January 15, 2014
The Ex-Texas Rangers
A 25-man roster comprising players removed from the Texas 40-man roster during 2013:
SP Matt Garza
SP Jeff Lindblom
SP Justin Grimm
SP Travis Blackley
SP Neil Ramirez
RP Joe Nathan
RP Jeff Beliveau
RP Tom Hottovy
RP Kyle McClellan
RP Justin Miller
RP Coty Woods
C AJ Pierzynski
1B Jeff Baker
2B Ian Kinsler
3B Mike Olt
SS Leury Garcia
LF David Murphy
CF Craig Gentry
RF Joey Butler
DH Nelson Cruz
C Eli Whiteside
IF Chris McGuiness
OF Julio Borbon
OF Joe Benson
OF Rafael Ortega
Not included: retirees in practice (Derek Lowe) and spirit (Lance Berkman), expats (Brad Mills, Ross Wolf).
Even with Garza and Nathan, it's a replacement-level pitching staff at best. Ramirez isn't ready for a Major League rotation, and the middle three are fifth starters. The bullpen would be historically awful.
Offensively, all the starters are at least worthy of MLB paychecks and a small handful merit full-time duty. They have too many outfielders and lacks a MIF.
The 2014 Ex-Rangers would surpass 100 losses, but they've enough talent to avoid sinking to the level of the '16 Philly Athletics. For a team with a slight majority of outrighted/released players (13), it's surprisingly good.
Wire, "Ex Lion Tamer," from Pink Flag, 1977
Posted by Lucas at 02:14 AM
January 17, 2013
Harrison's Vesting Option
Tonight, Matt Harrison signed a five-year contract, giving him $5mm in 2013 followed by $8mm and three years of $13mm. By my quick calculations ($4.5mm/WAR in 2012, 5% inflation, which may be conservative given the explosion in cable rights fees), Harrison needs to average about 2.1 WAR annually to break even. That's not quite true, as the first two years are arbitration-controlled, but the point holds that he can pay off with relatively modest production relative to the 4.1 WAR he's averaged during the past two years. Of course, signing any pitcher for five years is risky, but this risk is manageable, I'd say.
As for that 2018 option, which vests if he pitches at least 200 innings in each of 2015-2017: That's a tall order. Here's the complete list of pitchers achieving that during 2010-2012:
Felix Hernandez -- 715.3 total innings
Justin Verlander -- 713.7
James Shields -- 680.3
CC Sabathia -- 675.0
Clayton Kershaw -- 665.3
Matt Cain -- 664.3
Cliff Lee -- 656.0
David Price -- 644.0
Cole Hamels -- 640.0
C.J. Wilson -- 629.7
Mark Buehrle -- 618.0
I hope the option doesn't create a perverse incentive down the road, such as Harrison neglecting to rest an injury properly in order to reach the vesting goal. The Rangers can, of course, exercise the option anyway, which they'll do if he's anywhere near league-average even with a meager 180 innings in 2017.
Posted by Lucas at 01:44 AM
January 17, 2011
A Conspiracy!
Selected comments from the Dallas Morning News' reprint of the AP wire release "Rangers place pitcher Clay Rapada on release waivers."
Posted by Lucas at 12:19 PM
November 09, 2010
Mercenaries
On the evening of November 1st, catchers BENGIE MOLINA and MATT TREANOR, infielders JORGE CANTU and CRISTIAN GUZMAN, and pitchers FRANK FRANCISCO and CLIFF LEE became free agents.
Guzman cashed $16 million during the past two years (mostly from Washington, thank goodness), for which he provided all of 0.6 wins above replacement. He nearly scuttled Texas’s trade for him, which in retrospect might have been better for all concerned. Guzman was a cipher at the plate, didn’t play after September 8th, and, worst of all, robbed the Newberg Report of its player-blogger. Although a better player than he showed in Texas, Guzman doesn’t bring much more to the table than Andres Blanco, who is under team control.
Like Guzman, Cantu could start for a bad team but is better suited to a utility role, at which he’d be useful to the Rangers. Doubtlessly, he’s seeking more at-bats and money than Texas would be willing to offer.
Treanor achieved six years of MLB service and free agency without ever earning more than $750,000, so, unlike Guzman or Cantu, he won’t be staring at a pay cut. Though Treanor is barely above replacement level, he’s a known quantity and works well with C.J. Wilson and others. I also doubt Texas will enter 2011 with Taylor Teagarden or Max Ramirez higher than third on the depth chart. Wherever he signs, a year at around $750,000 feels right.
Molina has hinted at retirement. Though he’ll always be remembered fondly in Texas , he’s very close to the end. From 2005-2009, Molina averaged 18 homers and 23 other extra-base hits. This year, those figures declined to five and 13. He could be an acceptable backup if so inclined, but it’s hard to envision him starting another 100 games for anyone.
A disastrous opening week and last-season injury cost poor Francisco a lot of money. Fact is, Francisco was the equal of Neftali Feliz after mid-April except for a substantial margin in BABIP. Thanks to the quirks of the free agent system, Francisco might spend 2011 in Arlington. Assuming Texas offers arbitration, and it should, the signing team will forfeit either its top pick or a second rounder in 2011. That eliminates half of his suitors, as hardly any team would forfeit its first-round pick for a good-but-not-elite reliever like Francisco. (The Wade-helmed Astros might, but they finished in the lower half of the standings and would surrender only a second rounder. In any case, signing Francisco to three years at $5 million per makes more sense than Wade’s similar tender to Brandon Lyon.)
Per Fangraphs, Lee has been worth close to $30 million in each of the last three years. He won’t make that much, but $20 million is a floor and $25 million is reachable. C.C. Sabathia and Johan Santana both earn about $23 million annually. Despite all he provided for Texas, simply declining to bid for him would be defensible, albeit hugely unpopular. Lee is already 32, four years older than Sabathia and three years older than Santana when they signed their respective blockbusters. He’s also pitched 520 innings during the last two seasons (including playoffs). Do his age and workload merely confirm his durability or warn of impending breakdown?
If Texas could somehow sign Lee to an upgraded version of Roy Halladay’s deal – say, three years and $70 million plus a difficult-to-achieve vesting option – I’d be thrilled. That won’t happen, of course; Halladay was never on the open market and signed an extension with his present team. Despite his advanced age, offering Lee fewer than five years doesn’t get a return phone call.
Lee is the ultimate high-risk, high-reward signing. In any given season, he could raise a flag atop your stadium. He could also suffer an injury or show his age while absorbing funds that are no longer available for other players. I’ll understand if the Rangers are outbid, and at some point during the next three to four years Texas fans will likely sigh in relief as Lee nurses a sore elbow on New York’s disabled list. That said, his departure would leave a hole that can’t be filled.
Texas declined its half of a mutual option for 2011 with outfielder VLADIMIR GUERRERO, buying out his contract for $1 million and making him a free agent.
Evidently, the $9 million 2011 option was a contrivance to defer $1 million of his 2010 salary. Clever. So, should Texas want him back, and at what cost?
Part of the equation is simple. If any team offers a guaranteed two years, Texas should congratulate Guerrero’s agent and move on. A one-year deal is trickier. Offering less than Guerrero’s effective 2010 remuneration of $7.5 million seems superficially absurd in light of his .300 average and 29 homers. However, his performance after the All Star Game justifies concern.
To say Guerrero outright collapsed in the second half is an overstatement -- he had a fine September after a terrible July/August – but he certainly showed signs of reaching the bitter end, particularly in the playoffs. Unfortunately for the future Hall of Famer, one of 2010’s indelible images will be his stiff-legged bumbling in right field in Game 1 of the Series.
Per Fangraphs, Guerrero provided 2.6 wins above replacement for his employers in 2010, worth about $10 million on the open market but at a modest cost of $7.5 million ($6.5 plus $1 deferred) to Texas. As for 2011, let’s pretend his plate appearances drop from 643 to 550, his pro-rated offensive production (in terms of batting runs) declines by 20%, and he never steps onto the outfield grass. Such a performance results in about 1.4 wins above replacement, meriting $5.6 million in the 2010 dollars. That’s a reasonable guess, but recall that only two years ago an injured and suddenly, seemingly geriatric Guerrero managed only 0.8 wins. Also, he’s likely to spend a few games in the outfield, where his value decreases by the inning. I’d say the tails of his 2011 bell curve indicate a range between zero and 2.5 wins.
Undoubtedly, GM Jon Daniels won’t stand pat this winter; immediately after the Series, he stated his intention to enter 2011 with a better team. Unfortunately, resigning Guerrero doesn’t help to accomplish that goal, even if signed to a team-friendly deal. Vlad is unlikely to replicate or excel his 2010 and could deteriorate substantially.
What of the potential internal replacements? After several memorable trades and drafts, newfound postseason success, and years of memorializing by paid writers and assorted hangers-on, Texas’s farm system is receiving more mainstream praise than ever. That said, the farm isn’t an amorphous blob from which to draw useful parts at will. In truth, Texas is presently lacking in ready-for-promotion bats. (Note that the paucity of hitting prospects stems partially from two high-upside events: the trade of Justin Smoak [and others] for Cliff Lee, and Mitch Moreland’s graduation to the Majors.) The internal bat most likely to emerge from the farm to damage MLB pitching in 2011 belongs to Chris Davis, who may yet rejuvenate his career but has virtually no chance to earn a significant role on the active roster in March. Really, the pickings are that slim. Can you imagine Texas contemplating the out-of-options Max Ramirez or Chad Tracy (not the former AZ slugger), who has belted 43 homers in the last two years but is probably facing a second consecutive exposure to the Rule 5 draft? The most promising upper-level position player, OF Engel Beltre, needs to handle AA before entering the discussion.
Signing Guerrero to a one-year deal for $5-$6 million isn’t abhorrent, but again, at best it’s a water-treading move. At worst, it hurts Texas in the standings.
Here’s ex-Velvet Underground bassist/violist John Cale at CBGB’s singing about a different type of free agent. Joey Matches has his hip-hop. I have... this:
John Cale, “Mercenaries�, Sabotage/Live (1979)
Posted by Lucas at 09:59 PM
August 05, 2010
Greenberg/Ryan Partnership Wins Auction To Own Texas Rangers
This is all I can come up with right now:
Posted by Lucas at 01:42 AM
July 31, 2010
Texas Rangers Organizational Movement, July 2010
Red = Out of organization
Blue = Injured or suspended
Green = Promoted
Purple = Demoted
Grey = Promoted and Demoted, Zero Net Movement
Yellow = Activated from DL
White = Stayed Put
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If the table looks like a mess, that's the point.
Posted by Lucas at 11:59 PM
July 02, 2010
Molina Acquired, Main Traded
Texas traded reliever CHRIS RAY and minor-league pitcher MICHAEL MAIN to San Francisco for catcher BENJIE MOLINA. Texas will receive about $2 million to make the deal “cost neutral.”
The Departed
Who is Benjie Molina?
Molina turns 36 in a few weeks and is suffering through his worst season at the plate since 2002. Is he undergoing a half-season aberration or the beginning of the end?
Molina’s offensive production depends heavily on power. From 2007-2009 with the Giants, Molina averaged 26 doubles and 18 homers. This year, he’s on pace for 12 doubles and six homers. His rate of homers per fly ball has plummeted, and his .332 slugging percentage ranks 24th among the 30 MLB catchers with the most plate appearances. Conversely, Molina is drawing nearly twice as many unintentional as usual. Per Fangraphs, Molina is swinging at fewer pitches and making more contact. Sometimes, improved patience is the last refuge of the dying hitter, though complaining about it seems absurd.
Molina’s improved contact has not resulted in a higher batting average. He’s hitting .257, the lowest in eight years. Also, Molina might be the slowest player in baseball, so those extra balls in play are of little benefit if not contacted firmly. He’s hitting a paltry .155 on grounders compared to .233 for the National League. Based on his current grounder rate and frequency of play, he’ll achieve 12 fewer ground-ball hits than average hitter, not an insignificant number. Surprisingly, only once has he ranked in the NL top ten in double plays.
Defensively, he’s no improvement on Matt Treanor in terms of shutting down the running game. He’s thrown out 23% of opposing runners, not the worst of his career but close, and is on pace to allow nearly 100 stolen bases, easily his most.
Without the homers, he’s not much. In essence, he’s a replacement-level catcher, no better than Treanor or Max Ramirez. So, why bother? I see three reasons:
1) Texas can’t rely on Treanor to catch the vast majority of games in the second half. The 34-year-old Treanor missed most of 2009 with a bone spur in his hip and hasn’t appeared in more than 70 games since 2003. In 2010, he’s already appeared in 56 games.
2) Texas expects a mild return to form from Molina, though I wouldn’t count on it. Whatever benefit he receives from the hitter-friendly Ballpark should be countervailed by his move to the tougher league.
