- While the Rangers already utilized some significant prospect capital to add Cole Hamels last year, the organization could be in a position to do the same for another quality starter at this year’s trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. The club’s blue chip youngsters surely won’t be parted with lightly, but Rosenthal says that they could be pried loose if a top-quality, controllable rotation piece can be had over the summer.
Rangers Rumors
Latest On Nomar Mazara
- Nomar Mazara’s big debut for the Rangers is already drawing a lot of attention, though as Baseball America’s Ben Badler recaps, many opposing scouts were stunned by the $4.95MM bonus Mazara signed in 2011, which is still a record for a 16-year-old international player. Scouts at the time questioned Mazara’s ability to consistently make contact, and also the decision by Mazara’s trainer to keep him out of playing in actual games. His evolution into a top-rated prospect and (through two games, at least) a promising big-leaguer, however, has made the Rangers’ investment look very solid.
- In another Mazara piece, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News hears from rivals scouts who explain why Mazara is a more polished hitter than another well-regarded Rangers prospect, Joey Gallo.
Rangers Release Jordan Danks, Donnie Veal
- The Rangers released outfielder Jordan Danks and lefty Donnie Veal, Matt Eddy reports. Both went to Spring Training with Texas on minor league deals after brief stints in the Majors last season (Danks with the Phillies and Veal with the Braves). Danks, the younger brother of left-hander John Danks, is a .224/.300/.322 hitter in 390 Major League plate appearances. The 29-year-old is capable of handling all three outfield positions. Veal, meanwhile, has a 5.48 ERA in 69 big league innings to go along with a 79-to-43 K/BB ratio.
Latest On Rangers’ Catching Situation
The Rangers could be without catcher Robinson Chirinos for nearly three months, but while there’s been some talk about searching outside the organization for an upgrade, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick hears that Texas is more likely to stay in house than make a splashy acquisition (Twitter link). That would mean entrusting catching duties to recently acquired Bryan Holaday and rookie Brett Nicholas, though Crasnick does note that the Rangers could make a minor trade to acquire some depth at the position.
Though Crasnick downplays the possibility of a significant trade taking place, it’s still worth noting that his colleague, Buster Olney, reported this morning that the Rangers did at least engage in talks for a significant trade this winter (Twitter link). Per Olney, the Rangers spoke to the Padres about a trade involving Derek Norris, Andrew Cashner and Jurickson Profar, though clearly nothing ever came to fruition. Texas was connected to Norris right up through the end of Spring Training, with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News calling him a likelier trade candidate than the Brewers’ Jonathan Lucroy (to whom the Rangers were also frequently linked).
Holaday was naturally able to be acquired for a much lower return than it would’ve cost Texas to land either Lucroy or Norris this offseason, and the price tags on those two bigger-name catchers may have gotten even larger given how the Rangers now have an even more pressing need behind the plate. It’s also somewhat rare to see significant trades for catching take place during the season, as most teams prefer to give their backstops and pitchers time to learn to work with each other.
Cashner and Norris have been mentioned in trade rumors for much of the winter, as there was speculation the Padres could unload some of their top trade chips to rebuild after their disappointing 2015 season. While notables like Craig Kimbrel, Yonder Alonso and Jedd Gyorko were dealt, San Diego stopped short of a full-fledged fire sale. Profar has also been cited as a trade candidate, as the former top-ranked prospect in all of baseball has missed almost all of the last two seasons with shoulder injuries and doesn’t have a place in the Rangers’ middle infield with Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor in starting roles. Padres GM A.J. Preller, of course, was formerly a longtime assistant general manager in the Rangers organization.
Rangers Haven't Recently Discussed Lucroy With Brewers
- Robinson Chirinos’ fractured forearm put the Rangers’ already below-average catcher situation in an even worse position than it was in previously, though they have not engaged in any recent discussions with the Brewers about Jonathan Lucroy, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The Rangers have been linked to the Brewers as a potential trade partner for Lucroy since the offseason. General manager Jon Daniels said the team did its “due diligence” on outside options in the aftermath of Chirinos’ Saturday night injury, but not for a “major” addition, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
Rangers Notes: Mazara, Darvish, Catcher
The latest on the Rangers, who lost to the Angels on Sunday but got the first major league glimpse of a player who could be a long-term linchpin:
- Newly promoted right fielder Nomar Mazara, the aforementioned potential building block, began his career in red-hot fashion Sunday. Mazara – the youngest player in the league (20 years, 350 days) – went 3 for 4 with a home run in a 3-1 defeat, and Jim Callis of MLB.com believes he’s capable of rivaling the injured Shin-Soo Choo’s offensive production while providing superior defense. On Mazara’s offensive skills, manager Jeff Banister said (via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News), “He controls the strike zone. He can be patient, but he can jump on a fastball early if he needs to. Offspeed stuff did not seem to bother him that much this spring. He can hit when he’s down in the count.” That assessment proved true Sunday, as Grant writes.
