Napoli, Wieters, Lowrie, Rasmus

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The Rangers’ interest in first baseman Mike Napoli is real, but the pursuit hasn’t exactly been all-out, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. While there’s certainly a financial component to the current standoff, Wilson argues that the team’s mix of alternatives at first base and DH may also be an independent factor. It’s time the club finds out whether Ryan Rua, Jurickson Profar, and Joey Gallo can handle regular MLB roles, he suggests, and that may be holding the Rangers back from pushing to land Napoli.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • While it seems as if the door is all but shut on a return of Matt Wieters to the Orioles, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com wonders whether Baltimore ought to reconsider. If the price has fallen as far as it seems, Connolly reasons, Wieters would combine with Welington Castillo to form a strong backstop duo. Both could also spend some time at DH, perhaps along with a variety of other players that could rotate through that slot.
  • It seems that the Athletics are set to utilize Jed Lowrie as their regular option at second, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. Manager Bob Melvin says it’s Lowrie’s job so long as he’s healthy. Oakland has received positive indications on Lowrie’s recovery from foot surgery. The 32-year-old will also be looking to bounce back from a tepid year at the plate.
  • The Rays haven’t yet announced the signing of outfielder Colby Rasmus, but that’s not due to any issues with his physical, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). It’s not immediately clear what the holdup is, though it could simply be that the team is waiting to sort out a roster move before making it official.

Rosenthal On Dodgers’ Search For Second Baseman

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The Dodgers have expanded their search for a second baseman, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Los Angeles remains engaged on longstanding targets Brian Dozier, Ian Kinsler, and Logan Forsythe, but appears to be looking elsewhere in the event that those players can’t be had at a palatable rate.

Among the players that could potentially be fits, per Rosenthal, are switch-hitters Jurickson Profar of the Rangers, Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies, and Wilmer Difo of the Nationals, though he notes that of that trio, Profar is the only one on whom the Dodgers have definitively inquired. All are young and controllable somewhat controllable — Profar through 2019, Hernandez through 2020 and Difo all the way through 2022. Only Hernandez, though, has put up a full and productive major league season.

Beyond those possibilities, Rosenthal says that there’s still some potential for a reunion with Chase Utley. Still, the club would rather find a hitter who swings from the right side. That would also appear to leave little room for interest in the other top remaining second-base-capable free agents.

Dave Cameron of Fangraphs recently suggested that the best fit on paper might be Javier Baez, with young pitching going to the Cubs in exchange. But that doesn’t seem particularly likely, as Cameron notes and Rosenthal also echoes.

All things considered, Rosenthal explains, Dozier might still be the likeliest target for the Dodgers. Though the club seemingly broke off its talks with the Twins recently, Rosenthal says that the door remains open to a deal. It’s imaginable that Los Angeles could line up with the Rays on Forsythe, but the biggest issue there seems to be that Tampa Bay doesn’t have a ready replacement.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures has come and gone, and there have been dozens of agreements broken throughout the league today. So many, in fact, that I’ve split the list up into a pair of league-specific posts to avoid having 100-something names in this list. You can see all the NL players here, and both of these will be updated as quickly as we’re able.

Many teams use the arbitration exchange as a hard deadline for negotiations on one-year deals — a “file and trial” approach which effectively means that once figures are exchanged, the only option they’ll pursue before a hearing is a multi-year deal. (The Mets and Orioles are both adopting that approach this year, and other teams to use that strategy in the past include Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Marlins, Rays, White Sox, Pirates, Reds and Nationals.)

The most significant arb agreements of the day have been snapped off into their own posts already. We’ll continue adding the smaller-scale agreements from the American League right here (all projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and all arbitration agreements and filings can be monitored in MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker)…

