Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rangers Rumors

Latest On Giants’ Managerial Search

By | at

The Giants interviewed third-base coach Mark Hallberg this week in regards to the manager’s job, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Hallberg becomes the first candidate known to officially sit down for an interview, though several other internal candidates are also on the radar.  Bench coach and interim manager Kai Correa and longtime former third base coach Ron Wotus are expected to receive interviews, Slusser writes, and catching/bullpen coach Craig Albernaz could also be considered.  Albernaz has already been interviewed by the Guardians in regards to their own managerial vacancy.

Hallberg, however, “is emerging as the top in-house candidate” to replace the fired Gabe Kapler, Slusser notes.  The 37-year-old Hallberg has been part of San Francisco’s coaching staff for the last four seasons, moving from an assistant coach role to taking over from Wotus as third base coach prior to the 2022 campaign.  After playing five seasons in the Diamondbacks’ minor league system from 2007-11, Hallberg moved on to coaching at the high school level, and then for four seasons in the Cape Cod League.  He joined the Giants organization as a coach of their former lower-A affiliate in Salem-Keizer in 2018, and then managed the club in 2019.

If the Giants did hire Hallberg, he would be the club’s first (non-interim) first-time MLB manager since Dusty Baker got the job in 1993, though Baker obviously had a larger breadth of Major League experience from his long playing career and his coaching career before moving into the manager’s chair.  Considering the increasing impatience from Giants fans to see the team get back on the winning track, Hallberg would immediately face a lot of pressure, though Slusser notes that it could be a popular hire within the team since Hallberg is “well regarded by everyone in the organization.”

Correa and Wotus aren’t surprising names on the list of possibilities, and this would be the second time Wotus has interviewed for the manager’s job — the Giants spoke with Wotus during the 2019-20 offseason prior to hiring Kapler.  Wotus has spent the last 35 seasons in the San Francisco organization as a minor league player, then as a manager in the minor league system, and then an extended coaching stint that lasted from 1998-2021.  Nineteen of those seasons on staff were served as a bench coach, with Wotus acting as the right-hand man for managers Baker, Felipe Alou, and Bruce Bochy.  The 62-year-old Wotus has worked as an advisor within the Giants organization for the last two seasons.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he hoped to have the team’s new manager hired before the free agent period fully opens, which occurs five days after the end of the World Series.  There haven’t been many public reports about external candidates who may or may not be of interest to the Giants or have spoken to the club already, but Slusser reports that Rangers bench coach Donnie Ecker “is expected to be among the potential front-runners” as San Francisco’s next manager.

Ecker is a familiar face in the Bay Area, having worked as a hitting coach with the Giants in 2020-21.  Other teams with managerial vacancies (the Guardians, Mets, and Angels) might also have interest in speaking with Ecker, though the Rangers’ increasingly deep playoff run is a complication, as any interviews would have to be built into breaks in the postseason schedule.

Poll: Who Will Win The League Championship Series?

By | at

Two first-time postseason meetings will take place during the League Championship Series, with these fresh matchups underlining the upset-filled nature of the 2023 playoffs.  We could also be heading towards an entirely fresh World Series matchup as well, or potentially a rematch of last year’s Fall Classic.  The ALCS begins Sunday in Houston, with the NLCS getting underway on Monday in Philadelphia.

Rangers vs. Astros

Amidst all of the postseason’s unpredictability, the Astros remain the constant.  Houston is in the ALCS for the seventh consecutive year, with two World Series titles (2017 and last season) and two other AL pennants to show for this incredible run of success.  The Astros know what to do in October, and their ALDS victory over the Twins also saw a player without a championship ring suddenly step up, as Jose Abreu hit three homers over the four-game series.  The regular season was a disappointment for Abreu, but if he has suddenly locked in and found his old White Sox form, Houston’s lineup will look even more imposing.

Then again, the Rangers can roll out an awfully imposing group of hitters themselves.  Texas is a perfect 5-0 over its series triumphs over the Rays and Orioles, in part because Corey Seager and the rookie duo of Evan Carter and Josh Jung have been almost impossible to get out.  The Texas rotation and bullpen will inevitably have question marks, yet their arms have gotten the job done thus far, with a 2.25 ERA over 45 postseason innings.  Plus, the pitching staff might get even stronger with the expected return of Max Scherzer in some capacity for the ALCS.