- In the next step in his recovery from March 2015 Tommy John surgery, Rangers ace Yu Darvish will throw live batting practice Wednesday, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “Now it’s time to turn him loose,” pitching coach Doug Brocail said. “He’ll throw some live batting practice and then get in games.” The Rangers plan for Darvish to throw three BP sessions and then have him begin a minor league rehab assignment toward the end of April. Darvish would then make six starts in the minors before rejoining the Rangers in late May, according to Sullivan. The Rangers will monitor Darvish’s pitch counts when he returns to the big leagues and want him to pound the strike zone with more fastballs. “I’m not asking [Darvish] to throw 25 percent more fastballs,” Brocail stated. “I’m asking him to trust it more to get more quick outs. Just more strikes so he doesn’t have to go deep in counts.”
- In the wake of catcher Robinson Chirinos’ forearm fracture, general manager Jon Daniels said that he considered outside options Sunday morning, but it was merely “due diligence” (link via Sullivan). The Rangers ultimately called up Brett Nicholas to serve as the backup to Bryan Holaday, who will be their regular catcher for at least a little while. “We’ve got a good start with Holaday here,” Banister said after Chirinos got hurt on a hit by pitch Saturday. “We are working through all of our other options right now. We’ve got limited, but multiple options.” The Rangers have two other potentially useful catchers under control in Chris Gimenez and Michael McKenry, but the former is recovering from a bacterial infection and the latter is on the mend from an abdominal strain.
Rangers Outright Justin Ruggiano
SUNDAY: The Rangers have announced that they’ve outrighted Ruggiano to Triple-A Round Rock.
FRIDAY: The Rangers have designated outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to fifth starter A.J. Griffin, a minor-league free agent whose contract has been purchased.
Ruggiano, who’ll soon turn 34, signed a $1.65MM deal to join the Texas organization over the winter. But Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter that the contract includes a minor league split, meaning he would earn at a lower rate at Triple-A — if he isn’t traded and clears waivers. Ruggiano could refuse an assignment, but he’d be sacrificing his rights under that contract since he hasn’t yet reached five years of MLB service time.
The move obviously isn’t a reflection of Ruggiano’s performance to date so much as it is a product of the winter’s moves and early-season pitching needs. The veteran outfielder was signed to provide a part-time option, along with Ryan Rua, to complement the left-handed-hitting Josh Hamilton in left. But an injury to Hamilton and a lagging market for Ian Desmond let to a surprise late signing, reducing the need for Ruggiano. Meanwhile, the club not only now has a need for a fifth starter, but felt the need to keep an eighth reliever on hand after taxing the pen early.
Rangers Promote Nomar Mazara To Replace Injured Shin-Soo Choo
The Rangers have promoted top prospect Nomar Mazara, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Mazara will take the 25-man roster spot of Shin-Soo Choo, who will be out four to six weeks with a calf strain. Mazara will presumably replace Choo, at least for the time being, as the Rangers’ everyday right fielder.
Mazara will be extremely young for a big-league promotion — he won’t turn 21 until later this month. He will, in fact, be the youngest player in the Majors, coming in below 21-year-old Roberto Osuna of the Blue Jays. Mazara was, however, off to a hot start at Triple-A Round Rock, going 6-for-12 with a homer so far, and he hit a combined .296/.366/.443 for Round Rock and Double-A Frisco last season. He’s currently ranked the No. 9 prospect in baseball by ESPN’s Keith Law, No. 17 by MLB.com, and No. 21 by Baseball America. Law writes that Mazara could easily end up with 25-homer-type power once he matures, and MLB.com praises Mazara’s plus power and strong arm in right field.
