We Hit Dingers: MLB Offseason Preview

Friday, December 2, 2016

Texas Rangers

American League	West Division
95-67 Won Division	Lost in the AL Division Series 3-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays
Manager: Jeff Banister	GM: Jon Daniels
AAA Affiliate Round Rock Express	AA Affiliate Frisco RoughRiders

Traded OF Lewis Brinson and P Luis Ortiz to Milwaukee for C Jonathan Lucroy and RP Jeremy Jeffress
Traded P Nick Green, P Erik Swanson, and P Dillon Tate to the Yankees for DH Carlos Beltran

POS.	Name	Level
P	Yohander Mendez	AAA

Adrian Beltre has been so consistently good since becoming a Ranger in 2011. Out of nowhere Beltre has become a hall-of-fame third baseman who has close to a .300 lifetime average, should finish his career with close to 500 home runs, and has been an elite defender nearly all of his career. He has been the Rangers best hitter basically since he arrived in Arlington and has managed to become an even better hitter as he ages. He used to be someone who struck out over a 100 times each season earlier in his career, but now walks nearly as often as he strikes out. He is the heart and soul of the team, the leader, and the best overall player on their roster.

Success - The Rangers have now had back-to-back playoff appearances after missing the playoffs in 2013 and 2014. The 2016 Rangers' record of 95-67 was actually significantly better than their projected record of 82-80, which is based on their runs scored and given up. They only scored eight more runs than their pitchers allowed, a number that is staggering considering how many games they won their division by. They were propelled to the best record in the American League by an excellent lineup that got better when they traded for DH Carlos Beltran and C Jonathan Lucroy, a position that was a desperate need for the team coming into this season. They made an excellent decision last offseason by signing shortstop-turned-center fielder Ian Desmond to a one-year deal and Desmond ended up being voted as an All-Star. Their rotation was good when healthy but Yu Darvish missed half the season due to injury, leaving very little depth behind Cole Hamels. Their bullpen was okay, but struggled to find consistency and needed that lockdown closer at the back end of their bullpen.

They have already gone out and signed starter Andrew Cashner to a one-year deal worth $10 million. Cashner has struggled significantly the past two seasons and pitching in the American League could be rough for him. Since Beltran is a free agent and Prince Fielder was forced to retire, the Rangers will need to find someone to be their DH next season, unless they want to play Joey Gallo there. However, he also seems like a natural fit at first base, another position they need to fill, so perhaps they'll end up playing him there more. I think that they could consider going after Edwin Encarnacion, who is both a DH and first baseman, or they could re-sign Beltran or pursue Jose Bautista to be their everyday DH. I'm curious to see what they do in the outfield, assuming that they don't re-sign Ian Desmond. I think it would be smart for them to go after another outfielder and maybe someone like Dexter Fowler would be a good fit for them. They could also use help in their bullpen and maybe another starting pitcher, having been rumored to be linked to Rich Hill. The Rangers should compete for the division title again in 2017 and will probably be a favorite to win the AL Pennant.

*All stats and information come from baseball-reference.com, fangraphs.com, rosterresource.com, baseballamerica.com, and spotrac.com