There is already a fierce rivalry between these two Lone Star State rivals, as the Rangers’ return to prominence will now face a critical test against the benchmark that is the Astros.  Though the Rangers led the AL West for most of the season, the Astros slipped ahead to clinch the division on a tiebreaker — both clubs finished with a 90-72 record, but Houston held a comfortably 9-4 advantage in head-to-head play.

Justin Verlander has been announced as Houston’s starter for Game 1, and Jordan Montgomery will take the ball for Texas.  Both pitchers were acquired at the trade deadline, though naturally Verlander already has a long history in an Astros uniform.

(poll link)

Diamondbacks vs. Phillies

The first season of the expanded playoffs saw the Phillies go from sixth seed to NL champions in 2022, and now a year later, the Phils find themselves as the favorites trying to hold off another sixth-seeded upstart.  Like the Rangers, the Diamondbacks have yet to drop even a single game in these playoffs, after sweeping away the Brewers and the Dodgers over the first two rounds.  The Phillies (1.53, .892 OPS) and D’Backs (2.20, .877) lead all postseason teams in ERA and OPS, showing the well-rounded nature of both clubs’ performances thus far.

Star youngsters Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno have led the way for Arizona, and the rotation depth that plagued the D’Backs during the regular season hasn’t been an issue in the short-series environment of the postseason.  Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are a formidable pair of frontline arms, and rookie Brandon Pfaadt looked sharp in 4 1/3 shutout innings against Los Angeles in Game 3 of the NLDS.  Arizona also has an unusual bit of superstition on its side, in that every team to ever eliminate the Brewers from a postseason series has also won at least a league pennant.

While the underdog Diamondbacks have shown no fear during these playoffs, they’ll be facing a tough assignment in facing a tested Phillies team that has both a raucous home crowd and the home-field advantage.  Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, Bryce Harper, and J.T. Realmuto have been a four-man wrecking crew during the playoffs, combining for nine homers and 19 RBI over Philadelphia’s six games.  If there is one downside, it is that the rest of the Phillies’ lineup has been mostly quiet, though there is still plenty of talent that could emerge in a new series.

Arizona will start Gallen, Kelly, and Pfaadt over the first three NLDS games.  A well-rested Zack Wheeler is expected to start Game 1 for Philadelphia, with Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez probably lining up for the next two starts.

(poll link)

Latest On Max Scherzer

By | at

Rangers ace Max Scherzer was thought to be done for the season as recently as last month due to a teres major strain, but the veteran righty has spent the postseason to this point rehabbing the injury with the hope of returning in time to impact the pennant chase in Texas. With the Rangers now poised to face the Astros in the ALCS starting this weekend, Scherzer’s rehab appears to be in the best place its been to this point. In conversation with reporters, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that Scherzer’s 60-pitch simulated game yesterday left him feeling “real encouraged” regarding the future Hall of Famer’s health entering the upcoming series. Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today adds that Bochy indicated Scherzer would be a starting pitcher for the club if he is well enough to make the roster.

The news is surely encouraging for fans in Arlington. In winning five straight games to advance to the ALCS, the club’s starting and multi-inning options in Jordan Montgomery, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, and Cody Bradford have pitched exceptionally well, with a combined 2.05 ERA in 44 innings of work. A healthy Scherzer would allow Texas more flexibility regarding the usage of Heaney, Dunning, and Bradford with Montgomery and Eovaldi joining the team ace as the club’s three main starters for the series. Scherzer sports a 3.77 ERA in 152 1/3 innings of work this season, though that figure drops to a more impressive 3.20 (140 ERA+) since joining the Rangers ahead of the trade deadline.

Rangers Rotation Could Be A Strength In ALCS

By | at

Over the 2022-23 offseason, the Rangers concentrated their attention and resources on the rotation. They signed Jacob deGrom, the biggest name on the market, and Nathan Eovaldi, a World Series champion and postseason hero. They re-signed Martin Perez, an 11-year veteran and a 2022 All-Star. They took a chance on the injury-prone Andrew Heaney, who flashed dominant strikeout stuff over the second half of the season.