3) What Texas really wants is his pitch calling and veteran leadership. Yes, I went there. Per GM Jon Daniels: “He brings a veteran presence. He's a guy that's been back there and caught quality pitching in some big games… This guy is a winner. He takes a lot of pride in his game calling and working with the staff and understanding the game plan… He's a great guy in the clubhouse.”
Such praise from the acquiring party is required. But what of Molina’s former teammates Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain? Lincecum, from the same article: [No player has] had the effect, at least on me, that Bengie has. He helped me mature and succeed. I've said time and time again, he deserves half of those awards that I've gotten." And Cain: “The things he's done for me -- from calling a game, to giving me confidence to throw different pitches in different counts -- really, really, really benefited me.”
High praise, indeed. Now, “veteran leadership” is an epithet in analyst community, partly because it’s immeasurable, and partly because front-office types, managers and players so often use the term to gloss over obvious shortcomings. However, that’s not reason enough to completely deride and discount it, particularly when the praise for Molina is so effusive and widespread. Even manager Mike Scioscia of the Angels, Texas’s chief combatant in the AL West, lauded the deal. If Molina can hit as well as Treanor and Ramirez while providing aid and comfort to Texas’s pitchers, he’s an improvement. I can’t say I’m excited Molina’s presence in Arlington. But I’m not writing him off.
What kind of prospect is Main?
When reports narrowed down the second player in the Molina deal to an pitcher in A ball, I assumed a lower-level prospect like Wilfredo Boscan, Carlos Pimentel, Jake Brigham, or perhaps Neil Ramirez. I’d have traded any of them in a heartbeat. That’s what they’re for.
Main is another matter entirely.
The estimable Jason Parks presented his take on Main in early May. Freak injuries limited the 24th-overall pick of the 2007 draft to 119 innings in 2008-2009. After a strong end-of-season showing in high-A Bakersfield and autumn instructional campaign, Main showed up to Surprise this spring having filled out to a startling extent. Like fellow 1st-rounder Blake Beavan, he’s lost some of his high-school velocity and is slowly reacquiring it.
With the caveat that we shouldn’t place too much emphasis on a statistical analysis of 91 high-A innings, here’s how Michael Main’s 2010 ranks among the 48 Cal League pitchers with eight or more starts:
| Category | Main | League | Rank |
| ERA | 3.45 | 4.81 | 10 |
| RA | 4.63 | 5.49 | 15 |
| FIP | 5.10 | 4.64 | 35 |
| HR% | 3.7% | 2.0% | 44 |
| BB% | 7.4% | 9.4% | 19 |
| SO% | 18.9% | 17.7% | 21 |
| BABIP | .279 | .338 | 4 |
Not to suggest that Main has pitched badly, but his 3.45 ERA is deceptive. First, Main’s BABIP is an unsustainable .279. I’m willing to ascribe more control over BABIP to high-A pitchers than their Major League counterparts, but not 59 points. Second, Main has allowed a league-worst 14 homers, and only three of 47 starters have allowed more on a per-batter basis. Yet, he’s suffered remarkably little damage from them:
Homers: Runners On Base | AL | Main |
0 | 56% | 86% |
1 | 31% | 14% |
2 | 11% | 0% |
3 | 3% | 0% |
Note: I don’t have runner data for the Cal League (except grand slams), so I’m comparing his homer distribution to the American League. Based on runs scored per game, I doubt the distributions of the Cal League and AL are wildly dissimilar. The percentage of grannies is nearly identical (2.7% in the AL, 2.6% in the Cal League).
Main has a allowed a miniscule total of 16 runs on his 14 homers. 12 of 14 came with the bases empty, none with more than one on. A more typical 21 runs (based on 1.5 per homer) would add 0.50 to his ERA.
Nevertheless, Main had largely regained his upper-level prospect status. He’d pitched every fifth day without fail. He was effective enough to earn a promotion to AA, where, despite his setbacks, he would have been the third youngest pitcher on the staff and seventh youngest in the Texas League. Though he likely would have been knocked around in Frisco, he undoubtedly possessed the fortitude to withstand the rough outings.
What does Texas think of Jarrod Saltalamacchia?
Not much. That Texas parted with a first-round pick of the 2007 draft rather than promote Saltalamacchia is a depressing indication of his value to the Rangers. Molina’s arrival pushes him to fourth on the depth chart. How did he fall so far?
Saltalamacchia certainly didn’t let his rehab assignment and eventual full-fledged demotion to AAA affect his bat. Not at first. He walked twice in his first game in Oklahoma City, then embarked on a 16-game hit streak. However, in the waning days of his streak, he exhibited a terrible case of the yips. Me, on May 4th:
On May 12th, per Bob Hersom of okcredhawks.com:
Tuesday night at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, 12 of [Saltalamacchia’s] throws back to the pitcher landed either short of the mound or in center field. He had five errant throws in the first inning alone.
Saltalamacchia evinced no hesitancy or inability to throw cleanly to the bases. Only on return throws to the pitcher did he struggle. After the 12th, Saltalamacchia missed four days. Upon his return, he threw with confidence.
Unfortunately, Saltalamacchia has batted a dire .186/.263/.382 since his time off. He’s clubbed six homers in that span, but the remainder of his offense has disappeared. Arguably, he’s suffering some bad luck, as his BABIP is a paltry .188. On the other hand, Saltalamacchia has become extremely fly-prone in Oklahoma City. Flies that stay in the park tend to become outs. Bad luck or not, he’s walking less, striking out more, and not swinging in a manner conducive to a high batting average.
Worse, in my opinion, his throwing has degraded since his initially promising return from four days of inaction. He’s not short-hopping or overthrowing the pitcher, but neither is he putting any zing on the ball. Saltalamacchia faces the pitcher with his torso fully perpendicular to the mound and returns the ball purely with his arm. (You’ll better understand what I mean if you stand up and try throwing that way yourself. It’s awkward.) He’s not using his body at all. Perhaps it’s not important, but I don’t see other catchers (or even umpires) throwing that way. They hum the ball back to the pitcher. When I’m watching on the internet, Saltalamacchia’s return throws frequently exit the top of my viewing screen before reappearing to land gently into the pitcher’s glove. Whatever the reason, it sure looks odd.
Moreover, his already subpar performance at gunning down potential base stealers has declined further. Of the 26 Pacific Coast League catchers facing at least 30 stolen base attempts, Saltalamacchia ranks dead last with a 16% caught rate (6 of 37). To be sure, Redhawk pitchers aren’t helping – OKC ranks 15th in the 16-team PCL is nabbing runners. Still, other Redhawk catchers have a 24% success rate; not great, but better than Saltalamacchia. When comparing each catcher to the aggregate rate of the his teammates, he still comes in 22nd of 26.
What does Texas think of Max Ramirez?
The front office and Ron Washington prefer a defense-oriented catcher, which Ramirez most certainly is not. He gets on base at a nice rate, especially for a backstop, and in time he could fulfill some of the contact-plus-power potential displayed in the minors.
It’s not enough. Again, Texas surrendered Michael Main rather than endure Ramirez as a backup. Keeping him as a right-handed bench bat makes some sense, but I’d say his days as a catcher in Texas are essentially over unless Molina or Treanor suffer an injury.
What about Chris Ray?
I hadn’t mentioned Chris Ray previously, because, frankly, I don’t have much interest in him. He was adequate but unworthy of his 3.41 ERA. He doesn’t rank among Texas’s top seven or eight bullpen arms, so exchanging him for an upgrade elsewhere makes perfect sense.
Conclusion
Molina doesn’t thrill me. Perhaps he’ll swat ten homers in the second half, and the pitchers will rave about him. That would thrill me. More likely, he’ll provide only a modest upgrade on whom he’s supplanting. It’s also possible he’ll be worse. Look at his page at Baseball-Reference.com and envision a line of .240/.290/.320 for Texas in 2010, followed by a blank in 2011 and beyond. That’s not a far-fetched prediction, in my opinion.
While not of the level of Martin Perez, Tanner Scheppers, or (I’d argue) Blake Beavan, Michael Main is a tremendous athlete, outstandingly competitive, and has made up for lost time. I don’t begrudge Texas for trading him in order to improve a team with its best chance at the postseason in a decade. That said, I would have expected him to depart as the second or third piece in a blockbuster, not as the lynchpin of a deal for someone who might not improve the team at all.
That the Rangers apparently couldn’t assume Molina’s not-outrageous salary and had to surrender Main to consummate the deal is yet another taint on the stewardship of Tom Hicks, as if one were needed.
Posted by Lucas at 06:51 PM
April 23, 2010
Smoak Replaces Davis
Texas will purchase the contract of 1B JUSTIN SMOAK and option 1B CHRIS DAVIS to AAA.
MiLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo asked me about a Smoak/Davis swap after I’d tweeted this on Monday:
In 12 games, #texasrangers Justin Smoak has 13 hits, 14 walks, 5 strikeouts, and a .509 OBP. Locked in.
On Wednesday I replied:
My gut feeling is Texas is going to try to give Davis a chance to stick. The one thing in his favor is a decent walk rate and not as many strikeouts as last year. His pitches/appearance ratio is lousy, but at least he's making some contact.
Also, Smoak really didn't have a great spring, so his hot start is out of the blue. I bet Texas would like a some sustained success before they call him up.
Or maybe they panic as the season slips away. I guess, if Davis and Smoak continue at their current paces, we could see a move in as little as two or three weeks. But assuming Davis improves a little and Smoak cools off a touch, not before June. There's the season to worry about, but also Davis's future. If they send him to AAA again, he's pretty much done in Texas, I think.
So much for that. To be honest, I’d first written “as little as one to two weeks” but felt it slightly rash. Also, statistically, Smoak had a better spring than I remembered (.250/.333/.563 in 18 appearances) but certainly didn’t compel management to select him over Davis for the active roster.
Now, despite having used “panic” and “rash,” I don’t see this move as panic[ky] or rash. I wouldn’t have pulled the trigger this soon, but sometimes I’m afflicted with Ent-like deliberateness. This transaction furthers the notion that Texas is playing to win right now. A previous example is the decision to keep its five most effective Spring Training starters (okay, four plus Rich Harden) and option both the well-compensated Brandon McCarthy and the potentially electrifying Derek Holland.
Davis isn’t the hopeless batter from early 2009. He’s been drawing more walks and making better contact in the strike zone. On Thursday during what was apparently a lame-duck performance, he saw a highly impressive 26 pitches in four plate appearances. Unfortunately, he also went hitless with two strikeouts, and his marginally improved discipline has translated to a dismal line of .188/.264/.292 with zero homers.
Smoak is batting .300/.470/.560 in 15 AAA games. Is he ready for Major league pitching? Probably not quite yet, but to an extent, it’s irrelevant. He’ll help the team contingent on hurdling the depressingly low bar set by Davis. Adequate defense and a replacement-level bat are sufficient, equivalent to an imitation of Mark Teixeira, who hit .241/.330/.379 in his first 100 MLB plate appearances. Per GM Jon Daniels: “We're not looking at Justin Smoak to ride in on a white horse and save the day.”
So don't expect this on Friday:
Posted by Lucas at 02:19 AM
April 04, 2010
Transaction Roundup
After a week in Arizona, I’ve been swamped at work and/or sick ever since. So, belatedly, some thoughts on transactions:
4/02: Texas traded pitcher LUIS MENDOZA to Kansas City for cash.
Unlike Joaquin Arias, at no point during the winter or spring did the optionless Luis Mendoza enter the discussion regarding the 25-man roster. During the previous decade, virtually any warm body with a half-decent two-seamer was seen as part of the solution. How times have changed in Texas.
Statistically, Mendoza is a mess excepting a strong 2007 in Frisco that bought him a long look in Arlington. Sure he generates grounders, but too many reach the outfield. Mendoza has a career 5.28 Run Average and 12% strikeout rate… in the minors.
4/02: Texas signed pitcher SCOTT FELDMAN to a new contract and extension: @2.425 million in 2010, $4.4 million in 2011, and $6.5 million in 2012, plus a team option for $9.25 million with a $600,000 buyout in 2013.
The deal covers Feldman’s arbitration years, the option (if exercised) his first year of free agency. So, Texas has guaranteed Feldman no less than $11.5 million beyond this season.
This isn’t a bad deal, but I like it more for Feldman than for Texas. While the Rangers have locked in cost certainty, they’ve also banked on Feldman performing reasonably close to his 2009 level for three more seasons. The 2011-2012 salaries are fair substitutes for what he’d get in arbitration after an adequate performance.
Yes, Feldman has the magical cutter. Yes, the deeper statistics indicate he pitched pretty well despite the low strikeout rate and “lucky� BABIP. Still, I worry that he’ll be figured out by opposing hitters, and their contact will do more damage. There’s a meaningful chance (less than 50%, but certainly more than zero) that he’s an inferior starting pitcher by 2012, or even sooner.
As for 2013, team options are always winners. That said, I have a very hard time seeing Feldman as a $9 million pitcher. True, he posted a 3.3 WAR in 2009, worth over $14 million on the open market. But… I don’t know. I just don’t see it. Maybe everyone’s on the same page but me. I would’ve continued to take my chances in arbitration.