The Rangers signed Mazara out of the Dominican to a hefty $4.95MM bonus in 2011, and he’s moved quickly through their system, making it to full-season ball in 2013 as an 18-year-old and skipping Class A+ on his way to Double-A. Along the way, he’s shown not only good power (with 56 minor-league home runs), but a strong understanding of the strike zone that has improved as he’s matured — in 2014 and 2015 he took a total of 118 walks despite facing much older pitchers.
If Mazara were to stick in the Majors, he could become eligible for arbitration following the 2018 season and eligible for free agency after 2021, since we’re less than two weeks into the season. Of course, the Rangers could delay Mazara’s free agency by a year by sending him down to the minors for a short time at some point.
Choo’s injury is, of course, significant news in itself — Choo was off to a slow start this season, but he batted .276/.375/.463 last year, and the Rangers would be very lucky to get production like that from a 21-year-old rookie, even one as gifted as Mazara. Choo is making $20MM this season, the third year of his seven-year deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Robinson Chirinos’ Fractured Forearm Could Lead Rangers To Trade Market
12:03pm: Chirinos will be out ten to 12 weeks, Grant tweets. Also, Shin-Soo Choo will miss four to six weeks with a Grade 2 calf strain. Choo’s injury has led to speculation about the possible promotion of top prospect Nomar Mazara, but the Rangers have yet to make an announcement about possible roster moves.
9:18am: Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos got hit by a pitch Saturday night and has fractured his forearm, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Chirinos will be out for at least a month. The Rangers have already had problems with their catching depth this year, leading to a spring trade for Bryan Holaday of the Tigers, and Chirinos’ latest injury could have them heading to the trade market yet again.
“We’ve got a good start with Holaday here,” says manager Jeff Banister. “We are working through all of our other options right now. We’ve got limited, but multiple options.”
Chirinos hit a solid .232/.325/.438 for the Rangers last season and was off to a good start in 2016, so his loss is a relatively significant one. Chris Gimenez and Michael McKenry would normally be possibilities to replace him in the short term, as Grant notes, but Gimenez is recovering from a bacterial infection and McKenry has an abdominal strain. Brett Nicholas, who has never played in the big leagues but who split time between catcher and first base at Triple-A Round Rock last year, is healthy, but would require a 40-man roster move.
Grant thinks the Rangers could look to the trade market, possibly re-acquiring Bobby Wilson (who they shipped to Detroit in the Holaday deal and who’s currently playing for Triple-A Toledo). There’s also the possibility that Chirinos’ injury could spur the Rangers to make a bigger trade for a higher-profile talent like Jonathan Lucroy or Derek Norris, in whom they’ve had interest in the past.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltre, Schwarber, Rickard, Sizemore
A Beltre extension with the Rangers is challenging because there just aren’t many comparables, reports Ken Rosenthal in his latest video for FOX Sports. The Rangers consider Red Sox designated hitter to be similar, but Ortiz obviously doesn’t have Beltre’s elite third base defense. Ortiz has made around $13MM to $16MM in each of the last five seasons. His contracts have typically included complicated club options with a variety of vesting scenarios and amounts. If both sides agree to use Ortiz as a yard stick, they’ll still have to figure out how to balance offensive and defensive considerations along with what portions of the deal should be guaranteed.
Here’s more from Rosenthal:
- Kyle Schwarber’s future at catcher is in question. The Cubs will react to how his rehab progresses, but he already had a short window to establish himself behind the plate. Catching prospect Willson Contreras will probably be major league ready sometime during this season, and he’s always rated as the better defender. Schwarber’s already a questionable outfielder. With Anthony Rizzo locked in at first base, Rosenthal wonders if Schwarber might not be destined to join an AL club.
- The Rays had to make difficult choices when they exposed Tyler Goeddel and Joey Rickard to the Rule 5 draft. The team had a number of right-handed outfielders and pitchers to protect. They weren’t confident Rickard had a high enough ceiling to warrant an eventual everyday role. Outfielders are also hard to stash for a full season than pitchers, making it more likely the club could reacquire Rickard later in the year.
- Former Indians star Grady Sizemore remains a free agent despite posting over an .800 OPS in the second half last year. Sizemore has received minor league offers, but he’s waiting for an opportunity to be a regular contributor. Sizemore doesn’t want to sign with a team just to provide depth. In my opinion, Sizemore may have to pick the best offer soon – perhaps with an opt-out if another club offers a major league contract. James Loney was the most recent player to sign a contract of that type.