  • The Rangers have announced agreement on a deal to avoid arbitration with lefty Jake Diekman. With today’s deadline having passed, the sides did exchange figures — $3.1MM versus $1.9MM — but obviously were already nearing a number. The high-powered southpaw projected at $2.6MM, and will receive $2.55MM, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).
  • The Mariners announced that they’ve avoided arb with all eight of their eligible players, which includes Jean Segura (reported last night), Danny Valencia, Jarrod Dyson, Leonys Martin, Drew Smyly, James Paxton, Evan Scribner, Nick Vincent. Numbers aren’t all in yet, but Valencia took home $5.55MM, per FanRag’s Robert Murray (on Twitter). Martin will earn $4.85MM, per Heyman. They were projected at $5.3MM and $6.3MM, respectively. Meanwhile, Dyson gets $2.8MM, Heyman tweets, which lands just over his $2.5MM projection. Smyly will receive $6.85MM — right at his $6.9MM projection — while Scribner gets $907,500, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Paxton will land at $2.35MM and Vincent will receive $1.325MM, per Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (via Twitter), both of which fall shy of their respective projections ($2.7MM and $1.5MM).
  • Catcher Martin Maldonado will receive $1.725MM from the Angels, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). That’s just over his $1.6MM projection.
  • The Tigers announced that they settled with third baseman Nick Castellanos. He projected at $2.8MM, but will receive $3MM, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).
  • Jeremy Jeffress and Jurickson Profar have each avoided arbitration with the Rangers, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegarm (via Twitter). Jeffress receives $2.1MM, while Profar will receive $1.005MM. Also of note, the Jeffress deal includes incentives that can add up to $250K in incentives, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). He’ll get $50K apiece upon reaching 55, 60, 65, and 70 innings. He had projected for a $2.9MM salary, but his legal issues late last year certainly dented his bargaining power.
  • The Athletics have avoided arbitration with catcher/DH Stephen Vogt, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. Vogt will receive $2.965MM, falling shy of his $3.7MM projection. Oakland has also reached agreement with starter Sonny Gray for $3.575MM, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter), which is just shy of his $3.7MM projection. Also, reliever Liam Hendriks has agreed to terms, per John Hickey of the Mercury News. He’ll get $1.1MM, per Heyman (via Twitter).
  • Righty Adam Warren will get $2.29MM from the Yankees, per Baseball America’s Josh Norris (via Twitter). That’s just a shade under his $2.3MM projection. New York also announced deals with shortstop outfielder Aaron Hicks and lefty Tommy Layne, among other players whose arrangements were previously reported. Layne receives $1.075MM, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter).
  • The Orioles have avoided arbitration with second baseman Jonathan Schoop, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). He’ll receive $3.475MM, just over his projection of $3.4MM.
  • Adding to their previously reported deals, the Red Sox have announced agreement with all but two of their arb-eligible players. Salaries were reported by MLB.com’s Ian Browne for the players avoiding arb: shortstop Xander Bogaerts gets $4.5MM ($5.7MM projection), utilityman Brock Holt receives $1.95MM ($1.7MM projection), righty Joe Kelly will earn $2.8MM ($2.6MM projection), catcher Sandy Leon takes home $1.3MM (the same as his projection), lefty Robbie Ross gets $1.825MM (just $25K over his projection), and new righty Tyler Thornburg will earn $2.05MM (just under his $2.2MM projection).
  • Two moreplayers have avoided arbitration with the White Sox, per Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (via Twitter). Among those not previously reported, starter Miguel Gonzalez gets $5.9MM and reliever Zach Putnam receives $1.175MM. That clearly indicates that Gonzalez and the Sox utilized his prior-years’ arb starting points, rather than his much lower earnings with the team last year. Putnam, meanwhile, had projected for $975K.

Earlier Updates

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Rangers Yet To Have Serious Extension Talks With Lucroy, Darvish

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The Rangers have had “informal” conversations with the agents for Jonathan Lucroy about a possible extension, GM Jon Daniels said in a recent appearance on 1310 The Ticket in Dallas with host Norm Hitzges (transcript via the Dallas Morning News). There haven’t been any serious talks yet, though Daniels said he plans on exploring that scenario with both Lucroy and Yu Darvish as Opening Day draws nearer.

“We will sit down and talk to them but haven’t yet and that’s by design with so much going on,” said Daniels, presumably referencing his ongoing work to fill areas of need around the roster. Texas is known to be in fairly serious talks with Mike Napoli about a two-year contract to play first base and/or DH, for instance, and Daniels and his staff have already worked to re-sign Carlos Gomez to a one-year deal in addition to various trade scenarios that command persistent attention.