4/01: Texas claimed 1B RYAN GARKO off waivers from Seattle.
The Rangers wanted a right-handed bat to spot Chris Davis and pinch-hit, and into their lap dropped an inexpensive man with a line of .313/.392/.495 versus lefties. I suppose the ancient and oft-injured Mike Sweeney playing well for Seattle this season would be a warm-and-fuzzy story, but rooting for the M’s is well outside my purview. Texas fans can, however, thank Mr. Sweeney for making Garko expendable. Also, Garko isn’t totally helpless against righties (.266/.335/.420). If Davis falters or gets hurt before Justin Smoak is ready for world domination, a daily dose of Garko for a month or so isn’t the end of the world. A+.
4/01: Texas passed reliever BEN SNYDER through waivers, acquired him for pitcher EDWIN ESCOBAR, and outrighted Snyder to AA Frisco.
The Rangers traded someone who might help the Giants in 2014 for someone who might help them this season or next. Escobar has some upside – just ignore that 5.00 ERA – but he’s well down Texas’s list of pitching prospects. It stings a little to lose one of the four intriguing Latin starters from rookie ball, but really, 50% of their purpose is development as bait. It’s a fair trade, not a steal for either side.
3/27: Texas acquired infielder ANDRES BLANCO from the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later or cash. 3/24: Texas acquired infielder GREGORIO PETIT from Oakland for EDWAR RAMIREZ.
Having already run Ray Olmedo, Esteban German, and Hernan Iribarren through Major League camp, then grabbing two more middle infielders in the span of three days, the only logical follow-up for Texas is to dispense “We Hate Arias� shirts among the front office, coaching staff and grounds crew. Okay, that’s unfair. The backup infield position was his to take. He refused, so Texas had to try Plans B, C, D, E and F.
Let’s review: Arias’s competition for fifth infielder consisted of his Oakland doppelganger, albeit a slower one (Petit), a 28-year-old without an MLB at-bat since 2007 (Olmedo), an OBP machine with no business at shortstop (German), a former prospect with no shortstop experience whatsoever (Iribarren), and a guy who can play short but can’t hit (Blanco). Arias actually did make the roster as Blanco’s backup and ostensible pinch-runner, but he’s first in line for waivers when Ian Kinsler returns.
3/22: Texas acquired catcher MATT TREANOR from Milwaukee for infielder RAY OLMEDO.
Bringing in Treanor while questions lingered about Jarrod Saltalamacchia was a wise move. Alas, the combined acquisitions of Treanor and Garko speak ill of Max Ramirez. Now 25, Ramirez simply must hit well in AAA, immediately, to preserve any chance of eking out a Major League career.
Posted by Lucas at 01:58 PM
February 25, 2010
Greene Gone
Texas voided the contract of infielder KHALIL GREENE.
The combination of treatment and lesser expectations apparently weren't enough to bring Greene back onto the diamond. This would be an exceptionally lousy way to lose a career, so best wishes for his recovery.
Meanwhile, Joaquin Arias lives! Suddenly, he's the best backup shortstop in camp, as Esteban German has barely played there in the minors and Ray Olmedo is Ray Olmedo. Arias has a genuine shot, his last shot, at flying to Arlington at the end of March. I'd say it's no worse than 50/50 that the Rangers trade for a 5th infielder before Opening Day. (If you're getting this on RSS, I'm two days late. Accidentally posted it as a "draft.")
Posted by Lucas at 11:30 PM
January 27, 2010
Golson Traded
In November 2008, I punched out two paragraphs about the Mayberry-Golson trade that could’ve been better expressed with just a weary sigh.
One disappointment for another, as Texas relinquished the nearly assured blandness of Mayberry for the potential of Golson. Mayberry (19th overall, 2005) showed impressive power but otherwise failed to improve during his steady ascent through the minors. He’s never hit for average or drawn many walks, and at 25, his upside is limited. Philadelphia added him to its 40-man roster.
Golson (21st overall, 2004) likewise hasn’t advanced as hoped. Though a fine baserunner with moderate home-run prowess, his production is sabotaged by an atrocious batting eye that hasn’t improved an ounce in four years. Chris Davis might survive with a 5:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks. Golson won’t. He’s two years younger than Mayberry, can play center field, and is far toolsier. The Rangers win if they can instill in him some selectivity at the plate. A tall order.Even though Mayberry was the better player, Golson had the upside, so the trade was defensible. Golson had a slight chance at becoming a valuable player if he could ever rectify his horrid plate approach, whereas Mayberry’s stoic performance would never stray far from replacement level. Think of their potential this way:
Golson’s removal from the 40 seemed a bit odd in terms of roster management. He still has an option, whereas shortstop Joaquin Arias is optionless and has an employer that acquired/re-signed no fewer than four backup infielders during the offseason (Greene, Inglett, German, Olmedo). That said, the Rangers indicated what lay in store for Golson when they let him cool his heels in September and instead retrieved AA center fielder Craig Gentry from AA.
Hilligoss is a shortstop who has moonlighted at third and first, positions at which his bat appears totally unsuited. Regarded as an intriguing hitter out of Purdue in 2006, he hasn’t cracked AA in four professional years and posted a dire .239/.286/.299 across two seasons in the Florida State League (which is pitcher-friendly, to be sure, but not nearly enough to rescue that line). He turns 25 in June and doesn’t rank among Texas’s top 50 prospects.
Posted by Lucas at 11:52 AM
January 26, 2010
The Return Of Colby
Texas signed pitcher COLBY LEWIS to a two-year contract with a club option. Texas placed infielder JOE INGLETT on waivers.
The Rangers have 104 pitcher-seasons of at least 25 starts. Colby Lewis’s 2003 ranks last in ERA (7.30), ERA+ (69), opposing on-base percentage (.402) and opposing slugging (.550). In 2004, he underwent surgery for two tears in his rotator cuff. In the subsequent three years he was waived twice and released twice. He spent the last two seasons in Japan.
And with this resume, the cash-strapped Rangers guaranteed him $5 million? Stupefying. Terrifying.
No, no, no. Just kidding. While the first paragraph is factually correct, it glosses over two superior years overseas. During Lewis’s initial venture in Texas, the respectable control exhibited in the minors vanished on the mound in Arlington. In Japan, Lewis walked or hit less than 5% of opposing batters while fanning 26% and leading the league in strikeouts in both seasons. That won’t translate directly to the US, of course, but Lewis has apparently learned to pitch rather than throw. He also employs a cutter, that favored pitch of rotation mates Scott Feldman and Tommy Hunter. There’s considerable upside to this deal, particularly in the form of a $3.25 million club option for 2012 should Lewis pan out. If he flops, Texas appears to possess some supra-replacement-level pitching depth. Plan B is not Elizardo Ramirez or even Luis Mendoza. Also, with payments to A-Rod, Little Cat, and three others ceasing after 2010, having to eat Lewis’s 2011 salary becomes more palatable, if need be.
(Interestingly, Lewis and pitcher Ben Kozlowski were teammates with Hiroshima in 2008-2009, several years after being lost on waivers by Texas within days of each other in October 2004.)
Inglett was/is a marginal candidate for the 25-man roster, so outrighting him to Oklahoma City now (assuming he clears waivers) really doesn’t significantly affect his status. He’s a pretty darned good backup 5th infielder, and I don’t mean that as a backhanded compliment.
Only 16 hitters populate Texas’s 40-man roster, and that includes dead-man-walking Joaquin Arias.
Posted by Lucas at 02:10 AM
January 24, 2010
Transaction
Hicks Sports Group LLC sold the TEXAS RANGERS BASEBALL CLUB to Rangers Baseball Express LLC for $570 million and a player to be named later.
I'll go ahead and let the bitterness flow forth so I can move on. No need to write anything new. To quote myself...
On my site, February 2004, regarding the trade of Alex Rodriguez, which doesn't mention the owner specifically but applies nonetheless:
An absolute disaster, and as stark of admission of organization-wide failure as can be imagined. Placing Rodriguez on waivers might have made more sense. Had Texas merely swapped Rodriguez for Soriano straight up, they could have excused the deal as a pure salary dump. But remarkably, Texas will contribute $67 million to the $179 million due to Rodriguez. Texas will pay Rodriguez $3 million this season, $6 million in 2005 and 2006, $7 million in 2007, $8 million in 2008, $7 million in 2009, and $6 million in 2010. Also, Texas will pay the entirety of Rodriguez's remaining deferred salary of $24 million, the payments of which were pushed out five more years and at an annual rate of 1.75% compared to the 3% in the original deal.. Adding in the remaining $4 million of his signing bonus and the $12 million in deferred salary accrued from 2001-2003, the Rangers will pay Rodriguez $83 million spread over the next 22 years.
For all this, Texas gains the ever popular "financial flexibility," a term of art that means little without the wherewithal to use it properly. In 2004, this newfound flexibility is a moot point, as the time to sign worthwhile free agents has long since passed (unless Greg Maddux loses his marbles and decides that several summers in Arlington would be a fine way to close a career). This season, practically all of the savings not spent on Soriano will rest contentedly in Tom Hicks's wallet.
Rodriguez did Hicks quite the favor by opting out of the final three years of his contract. Still, the new owners will pay $3 million to Rodriguez in 2010 -- the last of his deferred signing bonus -- which I believe finally closes that sordid book.
What I wrote in the Hardball Times annual, 2008:
Amidst these and previous management shakeups is team owner Tom Hicks. Though not impetuous in the manner of vintage-period George Steinbrenner, Hicks seems to institute a new five-year plan every other year or so. Some examples: 1) fired GM Doug Melvin two years after Texas won its third division title in four seasons, by far its most successful era; 2) signed Alex Rodriguez to a ten-year deal, then traded him three years later; 3) gave former GM John Hart license to spend freely after 2001, then instituted an aggregate payroll cut of over $30 million that lasts to this day; 4) fired assistant GM Grady Fuson two years and nine months into a three-year “internship� for the GM spot; 5) gave manager Buck Showalter a three-year extension following 2004, then fired him before it kicked in; and 6) hired a 30-year-old Ivy Leaguer as GM, then hired the older, old-school Nolan Ryan as his boss two years later.
Fuson's drafts turned out to be barely qualified disasters. 2002 produced virtually nothing beyond Kameron Loe. Unless Eric Hurley recovers, 2004's top pick will be Brandon Boggs. Also, Ryan and Daniels have co-existed better than I expected.
Nevertheless...
Team Record, AL West, 2000-2009:
LAA 900-720
OAK 890-728
SEA 837-783
TEX 776-884
Posted by Lucas at 12:29 AM
January 16, 2010
Nippert Avoids Arbitration
Texas signed pitcher DUSTIN NIPPERT to a one-year contract for $665,000.
With two years, 140 days of MLB service time, Nippert gained "Super 2" arbitration status by exactly one day. That extra day is worth almost $250,000. Nippert pitched inconsistently in 2009, as always, but with enough of the variance on the happy side to be pretty useful. He's a dark-horse rotation candidate, more likely a mop.
Posted by Lucas at 06:00 PM
January 15, 2010
McCarthy Avoids Arbitration / Charlie O. Was Right
Texas signed pitcher BRANDON MCCARTHY to a one-year contract for $1.32 million.
The Rangers avoid arbitration, as is their wont, but accede to doubling McCarthy's pay despite his 97 innings and 4.62 ERA (4.70 FIP). Projection systems expect similar results in 2010. Yee-haa.
Posted by Lucas at 02:29 PM
January 12, 2010
Guerrero and Greene
Texas signed outfielder VLADIMIR GUERRERO to a one-year contract plus a one-year mutual option.
Texas will pay Vlad $5.5 to $6.0 million in 2010 and an undisclosed salary or a $1 million buyout in 2011. Guerrero can also decline the option sans buyout.
I’m trying and failing to envision Guerrero wearing a blue cap emblazoned with a white “T.� Guerrero has murdered the Rangers for six seasons running. Even during 2009, his worst as a regular, Vlad batted .404/.433/.579 against the Rangers. Simply not having him as an opponent is worth a few million.
Past and present Dallas Morning News scribe Evan Grant compares and contrasts Guerrero to notable free-agent flop Richard Hidalgo, concluding: “Vladimir Guerrero is not Richard Hidalgo.� Quite so. Hidalgo was a great hitter for exactly two seasons, while Guerrero has the 6th-best OPS+ among active players. Still, they both dove off a cliff prior to signing with Texas:
Hidalgo:
1999-2003: .277/.360/.511
2004: .239/.301/.444
2005: .221/.289/.416 (with Texas)
Vlad:
2004-2008: .323/.387/.557
2009: .295/.334/.460
2010: ???
(Incidentally, Hidalgo, who hasn’t played in the Majors since 2005, is only four months older than Guerrero and still attempting a comeback.)
