Rangers have some decisions to make on Lewis and Gallardo. If not it could be another down April. They basically have three LH starters.
This is more appropriate over here... Take your pick of Free agents in the off season, if you want someone else then you will have to make a trade... I'm not sure about this list cause it doesn't have Colby on it...
Starting Pitchers and their ages...
Brett Anderson (28)
Scott Baker (34)
Brandon Beachy (29)
Chad Billingsley (31)
Joe Blanton (35)
Clay Buchholz (31) – $13MM club option with a $245K buyout
Mark Buehrle (37)
A.J. Burnett (39)
Trevor Cahill (28)
Chris Capuano (37)
Wei-Yin Chen (30)
Bartolo Colon (43)
Johnny Cueto (30)
R.A. Dickey (41) – $12MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Marco Estrada (32)
Doug Fister (32)
Gavin Floyd (33)
Yovani Gallardo (30)
Jaime Garcia (29) – $11.5MM club option with a $500K buyout
Dillon Gee (30)
Zack Greinke (32) – can opt out of remaining three years/$71MM
Jeremy Guthrie (37) – $10MM mutual option with a $3.2MM buyout
J.A. Happ (33)
Aaron Harang (38)
Dan Haren (35)
Rich Hill (36)
Tim Hudson (40)
Hisashi Iwakuma (35)
Scott Kazmir (32)
Kyle Kendrick (31)
Ian Kennedy (31)
John Lackey (37)
Mat Latos (28)
Mike Leake (28)
Cliff Lee (37) – $27.5MM club option with a $12.5MM buyout
If Gallardo does not sign (he likes being home) and Lewis gone, our rotation is then rounded out by Gonzalez and Martinez.
If Gallardo or Lewis signs (think Colby bolts or retires) then we have 4 with either Gonzalez or Martinez.
So a 5 man rotation.
To get to your 6 man rotation I believe we need another veteran arm. Either a Cueto or Masterson. When Yu comes back we keep the best of the RH pitchers for the remainder of the season.
You might want to add Rua to the list of departing players... Guess he decided not to go play Fall ball kinda like Martin refused to go to Arizona to stay in shape in case he was needed...
Now they clarify the situation with Rua, somewhat... Says he declined the Fall League because of a wedding, but they didn't say if it was his or someone else's... Hmmmmm...
Maybe we need to post the pitfalls of marriage and hope he reads it before it's too late... LOL...
Also remember Donaldson used to get lippy with Yu when playing for the A's. Yu used to pitch him a bunch of off speed stuff and made him look like a little leaguer.
Yu used to pitch him a bunch of off speed stuff and made him look like a little leaguer.
When Yu throws the "screwgy" to RHed batters it has a way of making them look that way.
Start it out slightly above the knees out over the middle of the plate and it will run back inside about 12-15" and end up about ankle height, nothing Donaldson is gonna do with that pitch except look wayyyyyyyy overmatched...
Yeah Sherrington the guy who spoke of Hamels as a bad deal.
So he wants to drain the farm for an even bigger risk.
Plus there are questions if Sonny Gray is healthy. Interesting how the A's limited his outings in the last month. Probably to keep his trade value up.
Who knows. Fraley seems to think the Rangers are now a big market team and have money to burn. I thought different.
Saw a piece on MLB trade rumors on Crush Davis and his FA value. Yes the Ks really hurt but he bats around .256 and crushed the ball well against LH and RH pitching. He also has power to all parts of the field. So if one is looking for a power bat that can play corner OF and corner INF Crush may be who the Rangers want back. He's 30 and in power prime. If Fraley is right and the Rangers have $ then taking on another $100+ million 6 year deal is no problem:)
So that leaves Mitch trade fodder to get the RH pitcher we need.
And if I remember correctly you said they signed a big TV deal just last season and now that they are winning again the stadium should be full on a regular basis.
ARLINGTON -- The Rangers' catching depth was reduced on Monday when Carlos Corporan refused outright assignment and opted for free agency. Texas still has Robinson Chirinos, Chris Gimenez and Bobby Wilson on the 40-man roster. All three are eligible for arbitration.
Catching could be an area that the Rangers look to upgrade in the offseason. It is also a position that is relatively weak all through the Major Leagues and the arrangement that helped win an American League West title in 2015 may be as good as the Rangers can put together for next season.
"We need to be careful not to covet something that may or may not be out there," general manager Jon Daniels said. "It's tough a position in the industry to fill. At the same point, we'll look at make sure we're coming to camp with the best set up as we can."
Chirinos goes into the offseason as the Rangers' No. 1 catcher. He was that for the first four months and again in the postseason after playing most of the final two months of the season with a torn muscle in his left shoulder.
Chirinos batted .232 with 10 home runs, 34 RBIs, a .325 on-base percentage and a .438 slugging percentage. He also threw out 23.7 percent of attempted basestealers after leading the league at 36.2 percent in 2014.
Gimenez played in 36 games with the Rangers after being called up at the end of July and hit .255 with five home runs, 14 RBIs, a .330 on-base percentage and a .490 slugging percentage. He also threw out just one of 19 attempted basestealers, but he had shoulder "cleanup" surgery immediately after the season.
Gimenez, who turns 33 on Dec. 27, has never had a full season in the Majors, but the Rangers were 25-7 in his starts. He was also the personal catcher for starter Cole Hamels and emerged as a clubhouse leader down the stretch.