Both Lucroy and Darvish are set to hit free agency following the 2017 season, and barring some form of disastrous injury or unexpected decline, they’ll do so as two of the most coveted players available on the open market. Lucroy rebounded from an injury-plagued 2015 season to bat a combined .292/.355/.500 with a career-high 24 homers in 544 plate appearances between the Brewers and Rangers this past season. Paired with premium defense behind the plate and an ability to play first base as needed, Lucroy could well challenge or surpass the five-year deals signed by Russell Martin ($82MM) and Brian McCann ($85MM) in recent years with another characteristically strong season.

Darvish, meanwhile, returned from 2015 Tommy John surgery to turn in 100 1/3 quality innings with the 2016 Rangers. The 30-year-old logged a 3.41 ERA and averaged 11.84 K/9 against 2.78 BB/9 with a 40.4 percent ground-ball rate and a 93.3 mph average fastball that was actually harder than any of his previous Major League seasons. If he’s able to turn in another season that falls somewhere between that form and his 2013 peak — 2.83 ERA, 11.89 K/9, 3.43 BB/9, 41 percent ground-ball rate in 209 2/3 innings — he looks very much like a pitcher that can command in excess of $100MM in free agency.

Certainly, each player’s proximity to free agency will make it difficult to extend him, however. Both players have already banked a sizable amount of money in their careers ($10.7MM for Lucroy and $45MM for Darvish), and the allure of a significant open-market payday would mean both are unlikely to offer any form of discount. Lucroy, in fact, cited a very business-oriented thought process when explaining his veto of a trade to the Indians over the summer, noting that the team’s plans to use him at first base and DH more than at catcher (which would’ve depreciated his free-agent value) heavily influenced his decision. Considering the fact that his current contract has become one of the game’s greatest bargains, free agency has to be especially appealing to him.

Daniels also spoke to Hitzges about the roles of Matt Bush and Jurickson Profar in 2017, noting that while there’s been some talk of Bush getting a look as a starter, he’s expected for the time being to come to Spring Training as a reliever. The GM did indicate an openness to the idea, though he noted some reasons for concern with the concept as well, including his limited experience on the mound and the fact that he’s never pitched to a starter’s workload (or even attempted to do so). Profar, meanwhile, is expected to compete for at-bats at first base and in left field, depending on exactly how the outfield alignment shakes out, Daniels added. Others in that mix will be Joey Gallo, Delino DeShields, Ryan Rua and Drew Robinson, the general manager noted. Obviously, a Napoli signing could take away some of those theoretical at-bats.

Latest On The Rangers’ Offseason

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Here’s the latest on the Rangers’ progress this offseason, via ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (all Twitter links).

  • The Rangers have asked the White Sox about Jose Quintana, Crasnick writes. The Rangers likely won’t be significant bidders for Quintana, however, unless the White Sox’ price comes down. The two teams discussed Quintana at the trade deadline during the season, and the White Sox asked for Jurickson Profar plus “a lot more.” The Rangers thought that price was too high. There would, of course, be little reason for the White Sox not to ask for a lot in return for Quintana, who is controllable for the next four seasons. While it’s not surprising that the White Sox wanted more than Profar in exchange for Quintana, the basic framework of the deal makes sense — the Rangers reportedly targeted another controllable starter, Joe Ross, when the Nationals asked about Profar.
  • The Rangers are still pursuing potential trades for starting pitchers, Crasnick writes. The Rangers’ rotation is strong at the top with Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish, and Martin Perez makes a decent third option. But they’re weak after that, with wild-card new signee Andrew Cashner topping a list of possible fourth and fifth starters.
  • The Rangers also continue to linger on the periphery of Edwin Encarnacion’s market. Encarnacion’s agent said earlier today that several teams had made offers to Encarnacion of three or four years, although it’s unclear if the Rangers are one of those teams. GM Jon Daniels has said that it’s “highly unlikely” the Rangers will sign Encarnacion, despite a clear opening for a bat to play first base and/or DH.

Trade Chatter: Colome, Mariners, Wilson, Profar

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There has been significant movement on the market for closers, leaving the Rays with an interesting trade piece in Alex Colome. But while the team is receiving ongoing interest in the controllable young hurler, it’s not moving off of a “price they believe is appropriately high,” Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Moving Colome would put a dent in the team’s 2017 hopes, Rosenthal notes, and it seems fair to say that the organization’s other recent moves do not suggest that the organization has any intentions of packing it in before reaching Spring Training. It still seems much more likely that the club will deal a starter; Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times recently provided the latest on that front, suggesting that one of Drew Smyly, Alex Cobb, and Erasmo Ramirez may be more likely to be dealt than are Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi.