2009 was Guerrero’s worst season since 1998. Once a fearsome hitter, capable runner, and rifle-armed outfielder, Guerrero has declined sharply of late, suddenly unable to play the field competently and occasionally looking lost at the plate. Per Fangraphs, 2009 was his first season since at least 2002 that didn’t produce favorable results against fastballs, and his ratio of homers to fly balls dipped precipitously. Guerrero’s skill set doesn’t (or didn’t) portend a rapid decline in production, but not everyone ages gracefully. Witness 2009 reclamation project Andruw Jones.
Guerrero definitely fills a hole at DH; he’s not pushing the next Edgar Martinez back to AAA. Prior to his signing, Texas’s optimal solution against lefties was David Murphy, either as DH himself or in the field while giving another outfielder a “half day off.� Versus lefties, against whom Murphy flails, Texas had… Max Ramirez? Brandon Boggs? A still-germinating Justin Smoak? A reserve infielder?
Bill James envisions a strong rebound for Guerrero (.305/.369/.508, not park-adjusted, I assume) while CHONE is more circumspect (.291/.334/.460) in projecting a repeat of 2009. There is also the non-zero probability that Guerrero is toast. Happily, Texas’s most advanced hitting prospects, Smoak and Ramirez, are precisely to type who could replace Guerrero at DH if they shine in AAA while he falters. Guerrero’s a worthy signing at a reasonable price, with a fair amount of upside and downside.
Texas also signed infielder KHALIL GREENE to a one-year contract for $750,000.
And Joaquin Arias’s wafer-thin chance at a Major League paycheck just evaporated. The Rangers previously re-upped with Esteban German and nabbed Joe Inglett off waivers from Toronto. Both reasonable maneuvers, but neither answered the question (except derisively, perhaps) of who would back up for Elvis Andrus.
The answer is Greene, who’s been chasing his very promising rookie campaign for five years. Over the years, he’s drawn few walks, his extreme fly-ball tendencies have swallowed his batting average whole, and UZR thinks ever more unkindly of his defense. Thus, instead of cashing in on his first winter as a free agent, he’s accepting a one-year deal for less than double the league minimum. Greene is due for improvement, I suppose, inasmuch as it’s really hard to hit just .217 on balls in play. He played some third in St. Louis and will probably spell Kinsler at second also.
Posted by Lucas at 12:45 PM
December 08, 2009
Transactions Are Go!
Texas acquired lefty reliever CLAY RAPADA from Detroit for future considerations.
Rapada is a low-slot slider specialist with a mid-to-high 80s fastball, which sounds very similar to the post-rotation A.J. Murray (who is a free agent). Unlike Murray, who showed no platoon split in 2009, Rapada has been very effective against lefties and mediocre or worse versus righties in the minors. In his brief MLB career, he’s walked or hit 15% of opposing batters.
Texas outrighted reliever WILLIE EYRE to AAA Oklahoma City.
The gentlemen in Brokeback Mountain have nothing on the unstable relationship between Texas and Eyre. In three years, he’s been outrighted twice, optioned thrice, spent parts of 2007 and 2009 seasons on the 60-day disabled list, and spent all of 2008 on the shelf. Yet he remains with Texas. He’s a good AAA insurance policy.
OF MARLON BYRD and catcher IVAN RODRIGUEZ declined Texas’s arbitration offers. Rodriguez signed with Washington for two years and $6 million.
Byrd’s departure was assured, Rodriguez’s less so. Last week, in assessing the risk of offering arbitration to Pudge, I wondered whether “a tandem of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Pudge… [is] really better than Salty and Teagarden. At best, a full year of Pudge maintains the status quo.� Given his age, I thought Pudge might accept a contract similar to last year’s $1.5 million to stay in Arlington in a role no smaller than prominent backup.
Little did I know that a GM would be willing to double that contract in salary and years. Pudge isn’t toast, not yet, but at this point he’s only league-average defensively, a poor hitter, and will only get worse over time. Offering him 1 year and $3 million is a little daffy but ultimately trivial. Offering 2 and $6 is an act of self-bamboozlement.
With the supplemental picks accrued by losing Byrd and Rodriguez, and having failed to sign 2009 first-rounder Matt Purke, Texas will have four of the top 50-or-so picks in the 2010 draft. Texas’s 40-man roster remains at 38.
Posted by Lucas at 09:19 AM
December 04, 2009
Mighty Joe Is A Ranger
Texas claimed UT JOE INGLETT off waivers.
Not a bad pickup. At the plate, Inglett’s a lefthanded version of Esteban German, someone with good contact skills and patience but little power (safely ignore the short-sample, desert-fueled .516 slugging percentage he posted in Las Vegas). Unlike German, Inglett’s not eligible for arbitration, though their difference in salaries would still be quite small, not enough to matter to even the cash-strapped Rangers.
On the downside, Dubbing Inglett a utility infielder is a stretch. He played center field as a senior in college but was converted to second base by Cleveland, which drafted him in the 8th round in 2000. His experience at short and third is very limited, even in the minors, and it appears that Toronto, across four seasons, never seriously considered giving him a chance to start or caddy at short in place of decent-glove no-bat John McDonald (who the Jays just re-upped for two years). And Toronto waived Inglett despite losing last year’s starting shortstop, Marco Scutaro. Keeping Inglett will likely require a sixth infielder.
Inglett increases the 40-man roster to 38.
Posted by Lucas at 06:14 PM
December 02, 2009
Byrd and Pudge Offered Arbitration
Texas offered arbitration to free agents C IVAN RODRIGUEZ and OF MARLON BYRD, and declined to arbitration to P JOAQUIN BENOIT, P EDDIE GUARDADO, CIF HANK BLALOCK, SS OMAR VIZQUEL, and OF ANDRUW JONES.
Byrd made $3 million in his final pre-emancipation arbitration season, up from $1.8 million in 2008. Byrd enjoyed Texas, and the Rangers would like him back, but this winter is epochal for him. Having risen from the minor-league free-agent scrap heap to become a valuable almost-everyday player, the 32-year-old has this one opportunity to make some serious money. He’s pretty close to an average outfielder (average, not replacement-level) in the field and at the plate. That’s worth at least two-and-$12, likely more, but the team that guarantees three-and-$24 will eventually suffer buyer’s remorse (though certainly not on the scale of Gary Matthews Jr.). Byrd hit .309/.375/.522 at home and .281/.328/.414 on the road as a Ranger. Despite the huge split, that road line is actually not bad, particularly for someone who spent most of 2009 in center field.
Rodriguez is an interesting case. Post-2006, the once-fearsome slugger has batted .269/.297/.401, and he’s league-average rather than league-best at shutting down opposing runners. Yes, that still has value, but not very much. There’s also the issue of how much the now-38 Pudge has left in his tank. Notwithstanding the pleasure of watching him retire as a Ranger, is a tandem of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Pudge (plus Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez in AAA) really better than Salty and Teagarden (plus Max and Kevin Richardson)? At best, a full year of Pudge maintains the status quo. Still, it’s a defensible decision. Having him around won’t hurt or cost much, and if he declines the offer, Texas gets a supplemental 1st-round pick.
Unfortunately, neither Vizquel nor Jones, who’ve already signed with the White Sox, cracked the Type B list. Otherwise, Texas could have offered them arbitration despite their signing and collected two easy supplemental 2nd-round picks.
I’ll deal with Blalock in a separate piece.
Posted by Lucas at 10:01 AM
November 20, 2009
40-Man Roster Additions
Texas added pitchers MICHAEL KIRKMAN and ZACH PHILLIPS to the 40-man roster.
Texas drafted Kirkman out of high school in 2005’s 5th round. After a solid debut, injuries and mechanical problems derailed Kirkman’s next two years:
75 innings
10.37 RA, 8.32 ERA
23% walk+hbp rate (!)
2.54 WHIP (!!)
.470 opposing on-base percentage (!!!)
Fortunately, being 6-3, left-handed and hard-throwing affords plenty of opportunities, and a healthier Kirkman pitched pretty well overall – brilliantly at times -- during 2008-2009. Promoted to AA Frisco this May, Kirkman’s peripherals backslid somewhat; his walk rate crept above 10% while his K rate dropped to 15%. That said, he also just turned 23 and pitched respectably down the stretch despite surpassing his previous career-high workload by a whopping 60 innings.
Phillips is a 23rd-round draft-and-follow signing from 2004 and struggled mightily in his introductions to low-A (in 2006) and high-A (2008). Repeating a level for the second time in three years, Phillips and his old-fashioned curve excelled upon conversion to relief and earned a midseason promotion to Frisco. Phillips’ control faltered near the end of his term in Bakersfield but returned in the season’s final month. He also struck out 23% of opposing batters, quite impressive for someone who doesn’t throw terribly hard.
To be blunt, Texas’s collection of Rule 5-eligibles is rather vanilla. As I mentioned in September, the three must-add players (Feliz, Andrus, Strop) had already reached the Majors, and the remainder include some intriguing names but none whose omission from the 40 would be a travesty. I couldn’t envision more than three additions (the other being Beau Jones).
The most interesting of those left behind, and to me the most likely to be swiped in the R5 draft, is Jones, the final piece of the Mark Teixeira trade. Another lefty, Jones was punitively demoted to Bakersfield after a disastrous June in Frisco. He utterly destroyed the Cal League (57 batters faced, 26 strikeouts, 10 baserunners) and was solid upon returning to Frisco. Jones has typically has taken a long time to acclimate to a new level, so jumping from AA to the Majors could be especially problematic.
Mike Ballard is another possibility. He’s certainly the most refined pitcher of the R5 group, but the curve-change specialist has yet to make an impact in AAA. Still just 20, the maddeningly inconsistent Fabio Castillo won’t be picked.
Chad Tracy again hit well after a slow start and finished with 26 homers in AA. Unfortunately, he’s practically a DH at this point, and his bat alone isn’t yet strong enough to warrant a Major League roster spot. At present, 3B John Whittleman and CF David Paisano are toolsy cases of arrested development, and COF Cristian Santana is the destitute man’s Mark Reynolds.
I don’t think Texas will lose anyone.
Posted by Lucas at 01:08 AM
October 22, 2009
Grilli, Richardson Outrighted
Texas waived pitcher JASON GRILLI and catcher KEVIN RICHARDSON and outrighted them to AAA.
Grilli held opponents to a .216 batting average but was walk-prone (12%), fly-prone, and allowed 12 of 21 hits for extra bases. He was entering his second year of arbitration, having signed for $800,000 last spring with Colorado to avoid an arbitration hearing. Given that he’d receive at least a million next year, Texas decided to cut bait. Grilli almost certainly won’t accept his assignment.
Richardson is a nice story, making the Majors as an undrafted free agent in his eighth year of pro ball. He doesn’t hit for average or draw too many walks but has some pop. Richardson was a six-year minor-league free agent last winter and chose to stay in Texas; he might do so again if extended an offer.
Texas now has 42 players on its 40-man roster if including players still on the 60-day Disabled List, or 35 if dropping all the free agents.
UPDATE on 29 October: Texas signed Richardson to a minor-league deal. And there was much rejoicing.
Posted by Lucas at 12:26 PM
January 01, 2009
Turnbow Signed
Texas signed reliever DERRICK TURNBOW to a minor-league contract.
Turnbow will receive $925,000 if he makes the team plus $325,000 in incentives. After doing little for Anaheim, he was selected off waivers by Milwaukee in October 2004 and proceeded to save 57 games over the next season-and-a-half. Since then, he's been pretty terrible. After a rough July 2006, Milwaukee relieved him off his closing duties by acquiring Francisco Cordero from Texas. Turnbow deserved better than the 4.63 ERA posted in '07, but in '08 he fell off a cliff. Turnbow was outrighted in May, went unclaimed, and toiled for AAA Nasville in order to retain his $3.2 million salary.
Here's Turnbow's line since July 1, 2006, including the minors:
IP |
H |
HR |
BB |
SO |
HB |
WP |
113 |
102 |
10 |
122 |
141 |
11 |
22 |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
BB+HBP % |
SO % |
.239 |
.412 |
.364 |
23.4% |
24.8% |
Yes, Turnbow has walked or hit nearly one of every four batters faced during the past two-and-a-half years. Last year's rate was 36%. He also largely abandoned his breaking pitch (83% FB) and lost nearly three MPH off the velocity displayed during his heyday. That said, Turnbow may still be useful if he can pull his freebie rate out of the stratosphere. He generates plenty of ground balls and pop-ups (career .274 BABIP, .348 slugging percentage). Not a bad signing as long as his evaluators are clear-eyed and cold-blooded in assessing whether he has anything to offer.
Posted by Lucas at 06:14 PM
December 24, 2008
Who's Winning The Hamilton Volquez Trade
A few days before Christmas 2007, Texas traded Edinson Volquez, its most advanced pitching prospect, and reliever Danny Ray Herrera to Cincinnati for outfielder Josh Hamilton. My thoughts at the time:
I uneasily endorse this trade. That is to say, my anxiety about Volquez becoming a quality rotation figure is slightly higher than about Hamilton washing out. It’s a risky play for both teams. Texas just traded its third young and promising starter in three years, but Hamilton could become the best centerfielder in franchise history.