Suffice it to say, very little went according to plan. deGrom went down at the end of April. Eovaldi looked like a Cy Young contender through the All-Star break, but a forearm strain ruined the second half of his season. Perez, meanwhile, struggled so badly through the first four months that he wound up in the bullpen after the trade deadline. Heaney was a similar case; he lasted longer in the rotation but never quite found his groove, and he landed in the bullpen in September. Jon Gray, who signed with Texas a year prior, was reliable for much of the season but suffered a forearm strain of his own in late September.

That’s a whole lot of misfortune for a team that still finished fifth in the AL in rotation ERA and FanGraphs WAR, not to mention a team that made the playoffs and swept its way to the ALCS. While the pre-season plan didn’t exactly work out, the Rangers made the best of some tough breaks with depth and aggressive trades at the deadline. Now, as they prepare to take on the Astros, the rotation could be as strong as it’s been since April.

Eovaldi has put his rough September far behind him with two phenomenal postseason starts. Across 13 2/3 innings, he has given up just two runs while striking out 15 and walking none. The righty is harkening back to his performance with the 2018 Red Sox, but even then, he was never quite as effective as he’s been over his last two outings.

Meanwhile, trade deadline acquisition Jordan Montgomery has been superb, pitching to a 2.79 ERA in August and September and a 3.27 ERA in the playoffs. While he has had a few rough starts, including his performance against the Orioles on Sunday, he has looked dominant more often than not, such as in his gem against the Rays last Tuesday.

Those two will lead the way in the ALCS, and with several off days between their victory last night and Game 1 on Sunday, the Rangers can set up their rotation however they’d like. That means Montgomery in Game 1, Eovaldi in Game 2, and no need to piggyback Heaney and Dane Dunning to open the series. In fact, Texas might not need to piggyback Heaney and Dunning at all.

Max Scherzer, another deadline addition for Texas, is approaching a preternatural return from a teres major strain. He seemed like a long shot for the playoffs until relatively recently, but he has been ramping up his throwing program in October, and now it looks like he could make the ALCS roster. As Evan Grant reported for The Dallas Morning News, the three-time Cy Young winner threw a simulated game on Wednesday, and he feels good about his chances to pitch against the Astros.

Grant had a similarly positive update about Gray, who plans to ramp up his rehab this week. He is not as far along as Scherzer, but he also didn’t miss as much time. If he gets back on a mound in the coming days, he, too, could be ready for the ALCS.

Neither Scherzer nor Gray is likely to pitch deep into a game. It’s a good thing, then, that manager Bruce Bochy has several converted starters in his bullpen. Not all of them will make the roster if Scherzer and Gray both return, but even so, the Rangers have plenty of options to pitch the middle innings. A rotation of Montgomery, Eovaldi, Scherzer, and Gray (with Heaney, Dunning, and Perez providing depth) should give Texas a chance to win every time out.

The starting rotation was supposed to be a strength for the Rangers this year. At the best of times, it has been just that, but more often than not, it’s been a large, looming question mark instead. The questions will remain until Scherzer and Gray actually take the ball, but all the same, this rotation is in a better place than it has been for quite some time.

Will Venable Plans To Remain With Rangers

By | at

Will Venable is happy where he is, at least for the time being. The Rangers’ associate manager has drawn interest from numerous clubs with managerial openings, but he has told those teams that he will remain with Texas, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. This comes just days after Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Venable was the “favorite” to succeed Terry Francona as manager of the Guardians. If that was indeed the case, Cleveland will have to change course.

Per Morosi’s report, the Guardians weren’t the only team with interest in Venable. While he didn’t reveal which other clubs had checked in, three others are currently looking for new managers: the Mets, the Giants, and the Angels.

After finishing his playing career in 2016, Venable briefly took a front office job with the Cubs the following year, signing on as a special assistant to then-president of baseball operations Theo Epstein. Soon after, he took on a coaching role instead, serving as the Cubs’ first base coach from 2018-19 and the third base coach in 2020. For the next two years, he worked as bench coach for the Red Sox, occasionally filling in as the skipper when Alex Cora was unavailable. Ahead of the 2023 season, Venable accepted a new job as associate manager for the Rangers, where he would work under Texas’ new manager Bruce Bochy.

Venable has previously interviewed for managerial openings with the Astros, Red Sox, Cubs, Giants, Tigers, and A’s, and presumably, he still has managerial aspirations for the future. Evidently, however, he is happy in his role with the Rangers for now. Not only does he get to learn from a three-time World Series-winning manager in Bochy, but given how well the Rangers have performed this year, it’s no surprise he wants to stick around.