  • The Mariners have been talking with both the Rays and the Reds about starters, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports on Twitter. Seattle has been said to be hunting for one more rotation piece, and it’s not surprising to see these two particular organizations mentioned. Tampa Bay, as noted, has long been expected to consider trading out of its staff; the M’s could conceivably have interest in just about any of the pitchers listed above. And while we haven’t heard much in the way of specifics from Cincinnati, it stands to reason that the club would at least weigh offers for pitchers such as Anthony DeSclafani and Dan Straily.
  • The Tigers and Cubs have been in contact about left-handed reliever Justin Wilson, tweets Morosi, although he notes that it’s unclear whether there’s any momentum. Detroit acquired Wilson last winter in a trade that sent Chad Green and Luis Cessa to the Yankees, and while Wilson didn’t have the year the Tigers likely envisioned (4.14 ERA in 58 2/3 innings), there were plenty of positive indicators in the 29-year-old’s results. Wilson turned in a career-best 10.0 K/9 and career-low 2.6 BB/9 in his 58 2/3 frames out of the Detroit ’pen, and he also notched a career-high 54.9 percent ground-ball rate.
  • Before landing Adam Eaton, the Nationals approached the Rangers about a deal to acquire infielder Jurickson Profar, Rosenthal reports (Twitter links). Washington was reputedly interested in utilizing Profar at shortstop, which would have meant keeping Trea Turner in center field, but moved on when Texas requested righty Joe Ross in return. It’s certainly not clear whether the Nats would have preferred to work something out on Profar rather than acquiring Eaton, but it’s nevertheless interesting to learn of the discussions. If nothing else, it represents one of the first suggestions we’ve heard of a team approaching the Rangers about the 23-year-old, a former top prospect who is now one of the more hard-to-peg potential trade chips in baseball. He has been thrust into a utility role after dealing with significant shoulder issues, and hit just .239/.321/.338 in 307 plate appearances last year. Further, despite his relatively scant MLB experience (184 total games), Profar has already racked up over three years of service time. But the prospect pedigree is second to none, and he has shown flashes of his talent in the upper minors and (in stretches) in the majors.

AL West Rumors: Profar, Astros, Street, Angels, Mariners

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Jurickson Profar could be one of the Rangers’ biggest trade chips this offseason in their search for starting pitching, writes MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, although GM Jon Daniels spoke highly of Profar and said he expects him to be with the team next year. “As we sit here today, I expect him to be a part of the club in a winning role,” said Daniels of the 23-year-old Profar, who missed both 2014 and 2015 due to shoulder injuries but returned to play 90 games for Texas in 2016. The former No. 1 overall prospect batted just .239/.321/.338 in 307 plate appearances while playing first base, second base, shortstop, third base and left field. Daniels did acknowledge that he’s aware of Profar’s desire to play shortstop on an everyday basis, though there’s no avenue for him to do that with Elvis Andrus coming off a career year. However, as Daniels noted, the increase in roster versatility around the league has allowed utility players to effectively become regulars — a role that Profar could hold next year. Profar is under control through the 2019 season.

More from the division…

  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle that he and the rest of his front office are leaving this week’s GM Meetings with a lengthy list of “leads” to pursue in terms of both free agents and trades. “I think we’re going to start making some offers right away, both with teams as well as with agents and players,” said Luhnow. “Whether or not it leads to anything next week, I don’t know. But I would like to have one or two things done before the winter meetings if possible.”
  • Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Angels GM Billy Eppler has informed Huston Street that he’ll have to win the closer’s role in a competition during Spring Training. Young righty Cam Bedrosian, who took over the ninth inning when Street hit the disabled list with a season-ending knee injury, will also be in the mix. The 33-year-old Street missed a month with an oblique strain early in the year before requiring knee surgery in August, limiting him to just 22 1/3 innings. Street recorded a brutal 6.45 ERA in that time and posted a 14-to-12 K/BB ratio while his fastball averaged a career-low 88.2 mph. Bedrosian, meanwhile, turned in a dominant 1.12 ERA with 11.4 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 49.5 percent ground-ball rate in 40 1/3 innings. The 25-year-old saw his own season end preemptively as well, however; he first hit the DL due to a tendon strain in the middle finger on his right hand before undergoing surgery to repair a blood clot in his arm.
  • Fletcher also reports that the Angels turned down a trade offer for an offensive-minded second baseman at this week’s GM Meetings due to the fact that the unnamed player was a defensive liability (Twitter link). It’s not clear who, exactly, is being referenced with the report — speculate away in the comments section — but Fletcher gets the impression that defense will be a high priority for the Halos as they look to fill add a second baseman. (Of note, Fletcher implied in a followup tweet that the second baseman in question wasn’t exactly a big name.)
  • Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto suggested that his club will pursue a more targeted offseason than it did last year, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. “Last year was about heavy lifting and effectively re-creating the way we played,” he said. “This year is about focusing on ways we can get better in the parameters we set up last year.” With some “freedom” in the payroll, Seattle will still be looking to add a right-handed-hitting option at first, a righty-swinging outfielder, and a lefty reliever. Divish ticks through some of the many options on the market.