Wilson shared the catching duties with Gimenez in the final two months while Chirinos and Corporan were sidelined. Wilson hit .221 with one home run, 10 RBIs, a .291 on-base percentage and a .325 slugging percentage, although club officials also consider him the best defensively of the three.
The most interesting name on the list of potential free-agent catchers is Matt Wieters, a three-time All-Star with the Orioles who played in 75 games last season after being out from May 11, 2014 to June 5, 2015 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The other potential free agents include Alex Avila, who was an All-Star for the Tigers in 2011 and their starting catcher for five years before falling off in '15. Also eligible for free agency are veterans Chris Iannetta, Dioner Navarro, A.J. Pierzynski, Geovany Soto and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
On the trade front, the Brewers may try to trade Jonathan Lucroy, who was an All-Star in 2014 and is signed through next season with a club option for '17. But new general manager David Stearns said Lucroy is the type of player they may want to build around. Other potential trade possibilities include Wilson Ramos of the Nationals, Tyler Flowers of the White Sox, Carlos Ruiz of the Phillies, Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox and A.J. Ellis of the Dodgers.
The Rangers' own catching depth took a bigger hit on July 31 when top prospect Jorge Alfaro was included in the trade with the Phillies and Tomas Telis was sent to the Marlins for reliever Sam Dyson.
Triple-A Round Rock finished the season with Brett Nicholas and Patrick Cantwell sharing the catching duties. Nicholas is a converted first baseman with left-handed power who is still learning the position. Cantwell, a third-round pick in the 2012 Draft, is excellent defensively, but he hit just .178 this past season. The Rangers still have hopes for Kellin Deglan, a first-round pick in 2010 who has the defensive ability and left-handed power at the plate. But he has played in just 17 games at Double-A Frisco.
T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Postcards from Elysian Fields, follow him on Twitter @Sullivan_Ranger and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
And the latest on the catching situation for next year...
Having Wilson in RR would be a good thing for the young pitchers, but for himself earnings wise not so much... I'm pretty sure he's out of options so if you need him he has to clear waivers when he's not needed anymore and thus open to someone to claim. Now if you can convince him to be a teacher to the younguns (both Pitchers and Catchers) and adequately compensate him then he might go for it. But he would have to be making as much as Chirinos/Gimenez I would think to be happy doing it. And not mind riding a damn bus everywhere he goes!!!
It's surprising and yet it's not surprising at the same time.
They invited him back and when he didn't answer right away it signaled that maybe he wasn't wanting to come back. And that also gave the team the chance to realize how bad some of the pitching was against the Jays when they could have closed them out in 3 or 4 games...
If he would have accepted in the first week after the last game $5 says he would already have a contract in hand, "ya snooze ya lose"...
Yep. Plus Banister has no doubt leaned quite a bit about how the Army shakes up leadership every few years to keep ideas up to date and fresh.
I found out over the summer that an officer I used to serve with is in the Pirates organization. Been there for a few years and works closely with the players and managers. Good troop and know why he is there.
ARLINGTON -- Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the club will consider internal candidates to replace pitching coach Mike Maddux.
Outside candidates will also be interviewed, but the Rangers showed last season how serious they are about promoting from within. When Jeff Banister was hired as manager last season, he added three to his staff from inside the organization: first-base coach Hector Ortiz, field coordinator Jayce Tingler and dugout coach Steve Buechele.
The Rangers have already interviewed three pitching coach candidates from the organization. All three have paid some serious dues in their rise through the labyrinth of Minor League baseball, and all have much hands-on time with the Rangers' homegrown pitchers. Texas is also looking for a bullpen coach, but that's likely not to be decided until after the pitching coach is determined.
Here is a look at the internal candidates:
Danny Clark: The Tennessee native has spent 10 seasons in the Rangers organization, including the past seven in the vital role of Minor League pitching coordinator. He began with the Rangers in 2006 as pitching coach at Class A Spokane, and then went to Class A Clinton in '07-08. That '08 staff included Derek Holland, Neftali Feliz, Michael Main and Blake Beavan and finished with a 3.53 ERA, 1,050 strikeouts and just 400 walks. Prior to joining the Rangers, Clark was head coach for six years at Milligan College in Johnson City, Tenn. Clark graduated from East Tennessee State University and holds a masters degree as well.
Brad Holman: A former Major League pitcher, Holman has spent seven seasons in the Rangers organization as a pitching coach, including the past three at Triple-A Round Rock. In the 16-team Pacific Coast League, the Express has finished fifth in pitching in two of the past three years. He also spent two seasons at Class A Hickory and two at Class A Myrtle Beach, and he was the 2013 winner of the Bobby Jones Player Development Man of the Year Award. He also had seven seasons as a pitching coach in the Mariners and Pirates organizations. Holman pitched in 19 games as a reliever for the Mariners in 1993. After his playing career was over, he worked for five years as a mechanic at Boeing Aircraft.
Jeff Andrews: He just finished his 30th season in professional baseball. This guy has been around so long, he was the pitching coach on the Class A Port Charlotte team in 1987 that included Kevin Brown and Kenny Rogers. Andrews started his career with the Rangers in 1986, and was with them for six years his first time around. He returned in 2009 and been at Double-A Frisco since then. Andrews was the 2014 Texas League Mike Coolbaugh Coach of the Year Award winner after his staff finished with a team record 3.39 ERA. He shared the '13 Bobby Jones Award with Holman. Andrews' range of experience includes an '02 stint with the independent league Lincoln Saltdogs and his season as the Pirates' pitching coach in '08.