 

Wayne Comer Passes Away

By | at

Former major league outfielder Wayne Comer passed away recently, per various reports. He was 79 years old.

Born and raised in Shenandoah, Virginia, Comer was signed as an amateur free agent by the Washington Senators in 1962 but was traded to the Tigers while still in the minor leagues. He made it to the majors as a September call-up in 1967, getting into four games as that season was winding down.

He was back in the minors to start the following year but got called up when Al Kaline broke his forearm in May. Comer got into 48 games that season, hitting just .125 but sticking around largely in a reserve capacity. The 1968 Tigers went 103-59 and cruised to the American League pennant, finishing 12 games ahead of the Orioles. They would go on to win the World Series in seven games over the Cardinals, with Comer getting one plate appearance. He served as a pinch hitter in Game 3, getting a single in what would eventually be his only postseason at-bat, allowing him to finish his career with a batting average of 1.000 in postseason/World Series play.

Prior to the 1969 season, Comer was selected in the expansion draft by the newly-formed Seattle Pilots, who would last just one season before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers. Comer got his most extensive playing time in that one year with the Pilots, getting into 147 games while hitting 15 home runs and stealing 18 bases.

The following year, he would move to Milwaukee with the team but was traded to the Senators after just 13 games as a Brewer. He played 77 games for the Senators in 1970, one of the final years for that club before they would later become the Texas Rangers. His contract was purchased by the Tigers prior to 1971 but he was stuck in the minors for all of that year and only got into 27 major league games in 1972, his final year in the big leagues.

After his playing career ended, Comer returned to Virginia and coached high school ball. MLBTR sends our condolences to his friends, family and loved ones.

Latest On Max Scherzer

By | at

  • Though he was left off the Rangers’ roster for the ALDS, veteran right-hander Max Scherzer is seemingly making good progress in his bid to return from what was initially expected to be a season-ending teres major strain. As relayed by Rangers beat reporter John Moore, Scherzer told manager Bruce Bochy today that he feels “normal” after a successful bullpen session against live hitters on Friday. Given the positive update, it seems reasonable that Scherzer could remain in play for the Rangers during the ALCS, should the club make it that far. Texas currently holds a 2-0 lead over the Orioles in the ALDS. If Scherzer can return this postseason, it would surely be a major boost for the Rangers. The future Hall of Famer posted a 3.20 ERA and 3.45 FIP across eight starts with the Rangers after the club acquired him from the Mets at the trade deadline.

Mitch Garver’s Unusual Platform Season

By | at

The upcoming free agent class has long looked like it would be much heavier on pitching than hitting, and that situation only became more extreme as players at or near the top of the class like Rafael Devers, Manny Machado, and Ian Happ signed extensions prior to the 2023 campaign. Headed into the season, it looked as if the only surefire impact position players available would be two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and glove-first third baseman Matt Chapman, particularly when slugging outfielder Teoscar Hernandez struggled badly to open the year. One name that didn’t receive much attention prior to his platform season was Mitch Garver, the Rangers catcher who had appeared in just 37.8% of his teams’ games since the start of the 2020 season due to injuries.

Texas defied preseason expectations to lead the AL West throughout the entire first half, lost eight consecutive games in late August to fall into a three-way tie with the Mariners and Astros in the win column, then ultimately missed the AL West crown after posting a 90-72 record identical to that of Houston’s division champs. Despite all of that uncertainty, Garver has been a stabilizing presence when in the club’s lineup. The 32-year-old slashed an impressive .270/.370/.500 across 344 trips to the plate with the Rangers this season while posting his lowest strikeout rate (23.8%) since 2019 and a career-best mark for walk rate (12.8%).

To put those numbers into perspective, Garver’s 138 wRC+ this year is tied with Brandon Belt and Ryan Jeffers for the 15th-best mark in the majors among players with at least 300 plate appearances this season. This puts Garver ahead of the likes of Cody Bellinger, Mike Trout, and Luis Arraez, and just a few points players like Kyle Tucker and Bryce Harper. Making Garver’s offensive capabilities more enticing is his ability to play catcher. Among all catchers with at least 150 plate appearances in 2023, Garver ranks second in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, third in walk rate, and he is tied with Jeffers for second in wRC+ (behind only Tom Murphy’s 47-game season with the Mariners).