Daniels On Rangers: Lucroy, Offseason Needs, Gallo, Profar

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Rangers GM Jon Daniels managed to engineer an AL West title, but his club washed out in the ALDS. Today, he and manager Jeff Banister addressed the 2016 season and broke down the roster needs heading into the offseason, as MLB.com’s TR Sullivan was among those to cover:

  • Texas will exercise its club option over catcher Jonathan Lucroy, which is about the easiest decision the team will face this winter. The 30-year-old’s $5.5MM tab for 2017 was one of the chief reasons that the Rangers gave up a strong haul of prospects to acquire him at the trade deadline. Lucroy rewarded the investment with a .276/.345/.539 batting line and 11 home runs over 168 plate appearances down the stretch.
  • Starting pitching represents the Rangers’ top priority heading towards 2017, Daniels suggested. Texas also needs to fill in at center field and first base. There are a variety of considerations in all of those areas involving departing free agents, open-market options, trade targets, and internal candidates for increased roles. Regarding the team’s own players whose contracts are expiring — righty Colby Lewis, first baseman Mitch Moreland, and outfielders Ian Desmond, Carlos Gomez, and Carlos Beltran — Daniels says: “All of those free agents, under the right circumstances, we would love to have back.” 
  • Bolstering the rotation will be accomplished somehow, Daniels promised. “We will be better,” he said of the position, while also suggesting that the team still has enough assets in its farm to strike a significant swap to bring in a new hurler. Texas also needs to make a call on the $11MM option of lefty Derek Holland — declining it would require a $1.5MM buyout, as well as a $1MM buyout of his ensuing $11.5MM option for 2018 — after he turned in a 4.95 ERA over 107 1/3 innings. Daniels indicated that the team remains undecided on that move.
  • Desmond is “the Rangers’ first choice to play center field,” according to Sullivan. He seems a highly-likely qualifying offer candidate, though that wasn’t confirmed in the presser. Gomez, too, could be a consideration up the middle. “We like what we saw from Gomez,” said Banister. “We feel like he is a quality player.” It’ll certainly be interesting to see what kind of interest he’ll draw on the open market after bouncing back with a .284/.362/.543 batting line in his 130 plate appearances late in the year with Texas. Otherwise, Texas has a wide variety of uncertain outfield options already kicking around in the system. “We have a number of guys we believe in and have talent,” said Daniels. “They are certainly going to get opportunities. Competition is very healthy.”
  • At first base, the big question may be whether the club is ready to entrust Joey Gallo with a big chunk of playing time. The 22-year-old put up a .240/.367/.529 slash and swatted 25 long balls in his 433 trips to the plate at Triple-A, but has struggled badly in limited MLB exposure. “Joey is still a premium talent,” Banister said. “This guy has what very few in the game have. His raw power is off the charts. The power shows up, but it’s the hit-ability and the consistency that has to get better.”
  • Another question mark of sorts is infielder Jurickson Profar, the former top prospect who finally returned to health this year. He isn’t lined up for much time up the middle after strong years from Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor, with Sullivan suggesting he may yet be a trade candidate. But Texas believes in his talent and values his versatility, writes Sullivan, and his trade value may not be quite what the team would need to pull the trigger on a deal. Profar has just three seasons of control remaining, and only ended up with a .239/.321/.338 slash line on the year. “As I sit here today, my expectation is for [Profar] to be on the ballclub in a winning role,” said Daniels. “I think he is a winning piece.”
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