Hamilton and Volquez both had tremendous seasons. Hamilton led Texas in Win Shares and ranked 12th in all of baseball, and Volquez led the Cincinnati pitching corps. Even Herrera made his MLB debut, and though he didn’t earn any Win Shares, he did pitch much better than his unsightly 7.36 ERA.
As I’ve done previously, here’s an evaluation of the trade in terms of Win Shares and Wins Above Replacement:
| Players | Win Shares | WARP |
| Hamilton | 27 | 9.4 |
| TEX Total | 27 | 9.4 |
| Volquez | 17 | 7.3 |
| Herrera | 0 | 0.1 |
| CIN Total | 17 | 7.4 |
| TEX Advantage | 10 | 2.0 |
So, Texas enjoyed a net gain of about two to three wins (10 Win Shares = 3.3 wins). Victory, Texas!
Not so fast.
Because it’s winter and I have nothing better to do, I’ve explored how Texas would have performed had the trade not occurred. I did so by rationing Hamilton’s plate appearances to other Rangers, then stealing innings from other Ranger pitchers to account for the presence of Volquez. Then, I evaluated the gain or loss in value.
This is, of course, a fictional exercise. To keep the number of assumptions manageable, I’m only using players who actually took the field for Texas last season. Had the Hamilton-Volquez deal not consummated, Texas might have traded Volquez for a different outfielder, or for another pitcher, or kept him.
Hamilton Versus His Replacements
Hamilton entered 2008 with several questions, the least of which was the legitimacy of his’07 performance. More problematic were his health and former lifestyle. Hamilton completely quashed those doubts as a Ranger. Though he wore down a bit in the second half, he missed only six games all season and amassed 704 plate appearances.
I've assigned his 704 PAs to ten other players. Unless noted, all the performances in the extra PAs are simply extrapolated from real-life performances:
- 200 to Nelson Cruz – Texas calls him up in July. I can’t fathom him equaling his actual 2008 line (.330/.421/.609) for another 200 appearances, so I averaged his 2008 performance with his career line (.251/.312/.431), giving him a still robust .291/.367/.520.
- 114 to John Mayberry – Texas calls him up in August. I chopped 30 points off his AAA batting average, 40 from OBP, and 60 from slugging, giving him a line of .233/.276/.414. That seems reasonable. (Why 114 PAs? I needed someone to have a strange number so that all the players equaled Hamilton’s 704 appearances.)
- 100 to Frank Catalanotto – Grudgingly, Texas hopes that Cat can revive his former .300-hitting semi-glory.
- 100 to Brandon Boggs – Boggs receives a more generous opportunity.
- 50 to German Duran – Duran played 30 innings of outfield this season. He gets another 100 or so minus Hamilton.
- 50 to Jason Ellison – Ick. Someone has to spot Byrd in center after Murphy’s injury.
- 10 to each of Marlon Byrd, Milton Bradley, Max Ramirez, and Jason Botts – Bradley plays injured slightly more often, Byrd gets less rest, and Botts and Ramirez enjoy a smidgeon of additional DH time.
| In or Out? | Player | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | SB | CS |
| OUT | Josh Hamilton | 704 | .304 | .371 | .530 | 9 | 1 |
| IN | Nelson Cruz | 200 | .291 | .367 | .520 | 5 | 2 |
| IN | John Mayberry | 114 | .233 | .276 | .414 | 2 | 1 |
| IN | Brandon Boggs | 100 | .226 | .333 | .399 | 1 | 1 |
| IN | Frank Catalanotto | 100 | .274 | .342 | .399 | 1 | 1 |
| IN | German Duran | 50 | .231 | .275 | .350 | 0 | 0 |
| IN | Jason Eliison | 50 | .231 | .286 | .231 | 0 | 0 |
| IN | Jason Botts | 10 | .158 | .304 | .395 | 0 | 0 |
| IN | Marlon Byrd | 10 | .298 | .380 | .462 | 0 | 0 |
| IN | Max Ramirez | 10 | .217 | .345 | .370 | 0 | 0 |
| IN | Milton Bradley | 10 | .321 | .436 | .563 | 0 | 0 |
| IN | TOTAL | 704 | .256 | .329 | .423 | 9 | 5 |
Hamilton batted .304/.371/.530 with nine stolen bases and one caught stealing. Driven mostly by Cruz, Hamilton’s ten replacements hit .256/.329/.423 with eight SB and four CS. That’s quite respectable, good for an OPS+ of 96, and above replacement level for an outfielder (even a corner). In terms of team-wide performance, losing Hamilton costs .006 in average, .005 in OBP, .012 in slugging, and one stolen base, and adds three caught stealing.
Translating that to a loss of runs can be calculated numerous ways, but I have my own formula based on a regression model that I’ve been using for fantasy baseball for several years:
Runs Scored Per Game = -4.87 + ( 25.58 * Average ) + ( 20.12 * OBP ) + ( 9.82 * Slugging ) + ( 0.26 * [ { SB – CS – CS } / Games ] )
(Note: The independent variables aren’t really independent, of course. Batting average is a significant subset of both OBP and slugging. Nevertheless, the model is quite robust in terms of several statistical tests. It’s impure, but it works.)
| Rangers Offense | AVG | OBP | SLG | SB | CS | Runs / Game | Total Runs |
| With Hamilton | .283 | .354 | .462 | 81 | 25 | 5.61 | 909 |
| Without Hamilton | .277 | .349 | .450 | 81 | 29 | 5.41 | 876 |
My model predicts the Rangers would score 909 runs in 2008 (compared to the 901 they actually scored) with Hamilton. Without him, the prediction falls to 876, a loss of 33 runs, or about three wins.
I also attempted to estimate the effect of no Hamilton in the outfield. Advanced statistical systems rated him a poor centerfielder (where he spent most of the season) but an excellent right fielder. Replacing him with a combination of Byrd, Murphy and Boggs apparently benefits Texas by several runs, but they’re partially counteracted by having Catalanotto in left more often. Frankly, there’s too much noise in the ratings (Murphy is brilliant in right but terrible in left?) to reach a comfortable statistical conclusion about Hamilton’s absence. On the whole, I can’t imagine Texas faring better defensively without him. Call it a zero sum.
Volquez Versus His Replacements
How would Edinson Volquez have fared in Texas in 2008? First, not having Dusty Baker as manager reduce his 196 innings. That workload isn’t outrageous in and of itself; Volquez tossed 179 between Texas and the minors in 2007. On the other hand, he threw at least 110 pitches in 14 starts, one more than the entire Rangers rotation. Opinions vary on whether Baker warrants his reputation as an old-school arm slagger. Regardless, I believe Texas would have proceeded with more caution. Let’s say he throws 185 for Texas.
Second, Volquez would have allowed more runs. Texas plays in a tougher league and park, has an inferior defense, and, frankly, doesn’t have a strong history of developing starting pitching. So, to Volquez’s 82 runs allowed I multiplied the following factors:
1.03 for league
1.04 for park
1.02 for defense (Texas’s proportion of unearned runs versus Cincinnati’s. Texas and Cincinnati allowed similar hit rates on balls in play.)
1.10 for (lack of) development
0.94 for fewer innings pitched (185 versus 196)
Voila! Volquez allows 93 runs in 185 innings (4.52 Run Average) instead of 82 in 196 (3.76 RA). That seems reasonable.
I’ve also guesstimated the 185 innings that other pitchers wouldn’t have thrown. I suspect Texas still would have acquired Jason Jennings, providing an opening rotation of Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Volquez, Jennings, and Kason Gabbard, with Luis Mendoza biding his time in AAA. Here are the inning deductions:
- 36 from Scott Feldman – Volquez’s presence delays Feldman’s debut and allows Texas to manage his workload better. Recall that Feldman started the season in AA to stretch out his arm in a benign environment but made only two starts before joining the Rangers.
- 36 from Dustin Nippert (half his total) – Arguably, Texas doesn’t trade for Nippert with Volquez in tow, but I think not. If you can get a potentially salvageable big-league pitcher for a hard-throwing but erratic A-ball reliever (Jose Marte), you do it. That said, with Volquez around, Texas wearies of Nippert or hides him on the DL longer.
- 32 from Luis Mendoza (half his total) – Mendoza doesn’t make the starting rotation or join Texas in April. He also gets less leeway (one would hope).
- 28 from Sidney Ponson (half his total) –Notably, one-third of Ponson’s runs were unearned. He deserved worse than his 3.88 ERA..
- 21 from Matt Harrison (one-quarter his total) – Harrison gets a little more AAA seasoning
- 11 from Doug Mathis (half his total) – Mathis gets a briefer look.
- 11 from Tommy Hunter (all) – Hunter doesn’t make the Majors in 2008.
- 10 from Josh Rupe – Fewer fires to extinguish.
I’ve simply used each pitcher’s 2008 Run Average to estimate the number of runs allowed in those 185 innings versus Volquez:
| In or Out? | Player | IP | R |
| IN | Edinson Volquez | 185 | 93 |
| OUT | Scott Feldman | 36 | 25 |
| OUT | Dustin Nippert | 36 | 26 |
| OUT | Luis Mendoza | 32 | 37 |
| OUT | Sidney Ponson | 28 | 18 |
| OUT | Matt Harrison | 21 | 14 |
| OUT | Doug Mathis | 11 | 10 |
| OUT | Tommy Hunter | 11 | 20 |
| OUT | Josh Rupe | 10 | 6 |
| OUT | TOTAL | 185 | 156 |
| DIFFERENCE | 63 | ||
The difference between Volquez and his replacements is an enormous 63 runs, about six wins.
Conclusions
Purely heads-up, Hamilton was worth two to three wins more than Volquez in 2008. In consideration of their alternatives, Hamilton was worth about three wins to Texas, but trading Volquez cost six wins. You might quibble with how I apportioned the replacements for Hamilton and Volquez, but the basic premise is clear. Hamilton displaced a group of hitters who performed at or above replacement level, while the Rangers who pitched Volquez’s allotted innings were well below replacement level. Though several pitchers on that list could improve substantially in 2009 and beyond, in 2008 they were a motley bunch. (It's also worth noting that some of Hamilton's heads-up advantage is due to Volquez's awful batting -- .098/.098/.098 with a 51% strikeout rate.)
The easy (and arguably legitimate) conclusion is that Texas foolishly traded pitching, a perpetual need, for hitting, which Texas has possessed in abundance. However, I don’t believe the Rangers expected the offense to be so good in 2008, nor the pitching so terrible. I certainly didn’t, though I did predict a 77-win season. They saw Hamilton as a huge upgrade, which of course he was, and more likely than Volquez to provide consistent value, which remains to be seen.
Interestingly, for a team that had a surfeit of quality outfielders for several years, the Reds have some gaping holes to fill. Gone are Hamilton, Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey (who batted a tepid .245/.355/.432), Ryan Freel, and even Corey Patterson, Cincinnati’s hilarious idea of a replacement for Hamilton. They do have Jay Bruce, but can Chris Dickerson continue to hit better in the Majors than in AAA? Who’s the 3rd outfielder? On September 21st in front of 22,000 mortified fans, Cincinnati’s starting outfield consisted of Jolbert Cabrera, Patterson, and Jerry Hairston Jr.
I think both teams would make this trade again. Cincinnati got an ace-worthy season from a player earning the league minimum. Texas benefited from its best season by an outfielder since Juan Gonzalez in 1999, a Home Run Derby performance that will be remembered for decades, and an amazing and genuine human-interest story.
Posted by Lucas at 01:36 PM
December 12, 2008
Return for Littleton Revealed
Texas received reliever BEAU VAUGHAN in return for reliever WES LITTLETON.
Vaughan is 27 and has faced a grand total of 49 batters above AA. That pretty much covers it.
He has a solid SO rate (25% during 2006-2008) and excels at keeping the ball in the park. Lefties hit .400 against him when they make contact and have a 13% walk rate. Maybe he can become a ROOGY.
Texas allegedly will get another player if Littleton makes Boston's active roster.
UPDATE: Originally typed "Beau Mills" instead of "Beau Vaughan." Don't I wish.
Posted by Lucas at 04:09 PM
December 10, 2008
One Man And His Five Tools Depart
Texas traded GERALD LAIRD to Detroit for pitchers GUILLERMO MOSCOSO and CARLOS MELO.
Through a combination of bad luck and his very averageness, Laird never enjoyed much job security. Anointed the #1 catcher entering 2004, Laird suffered an injury in mid-May that shelved him for two months. Rod Barajas assumed his role and, amazingly, didn’t surrender it until late in 2006. Then, in July 2007, Texas traded for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Entering his second year of arbitration after earning $1.6 million in 2008, Laird will earn about $7-8 million over the next two years. That’s a fair price for his services, but Texas should be able to replace him or even surpass him with some combination of Salty, Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez, all minimum-wage employees.