Given the weak offensive free agent class, Garver’s prowess with the bat, and his ability to play behind the plate, one might assume that the veteran is on his way to a top-of-the-market payday this offseason. However, Garver’s situation isn’t that simple. Beyond the fact that he’ll play the 2024 campaign at age-33, there’s also the concern of his lengthy injury history. Garver missed six weeks with a sprained knee earlier this season, and in recent years has also missed time due to forearm, groin, back, intercostal, and ankle issues. Between those injuries and his role as a catcher requiring more days off than most everyday players, Garver has played just 209 games the past three seasons despite being a clear everyday talent when healthy.

Upon his return from the injured list in June, the Rangers helped Garver stay on the field by utilizing him primarily as a designated hitter. Though he hit well in the role, he was limited to just 25 games behind the plate over the season’s final four months, which will surely raise questions for potential suitors regarding Garver’s ability to catch regularly going forward.

As a DH, Garver would still have value, though it would be significantly reduced. Belt and J.D. Martinez are two examples of defensively-limited sluggers in their mid-thirties who posted similar numbers to Garver in 2023, and both ended up signing one-year deals this past offseason. That’s not to say Garver will necessarily be limited to similarly short-term offers, though it’s hard to imagine a player of his age and injury history approaching the much more significant contract (five years, $87.5MM) commanded by Willson Contreras last year, despite Contreras being a fellow catcher with relatively comparable offensive numbers in recent years.

That seems particularly true given that Garver seems to best fit a team with another reliable catching option, so Garver could have a clear path to DH playing time and face less pressure to regularly suit up behind the plate. Of course, the Rangers have such an arrangement, with Jonah Heim as the club’s everyday catcher and plenty of DH starts available for Garver. The Cubs and Padres are among other teams who could theoretically provide Garver with occasional time behind the plate next year alongside regular backstops Yan Gomes and Luis Campusano while allowing him to DH the majority of the time, which would seem to be the best approach in order to maximize both Garver’s talents and time on the field.

How The Rangers Discovered Evan Carter

By | at

  • Evan Carter’s immediate impact helped the Rangers reach the playoffs, and then advance past the Rays and take a 2-0 lead on the Orioles in the ALDS.  It has been quite the start for a player who just made his MLB debut a month ago today, and who was universally seen as a bizarrely huge reach when Texas selected him in the second round of the five-round 2020 draft.  Yahoo Sports’ Hannah Keyser explores how the Rangers found Carter as a high schooler in Tennessee, with that interest sparked because ex-pitching coordinator Danny Clark happened to be a childhood acquaintance of Carter’s father.  “We just kind of identified him a little bit earlier in the process and really liked him,” scout Derrick Tucker said, and few other teams even got a chance to see Carter play because the pandemic canceled his senior-year baseball season.  Though Carter hadn’t cracked even top-200 (from MLB Pipeline) or top-500 (from Baseball America) rankings, and despite the little margin for error in the shortened draft, the Rangers still make the pick and seem to have found a hidden gem.

Guardians Reportedly Interested In Will Venable As Manager

By | at

  • After being fired as Mets manager last week, veteran skipper Buck Showalter is reportedly hoping to return to the dugout, with the vacancy in Anaheim drawing his particular interest. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Angels are reciprocating Showalter’s interest, with Nightengale noting that Showalter was the first choice of ex-Angels GM Billy Eppler to lead the club following the 2019 season before the club ultimately decided on Joe Maddon. Eppler has since been replaced as the club’s GM by Perry Minasian, though Nightengale notes that he and Showalter worked together when Showalter was manager of the Rangers from 2003-06.
  • Nightengale also discusses other potential managerial candidates around the league, describing Rangers associate manager Will Venable as “the favorite” to take over for retiring Guardians manager Terry Francona in Cleveland. 2023 was Venable’s first season as associate manager in Texas. Prior to joining the Rangers, he acted as bench coach of the Red Sox under Alex Cora and as a base coach for the Cubs. Venable has been a frequent subject of interest during a variety of managerial searches in recent years, interviewing for the position with the Cubs, Giants, Astros, Tigers and A’s in the past. Nightengale also mentions Marlins first base coach Jon Jay as a “potential candidate” for managerial openings around the league, though he does not specify which clubs may have interest in Jay, who just wrapped up his first season in the big league dugout.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top