Baseball America recently ranked Moscoso 10th in Detroit’s (weak) minor-league system and fifth among pitchers. He’s a mess of contradictions. Good news: BA claimed he has the most upside of any starter in Detroit’s system outside of Rick Porcello and Casey Crosby. He fanned a gigantic 37% of opposing batters upon promotion to AA versus a 6% walk rate. His heater isn’t terribly fast but has great movement. Bad news: He just turned 25. His offspeed stuff is bland. Shoulder problems have limited him to no more than 91 innings in any season (excluding winter ball).
That description says “reliever� to me, though Texas intends to keep him in a starting role for the time being. Off the top of my head, I’d say he ranks somewhere in the high teens to lower twenties in Texas.
Melo is the “lottery ticket� (as described by Adam Morris), a 17-year-old Dominican who can touch 96. He signed at the same time as Texas’s increasingly heralded Martin Perez. He could be special… if he can climb six levels of minor-league ball.
Laird is worth about three wins per season compared to an entire season of, say, Sal Fasano or Guillermo Quiroz. He ranked 17th among catchers in Win Shares in 2008, 18th in 2007. As I said, Texas can replace his production, but whether the trade acquisition will ever be worth three wins in a season is another matter. Detroit took on the salary, while Texas absorbed the risk. This isn’t a bad trade, but I‘d hoped for a little better. There’s a pretty good chance its epitaph will be “Laird for nothing.�
Posted by Lucas at 03:45 PM
December 02, 2008
Transaction Rundown
Texas offered salary arbitration to OF MILTON BRADLEY and declined to offer to SP JASON JENNINGS, RP JAMEY WRIGHT, and IF RAMON VAZQUEZ.
Market conditions led to a surprising number of marquee free agents relinquished without arbitration offers. Texas decided to extend an offer to Bradley and will receive a supplemental 1st-round pick if he declines, which is probable. If the economic situation degrades further by the weekend, exacerbating the budget constraints suddenly affecting numerous franchises (or giving teams cover to constrain their budgets, if you’re cynically inclined), Bradley might change his mind.
That’s a mixed blessing. A one-year deal would suit Texas just fine. Bradley unquestionably improves the team, even if he doesn’t repeat his 2008. On the other hand, his presence in the outfield would relegate a potentially start-worthy outfielder (other than Josh Hamilton) to a bench role. If he’s mostly a DH, Texas might be compelled to say “oh Hank Blalock won’t you try third base again pretty please� or to play Blalock at first and Davis at third, neither of which serves the goal of improving Texas’s dreadful ’08 defense.
Not to mention further marginalizing Frank Catalanotto. Anyway…
Texas might pursue Jennings on a minor-league deal. Super, as long as he doesn’t get an out clause that precedes mid-May or so. If he insists on an Opening Day Or Split contract, there’s no point.
Vazquez will attempt to persuade some team that he’s swiped a jar of Rudy Jaramillo’s magic pixie dust; that is, he’s the next Mark Derosa, not the next Gary Matthews. Vazquez had a career line of .251/.319/.343 prior to 2008, so good luck with that.
Wright deserves mention in regard to the other transaction:
Texas traded reliever WES LITTLETON to Boston for future considerations (cash or up to two players to be named later).
Opponents hit .339/.411/.464 against Wright after July 1st. He was permitted to face 379 batters in 2008 while Wes Littleton burned his last option. Not that Littleton is The Answer, but still…
Posted by Lucas at 12:51 AM
November 21, 2008
40-Man Roster Additions, And A Trade
Texas added pitchers JOHN BANNISTER, WILLIE EYRE, and OMAR POVEDA and infielder JOSE VALLEJO to the 40-man roster. Texas also designated pitchers WES LITTLETON and KAMERON LOE for assignment.
Read here for my largely incorrect predictions of who would be added.
Texas has to be pleased that Vallejo made the decision to add him so easy. An absurdly fast and deft baserunner (131 steals vs. 21 caught in four seasons), Vallejo also made substantial progress at the plate in 2008. Yes, he played in better environments (Bakersfield and Frisco versus Clinton), but his 11 homers and 44 extra-base hits obliterated his previous bests of two and 23, respectively. He’s a fine 2B and might see action at short in the future.
I am pleased that Poveda made the cut, though the likelihood of him using all three options is pretty high. Arm soreness sidelined him for nearly two months after just his third start in 2008. He endured a rough summer, then finished the season with five terrific starts: 30 innings, 1.50 ERA, 15 walks, 33 strikeouts. Okay, the walks aren’t so hot. Still, performing at that level as a 20-year-old in the Cal League deserves praise. He’ll rank among the Texas League’s youngest in 2009.
The 24-year-old Bannister is the wild card. After missing 2007 with injury, he couldn’t find the plate as a starter (16% walk rate!), then showed improved control as a reliever (6.5%) even as his velocity ratcheted into the mid 90s. A respectable performance in the absurdly hitter-friendly Arizona Fall League (.268/.342/.451 against, 10% BB, 24% SO) perhaps clinched his addition. In my opinion, Bannister lacks Poveda’s ceiling but was more likely to be selected in the Rule 5 draft.
Eyre is 30 years old. In 127 MLB innings has a 5.23 ERA, an opposing line of .299/.372/.472, and an 11.7% strikeout rate. Texas signed Eyre to a minor-league deal in 2008 knowing he’d miss the entire year after Tommy John surgery, made him the oldest player in the Arizona Fall League by nearly three years, and added him to the 40 essentially at Littleton’s expense. I don’t know why. With Loe and Littleton gone and the 40-man roster full, he strikes me as the first choice for dismissal if a spot is needed for a free agent. Eyre can declare free agency if outrighted again.
Littleton never made an Opening Day roster and is out of options. Nevertheless, who looks more appealing to you?
| MLB Career | Age | Batters Faced | FIP | Opposing Line | HR% | BB% | SO% | GB% |
| Littleton | 26 | 423 | 4.67 | .239/.317/.349 | 2.1% | 8.7% | 13.0% | 60% |
| Eyre | 30 | 582 | 5.13 | .299/.372/.472 | 2.7% | 9.3% | 11.7% | 45% |
Littleton has a crazy-low BABIP that won’t last, but all the other peripherals point in his favor. While he had a 6.00 ERA for Texas this season, stripping just one of his 12 outings (an 0.2-inning, six-run debacle) drops it 3.12. It's no big deal, I suppose, but I think Littleton’s more likely than Eyre to be on an MLB roster in 2010. If not, hopefully I'll have learned something.
Loe wanted to start and was arbitration-eligible. Texas properly saw him as a reliever and probably wasn’t overjoyed at the impending salary increase, small thought it would be in the grand scheme of things. A Japanese team offered him a starting role, bought his rights from Texas, and everyone is happy. Unless he’s claimed on waivers. Loe doesn’t possess amazing stuff but is a determined competitor, and I wish him the best.
Texas traded outfielder JOHN MAYBERRY JR. to Philadelphia for outfielder GREG GOLSON.
One disappointment for another, as Texas relinquished the nearly assured blandness of Mayberry for the potential of Golson. Mayberry (19th overall, 2005) showed impressive power but otherwise failed to improve during his steady ascent through the minors. He’s never hit for average or drawn many walks, and at 25, his upside is limited. Philadelphia added him to its 40-man roster.
Golson (21st overall, 2004) likewise hasn’t advanced as hoped. Though a fine baserunner with moderate home-run prowess, his production is sabotaged by an atrocious batting eye that hasn’t improved an ounce in four years. Chris Davis might survive with a 5:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks. Golson won’t. He’s two years younger than Mayberry, can play center field, and is far toolsier. The Rangers win if they can instill in him some selectivity at the plate. A tall order.
Posted by Lucas at 01:20 PM
November 19, 2008
40 Man Roster Thoughts
The Rangers have three open spots on their 40-man roster, which is not to say that they can’t add four players or more. That would require clearing space via trade or waivers. Here’s my probabilities and thoughts on who Texas might add:
100%: Jose Vallejo. Book it. No thoughts necessary.
90%: John Mayberry. A year ago, I wrote that 2008 would be a watershed year for Mayberry, but little was actually resolved. Instead, he provided another year of good power offset by a vanilla batting average and walk rate. Mayberry has a 313 OBP above A-ball and turns 25 next month. Still, he’s shown enough to make the 40, and he’ll be nabbed in the Rule 5 draft if left off.
50%: Pedro Strop. Ironically, his stress fracture could make him more likely to be a Rule 5 selection, as the drafting team could stash him on the 15-day or 60-day disabled list next spring and buy some free evaluation time. Texas revealed its high opinion of Strop with a $90,000 contract, far above standard minor-league pay (mostly store-brand bologna and Diet Slice).
50%: Omar Poveda. The toughest decision, in my opinion, in terms of estimating the risk of him being swiped in the Rule 5 draft. Poveda just turned 22 and has yet to pitch in AA, not exactly a prime candidate for a Major League staff. On the other hand, he’s a legitimate prospect (albeit not in Texas’s top ten) and posted a 2.73 ERA and 24% strikeout rate in his last nine starts. A team that selected him in the Rule 5 draft would be doing so in the understanding that he’s essentially dead weight on the 2009 active roster. Texas could also leave him off the 40 and trade him before the Rule 5 draft, thus making the decision someone else’s problem.
10%: John Bannister. Bannister is throwing harder than ever and showed improved control after a move to the bullpen. Frankly, I’m having difficulty assessing the likelihood of him being added to Texas’s 40 or being a Rule 5 selection. My gut tells me neither is likely. Given the players I’ve already mentioned, Bannister’s addition could spell waivers for someone like Kam Loe, Wes Littleton, or perhaps Dustin Nippert. Is Bannister more likely to help a Major League roster than any of them?
5%: Willie Eyre. Since he’s in the AFL, I assume he’s already signed a 2009 minor-league contract with Texas. The Rangers thought enough of Eyre to sign him to a contract after 2007 despite an injury that shelved him for most of this year, so I suppose they would prefer not to lose him. That said, losing him would be only a mild aggravation, not a disaster. Pass.
5%: Ben Harrison. Harrison rebounded nicely from an injury-plagued 2007 and is raking in Venezuela. He’s already 27, which dims his long-term outlook greatly but wouldn’t terribly bother a team needing outfield depth.
5%: Michael Schlact. I can’t see Texas or any other team reserving a 40-man roster spot for him right now. In terms of his potential to establish a Major League career, I think he’s better off if this whole process bypasses him.
Some other Rule 5-eligibles: C/IF Emerson Frostad, 1B Ian Gac, RP Kea Kometani, OF Steve Murphy, C Kevin Richardson.
My call: Vallejo, Mayberry, and Strop. We’ll see how that compares to Jamey’s 40-Man Roster Conundrum when his book drops.
Posted by Lucas at 02:36 PM
August 16, 2008
Texas Rangers Eligible for Rule 5 Draft
Note: Players in italics can declare free agency
Drafted:
Fox, Adam (IF)
Frostad, Emerson (C/3)
Gac, Ian (1B)
Gold, Nate (1B)
Harrison, Ben (OF)
Herren, KC (OF)
Kometani, Kea (P)
Mayberry, John (OF)
Mehl, Truan (OF)
Meyer, Drew (IF)
Murphy, Steve (OF)
Rogers, Kyle (P)
Schlact, Michael (P)
Trade or Minor-League Rule 5 Acquisitions:
Cruz, Nelson (OF)
Gradoville, Tim (C)
Hamilton, Clayton (P)
Majewski, Dustin (OF)
Restko, J.T. (1/O)
Non-Drafted Free Agents:
Bannister, John (P)
Benjamin, Casey (IF)
Diaz, JB (P)
Dominguez, Carlos (C)
Giles, Josh (P)
Gomez, Mauro (1B)
Poveda, Omar (P)
Richardson, Kevin (C)
Rowe, Steve (P)
Santana, Julio (P)
Soto, Eleno (P)
Vallejo, Jose (2B)
Minor-League Free Agents (ALL can declare free agency):
Batista, Kendy (P)
Calero, Kiko (P)
Diaz, Joselo (P)
Eyre, Willie (P)
Flores, Adalberto (P)
Gonzalez, Alfredo (P)
Gordon, Brian (P)
Hodges, Trey (P)
Lee, Derek (P)
Maeda, Yukinaga (P)
Parker, Zach (P)
Pickett, Justin (C)
Puffer, Brandon (P)
Ragsdale, Corey (P)
Ramirez, Elizardo (P)
Roberts, Ryan (IF)
Trzesniak, Nick (C)
White, Bill (P)
Posted by Lucas at 11:21 AM
May 21, 2008
Loe Up, German Out
Texas recalled pitcher KAMERON LOE from AAA and designated pitcher FRANKLYN GERMAN for assignment.
An odd move, if not a consequential one. I wasn’t a big fan of German’s procurement of a roster spot, and he hasn’t pitched as well as his 2.08 ERA would suggest. That said, he’s been an adequate back-end to the bullpen. Also, I thought the point of a seven-man bullpen was to avoid the need for roster shuffling like this. Despite last night's blowout, Texas has five relievers capable of pitching tonight.
Loe hadn’t distinguished himself in AAA. He’s pitched a little better than his 5.14 ERA indicates, but aside from a nice 6.5% walk rate, his peripherals are ordinary. Frankly, I think Loe himself would be a candidate for assignment if the Rangers needed room on the 40-man roster (they don’t).
Posted by Lucas at 06:40 PM
May 14, 2008
Win Win
Posted by Lucas at 01:52 AM
April 30, 2008
Botts DFA'ed, Shelton and Boggs Up, Blalock DL'ed
Texas designated 1B/OF/DH JASON BOTTS for assignment, purchased the contract of 1B CHRIS SHELTON, placed 3B HANK BLALOCK on the 15-day DL, and recalled OF BRANDON BOGGS from AAA Oklahoma.
In terms of wins and losses in 2008 , it makes little difference whether Ben Broussard, Jason Botts, or Chris Shelton starts at first. Broussard was certain to be subadequate , Shelton had a stellar April 2005 and modest success at other times, and Jason Botts had yet to capitalize on the potential shown in his tremendous AAA performances. None is/was likely to be an above-average 1B in 2008. All that said, some semblance of a plan regarding these guys might have helped. This chain of events sure seems haphazard:
Nov 18, 2007 – Texas inquires about Broussard, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
Dec 5 – Shelton acquired for Freddy Guzman.
Dec 13 – Broussard acquired for Tug Hulett. Broussard is arbitration-eligible.
Jan 5, 2008 – Broussard gets $3.85 million in a pre-arb agreement.
Jan 14 – Shelton DFA’ed to make room for Kaz Fukumori. He clears and is assigned to AAA.
Mar 4 – Ron Washington declares Broussard an everyday player. Enthusiasm is not a plan!
Mar 25 – Botts makes the active roster without unanimity and despite no apparent role. I suggest he’ll be encased in carbonite at the end of the bench.
Mar 31 – Broussard starts against lefty Eric Bedard on Opening Day, batting 9th. No Rangers 1B had ever batted 9th on the first day of the season. Through April 29th, Broussard has batted 9th in 16 of his 21 starts.
Apr 10 – Botts makes his first start in the team’s ninth game. He has one plate appearance in the first eight games.
Apr 19 – Botts makes his third start. Texas has faced four lefties; Broussard faced the first two and Botts the next two. On the 21st, Ron Washington acknowledges that Botts will play more often after a meeting with Jon Daniels.
Apr 29 – Botts is designated for assignment after nine starts and 38 plate appearances. Shelton added to 40-man roster, active roster, and starting lineup.
Also: good for Boggs.
Posted by Lucas at 12:19 AM
April 04, 2008
Cruz Clears
Outfielder NELSON CRUZ cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA Oklahoma.
When 30 teams collectively say you’re not worthy of even a bench spot in the Majors, you might finally decide your batting won’t suffice. I thought Cruz would gain that insight when optioned last summer, but no such luck. It may not matter now. Cruz could win the rate-stat Triple Crown in the PCL.
Posted by Lucas at 08:02 AM
March 31, 2008
Final Transactions
Texas purchased the contracts of pitchers FRANKLYN GERMAN and JAMEY WRIGHT and catcher ADAM MELHUSE, optioned reliever WES LITTLETON to AAA Oklahoma, and designated pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA and outfielder NELSON CRUZ for assignment.
Dustin Nippert’s arrival sealed Tejeda’s fate, but Tejeda also lost out to non-roster invites Wright and German. Here’s an interesting comparison:
| -- | Pitcher A |
Pitcher B |
| MLB Career | ||
| ERA+ | 95 | 92 |
| HR% | 2.5% | 2.8% |
| BB% | 11.1% | 12.4% |
| SO% | 11.9% | 15.7% |
| 08 Spring | ||
| IP | 8.2 |
8.2 |
| H | 13 |
7 |
| HR | 0 |
1 |
| BB | 3 |
3 |
| SO | 5 |
8 |
Pitcher A has walked far too many people and doesn’t miss enough bats. Opponents batted .320/.370/.340 against him this spring.
Pitcher B is even wilder than Pitcher A but at least has produced a league-average K rate. He surrendered a .260/.309/.460 line in March.
“A� is Wright, “B� Tejeda. Aside from the homer that inflated his opposing slugging percentage, Tejeda pitched more effectively this spring and has comparable (if uninspiring) Major League results. Yet it was Wright who once again, for reasons not completely clear to me, secured a job in mid-March. Here’s one reason: despite the extra hits allowed, Wright pulled down a 3.11 ERA compared to Tejeda’s 6.23. Wright spread out the damage, Tejeda allowed baserunners in ugly clumps.
I don’t think it matters much whether Wright or Tejeda is mopping up. But I would point out that Wright’s 3.62 ERA was the result of some seemingly unrepeatable splits. Wright was terrible out of the gate (opponents batted .391/.475/.478 when leading off an inning) but brilliant with runners in scoring position (.188/.284/.325). He also walked more batters than he struck out. A more typical distribution of baserunners should push his ERA into the fives. Again, that doesn’t hurt much if he’s only pitching in blowouts. Still, I don’t think Tejeda’s any worse than Wright, and there’s still a small chance he might improve.
Jason Botts won the battle with Cruz and Kevin Mench, for which his reward will be encasement in carbonite at the end of Ron Washington’s bench. I maintain that Botts’s willingness to adjust indicates a possibility of success against Major League pitching, while Cruz’s stubborn “grip and rip� philosophy (even after demotion to AAA last summer) shows he’s topped out. Botts needs 197 MLB appearances to catch Cruz on the Tryout-o-meter.
German supposedly cured his wildness this spring, yet he ended up walking five of 39 batters faced (12.8%, actually substantially lower than his awful career rate of 16.4%).
Melhuse has adequate defensive skills (though nailing basestealers isn’t among them) and hasn’t hit a lick since 2004. He’s absolutely unsuitable as a fill-in if Laird gets hurt.
Posted by Lucas at 12:33 PM
March 28, 2008
Nippert Obtained
Texas traded minor-league reliever JOSE MARTE to Arizona for pitcher DUSTIN NIPPERT.
In 2007, Arizona was 80-46 in games in which Nippert didn’t appear, so clearly, the answer is to limit him to about five innings all year. Anyway…
The soon-to-be 27-year-old had a 5.56 ERA in 45 innings, but his opposing line was a tolerable .267/.327/.417. That indicates some ugly baserunner-clumping, and sure enough, Nippert allowed 30% of his season’s 30 runs in two consecutive appearances. His minor-league stats are all over the place, though he’s maintained a fine strikeout rate. Is he an improvement over Robinson Tejeda? Maybe. Probably won’t make much difference one way or the other. Both players are out of options.
Marte is big, hard thrower. Only two years younger than Nippert, he has yet to clear A ball. In 2007, he struck out 27% of opposing batters… and walked 17%. Neither Jamey Newberg nor I ranked him among Texas’s top 72 prospects.
Posted by Lucas at 10:04 PM
February 08, 2008
TEXAS RANGERS 40-MAN TREE
ACQUIRED IN TRADE
JOAQUIN ARIAS
---- Alex Rodriguez (Major League free agent, signed 2001)
BEN BROUSSARD
---- Tug Hulett (14th round, 2004)
NELSON CRUZ
---- Francisco Cordero
-------- Juan Gonzalez (undrafted free agent, signed 1986)
-------- Danny Patterson (47th round, 1989)
-------- Gregg Zaun (traded for no one, 1998)
---- Kevin Mench (4th round, 1999)
---- Laynce Nix (4th round, 2000)
FRANK FRANCISCO
---- Carl Everett
-------- Darren Oliver (3rd round, 1988)
KASON GABBARD
---- Eric Gagne (Major League free agent, signed 2007)
MATT HARRISON
---- Mark Teixeira (1st round, 2001)
---- Ron Mahay (minor-league free agent, signed 2003)
JOSH HAMILTON
---- Danny Ray Herrera (45th round, 2006)
---- Edinson Volquez (undrafted free agent, 2001)
GERALD LAIRD
---- Carlos Pena (1st round, 1998)
---- Mike Venafro (29th round, 1995)
BRANDON MCCARTHY
---- John Danks (1st round, 2003)
---- Nick Masset (8 th round, 2000)
LUIS MENDOZA
---- Bryan Corey (minor-league free agent, 2006)
DAVID MURPHY
---- Eric Gagne (Major League free agent, signed 2007)
VICENTE PADILLA
---- Ricardo Rodriguez
-------- Ryan Ludwick
------------ Carlos Pena (1st round, 1998)
------------ Mike Venafro (29th round, 1995)
MAX RAMIREZ
---- Kenny Lofton (Major League free agent, signed 2007)
JOHN RHEINECKER
---- Juan Dominguez (undrafted free agent, signed 1999)
JOSH RUPE
---- Carl Everett
-------- Darren Oliver (3rd round, 1988)
JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA
---- Mark Teixeira (1st round, 2001)
---- Ron Mahay (minor-league free agent, signed 2003)
ROBINSON TEJEDA
---- David Dellucci (minor-league free agent, signed 2004)
MICHAEL YOUNG
---- Esteban Loaiza
-------- Warren Morris (5th round,1996)
-------- Todd Van Poppel (minor league free agent, signed 1997)
RANGER LIFERS
OMAR BELTRE (undrafted free agent, 2000)
BRANDON BOGGS (4th round, 2004)
JULIO BORBON (1st round supplemental, 2007)
JOAQUIN BENOIT (undrafted free agent, signed 1996)
THOMAS DIAMOND (1st round, 2004)
HANK BLALOCK (3rd round, 1999)
JASON BOTTS (46th round, 1999)
SCOTT FELDMAN (30th round, 2003)
IAN KINSLER (17th round, 2003)
WES LITTLETON (4th round, 2003)
KAMERON LOE (20th round, 2001)
TRAVIS METCALF (11th round, 2004)
A.J. MURRAY (19th round, 2000)
C.J. WILSON (5th round, 2001)
FREE AGENTS
MILTON BRADLEY (Major League free agent, signed 2008)
MARLON BYRD (Major League free agent, signed 2007)
FRANK CATALANOTTO (Major League free agent, signed 2007)
KAZ FUKUMORI (Major League free agent, signed 2008)
EDDIE GUARDADO (Major League free agent, signed 2008)
JASON JENNINGS (Major League free agent, signed 2008)
WARNER MADRIGAL (Major League free agent, signed 2008)
KEVIN MILLWOOD (Major League free agent, signed 2006)
RAMON VAZQUEZ (minor-league free agent, signed 2007)
OTHER ACQUISITIONS
ALEXI OGANDO (minor-league Rule 5 pickup, 2005)
Note: Year of signing = season to which signing first applies. For example, Milton Bradley is listed as "signed 2008" though he signed in December 2007)
Posted by Lucas at 02:16 AM
February 05, 2008
Galarraga Traded
Texas traded pitcher ARMANDO GALARRAGA to Detroit for outfielder MICHAEL HERNANDEZ.
The good news is Hernandez hit 20 homers and slugged .469 in 116 games for high-A Lakeland last year. That’s legitimate power – the Florida State League smothers hitters, and Lakeland’s home park depresses homers even relative to the league. The bad news is he has a career OBP of .320 and has spent an alarming number of games at DH.
In truth, the genuine good news is that when he’s eventually released, it won’t be newsworthy enough for even an agate-type mention in the local papers. Thus, the A-Rod saga is effectively over, personnel-wise, as far as Texas is concerned. Said saga will likely be Tom Hicks’s epitaph in baseball unless the Rangers do some serious damage in the next few years.
Update: Duh. Joaquin Arias is still around. Penalty box for me.
Posted by Lucas at 12:35 PM
January 26, 2008
Galarraga DFA'ed
Texas designated pitcher ARMANDO GALARRAGA for assignment.
Disappointing, but dismissal of any of the potential candidates – Galarraga, Scott Feldman, Robinson Tejeda, perhaps Josh Rupe or John Rheinecker – would have left a bitter taste. Galarraga’s is slightly more bitter because he represents the vestige of and final hope for payback from the Alfonso Soriano trade.
Galarraga rebounded from a dismal, injury-plagued 2006 and seemed to have an outside shot at a bullpen role. He still has an option left, so the chance of clearing waivers is quite small. For the first time since mid-December, it seems, Texas’s 40’man roster is not in limbo.
I’m going to walk out on a thin limb and say that Robinson Tejeda makes the rotation.
Posted by Lucas at 03:55 PM
January 12, 2008
Wright, Melhuse Signed
Texas signed pitcher JAMEY WRIGHT and catcher ADAM MELHUSE to minor-league contracts.
Both moves appears harmless, but I’m a worrywart, as these aren’t truly “no-risk� signings. The risk is that they could make the team based on their Proven Veteran-ness, and play terribly.
I assume they’ll have clauses allowing them to leave by April if they aren’t on the active roster. Both can play their way to Arlington with a hot spring. Sounds implausible, but Jamey Wright did just that in 2007. A couple of solid outings and management was talking about how hard it would be to lose him. Really! Jamey Wright, who’d been released or denied arbitration ten times in thirteen years.
Wright did in fact pitch adequately last year, but the foundation of his success was awfully shaky. He allowed a .475 OBP to the first batter of an inning and was third in percentage of double-play situations permitted among all pitchers with 60 innings. A high percentage is common among good relievers, but Wright rarely entered with men on base. He inherited only six runners all season. On the upside, he induced a double play once per 20 batters faced and permitted a miniscule lie of 188/.287/.325 with runners in scoring position, but it’s hard to believe either is sustainable.
So, Wright spent much of 2007 pitching himself into and out of double-play situations. In the long run, that’s trouble. There are exceptions, but in general the pitchers with the highest percentage of double-play situations were pretty lousy (MLB leader: Vicente Padilla). 2007 seems like a one-shot deal, particularly for a pitcher who walked more batters than he struck out for the fifth time.
As for the other guy, Melhuse last posted a .300 OBP in 2004, was never much defensively, and turns 36 in a couple of months. Ron Washington extolled Melhuse’s leadership ability when first acquired in 2007. Meaning, there’s a chance Melhuse could lead his way to 150 plate appearances with a line of .220/.260/.300.
Having an insurance backup catcher is necessary, of course. I just have a hard time believing Melhuse is the best option.
I’m probably making way too much of this, but I haven’t written much lately.
Posted by Lucas at 12:31 PM
Guardado Signed
Texas signed reliever EDDIE GUARDADO to a one-year contract.
Eddie says:
I love closing. Pitching the seventh and eighth inning is great, but there is something about the ninth that's unbelievable…. If C.J. is the closer, I'm still going to be there. I'm going to be ready to pitch whether it's the eighth or ninth inning.
Or the sixth. Guardado turned 37 last fall. Even if he recovers fully from Tommy John surgery, he may not have a full tank. Texas will discover how full, then use him accordingly (I hope). At the least, he’s almost assuredly a LOOGY upgrade over John Rheinecker, which is good news to everyone but Rheinecker.
Posted by Lucas at 12:29 PM
White Released
Texas waived reliever BILL WHITE.
White strikes out a ton of hitters and walks nearly as many. He shouldn’t be too upset at getting released; Texas did give him his union card and lock in respectable pay for the rest of his career. He might re-sign a minor-league deal.
Posted by Lucas at 12:28 PM
December 22, 2007
Hamilton For Volquez
Texas traded pitchers EDINSON VOLQUEZ and DANNY RAY HERRERA to Cincinnati for outfielder JOSH HAMILTON.
Jon Daniels loves the Christmas surprise. On December 20, 2005, Texas consummated the infamous Eaton/Otsuka-for-Young/Gonzalez deal. On December 23, 2006, the Rangers completed the notorious (but not infamous) McCarthy-for-Danks trade. Now this.
I uneasily endorse this trade. That is to say, my anxiety about Volquez becoming a quality rotation figure is slightly higher than about Hamilton washing out. It’s a risky play for both teams. Texas just traded its third young and promising starter in three years, but Hamilton could become the best centerfielder in franchise history.
More thoughts later…
Posted by Lucas at 01:13 AM
December 13, 2007
Broussard Acquired
Texas traded infielder TIM HULETT JR. to Seattle for 1B BEN BROUSSARD.
So why bother trading a quasi-prospect like Hulett if Texas isn’t competing in 2008? Well, that sort of thinking can become too reductive; Texas does have to field a team next year. Broussard has a Major League bat, albeit a limited one, and could provide twenty homers as the fat side of a 1B platoon with Chris Shelton for $4.5 million or so (the righty Shelton has a reverse split but still surpasses Broussard against lefties). Fond as I am of Hulett, he projects as a 5th infielder on his best day and 6th on the rest.
It’s a nice little trade, though one that drives home the organization’s honest but depressingly modest expectations for next season. It also firmly situates Jarrod Saltalamacchia behind the plate (in Oklahoma, if not Texas) and preemptively quashes Nate Gold’s Spring Training dreams of breaking camp with the big boys.
Posted by Lucas at 08:25 AM
Otsuka Non-Tendered
Texas declined to offer a contract to reliever AKINORI OTSUKA. Texas offered contracts to catcher GERALD LAIRD and outfielder MARLON BYRD.
Just when you thought the Young/Gonzalez trade couldn’t look any worse…
The months-long mystery of “How badly hurt is Otsuka?� deepened in the worst possible way (short of Tommy John surgery). Apparently he’s healthy but still not throwing off a mound, and Texas didn’t want to commit $5 million to a 35-year-old question mark. Texas probably wanted (and still wants) to sign him to an incentive-based deal unworkable under arbitration-based minimum salary rules.
I can’t review the available information and claim that Texas made a mistake. But that doesn’t make me any happier. Incidentally, I don’t think the non-tender had anything to do with Otsuka’s recommendation that Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome sign with San Diego.
2008 just got a little more depressing.
Posted by Lucas at 08:24 AM
Gorneault DFA'ed
Texas designated outfielder NICK GORNEAULT for assignment.
Pass.
Posted by Lucas at 08:13 AM
December 09, 2007
Bradley Signs
Texas signed outfielder MILTON BRADLEY to a one-year contract for $5 million plus incentives, pending a physical.
A worthwhile dice roll. Bradley has serious on-base skills (never below .350 during 2003-2007 and a 114 OBP+ during that span) and some pop (110 SLG+ during the same period). The 29-year-old has also qualified for the batting title only once, been traded three times in-season, and will be joining his sixth team in eight years. Indeed, Oakland designated him for assignment in June before shifting him to San Diego.
Bradley’s played a strong majority of his career in center but is probably suited to a corner at this point, particularly since he’ll be coming off ACL surgery.
Posted by Lucas at 11:22 AM
December 05, 2007
Freddy Guzman Traded
Texas traded outfielder FREDDY GUZMAN to Detroit for a player to be named later.
I can’t find a transaction post on my site from when Texas acquired him for OF/1B Vince Sinisi and pitcher John Hudgins in May 2006. Here’s what I wrote for ESPN:
Texas recently acquired outfielder Freddy Guzman from San Diego for a couple of minor leaguers. The Rangers will send him to AAA initially but may ask him to replace backup outfielder Adrian Brown before long. Guzman has decent on-base skills, zero power, and ferocious speed: 166 steals versus 30 caught in 249 minor-league games. Guzman might provide a little help in AL-only leagues if a Ranger starting outfielder suffers an injury. Keep his name if the back of your head. A true center fielder by trade, Guzman’s arrival would appear to dump water on the smoking embers of Laynce Nix’s fantasy value.
I remember favoring the trade. Guzman appeared to be a solid 4th OF candidate while Sinisi and Hudgins had stalled.
Guzman continued to post decent numbers in Oklahoma but never did anything to force a serious look on the MLB roster. He’s out of options and had little chance of making the ’08 squad even with lackluster competition in the outfield. Sinisi, meanwhile, has re-established his credentials as a 4th OF prospect, and Hudgins pitched in the Arizona Fall League (and was pummeled) after a lost year following Tommy John surgery.
With 39 players on its roster, Texas can participate in the Rule 5 draft.
Posted by Lucas at 05:55 PM
November 21, 2007
Vazquez Signs
Texas signed infielder RAMON VAZQUEZ to a one-year contract for $810,000. Vazquez was arbitration-eligible.
Last year, Vazquez was a fifth infielder who started 85 games and had 345 appearances subbing for various injured infielders, mostly Hank Blalock. Ideally, he’s a sixth infielder regardless of whether infielders #1-#5 are healthy, and not a terrible signing as long as he’s limited to 25 starts and/or 150 plate appearances from the bottom of the order. And if Texas pulls a “sign and cut� a la John Wasdin and Rick Bauer, well, who cares.
Posted by Lucas at 05:29 PM
November 19, 2007
Texas Rule-5 Eligibles
Pitchers
Kevin Altman (2003 draft)
John Bannister (2002 free agent)
Kendy Batista (2008 free agent)
Bear Bay (2002 draft pick by Cubs)
Jesse Ingram (2004 draft)
Jose Marte (2004 free agent)
Brandon Puffer (2008 free agent)
Julio Santana (2002 free agent)
Scott Shoemaker (2004 fee agent)
Steven Rowe (2002 free agent)
Catchers
Kevin Richardson (2002 free agent)
Infielders
Casey Benjamin (2003 free agent)
Jim Fasano (2004 draft)
Adam Fox (2003 draft)
Emerson Frostad (2003 draft)
Micah Furtado (2003 draft)
Ian Gac (2003 draft)
Nate Gold (2002 draft)
Mauro Gomez (2003 free agent)
Tug Hulett (2004 draft)
Drew Meyer (2002 draft)
Ryan Roberts (2008 free agent)
Freddie Thon (2004 draft)
Outfielders
Ben Harrison (2004 draft)
Keven Mahar (2004 free agent)
Posted by Lucas at 08:56 PM
40-man Roster Additions
Texas added pitchers THOMAS DIAMOND and MATT HARRISON, catcher MAX RAMIREZ, outfielder BRANDON BOGGS to the 40-man roster.
No surprises. Teams might sniff reliever Jesse Ingram, utlility infielder Tug Hulett, or perhaps 1B Nate Gold, but I doubt anyone will take the bait.
For a list of Rule-5 eligibles, look up.
Reviewing the Rundown archives, I see that four years ago, Texas added pitchers EDWIN MORENO and NICK REGILIO, 1B ADRIAN GONZALEZ, and 2B JASON BOURGEOIS. That didn’t work out so well.
Texas also designated outfielder VICTOR DIAZ for assignment.
Texas appears to think less of Diaz than Freddy Guzman or Nick Gorneault. Ouch. I don’t know about that, but, sad to say, his loss won’t affect the team’s short or long-term outlook.
The 40-man is full.
Posted by Lucas at 08:55 PM
October 15, 2007
Reinstatements and Deletions
Texas reinstated pitchers WILLIE EYRE and AKINORI OTSUKA and infielder JOAQUIN ARIAS from the 60-day Disabled List. Texas also designated pitchers EYRE and MIKE WOOD, catcher CHRIS STEWART, and outfielder KEVIN MAHAR for assignment.
Having been designated previously, Wood could and did elect free agency. He might latch on somewhere as a passable middle reliever. Most likely, he’ll be an insurance policy. The other three return to the minors and will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft. None will be selected.
The 40-man roster now contains exactly 40 players. Jerry Hairston, Sammy Sosa, Brad Wilkerson and Jamey Wright will presumably depart via free agency, and Brandon Boggs, Thomas Diamond, Matt Harrison, and Max Ramirez have a sporting chance of replacing them. Thus, any free-agent acquisitions will demand additional cuts or trades.
Bill White and Freddy Guzman strike me as the next targets for designation. Guzman would probably be a tolerable 5th outfielder (particularly as a pinch-runner/defensive replacement for Jason Botts and similarly equipped outfielders), but… meh, it’s Freddy Guzman.
Posted by Lucas at 11:46 PM
September 07, 2007
Rule 5 Eligibles and Six-Year Minor-League Free Agents
I’ve tried my best to be thorough, but I’m not going to mislead you by saying these lists are authoritative.
RULE FIVE ELIGIBLES
In essence, players who signed in 2004 and were at least 19 years old and all other players who signed in 2003 or earlier are eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The rules are more complex, but I don’t want to crush your spirit with a full explanation.
Players already on the 40-man roster aren’t eligible. This list excludes potential minor-league free agents (see below).
Pitchers
Kevin Altman (2003 draft)
John Bannister (2002 free agent)
Bear Bay (2002 draft pick by Cubs)
Thomas Diamond (2004 draft)
Matt Harrison (2003 draft pick by Braves)
Jesse Ingram (2004 draft)
Julio Santana (2002 free agent)
Scott Shoemaker (2004 fee agent)
Steven Rowe (2002 free agent)
Catchers
Max Ramirez (2002 free agent)
Kevin Richardson (2002 free agent)
Infielders
Casey Benjamin (2003 free agent)
Jim Fasano (2004 draft)
Adam Fox (2003 draft)
Emerson Frostad (2003 draft)
Micah Furtado (2003 draft)
Ian Gac (2003 draft)
Nate Gold (2002 draft)
Mauro Gomez (2003 free agent)
Luke Grayson (2002 draft)
Tug Hulett (2004 draft)
Drew Meyer (2002 draft)
Freddie Thon (2004 draft)
Outfielders
Brandon Boggs (2004 draft)
Ben Harrison (2004 draft)
SIX-YEAR MINOR-LEAGUE FREE AGENTS
The “six� in “six-year free agent� refers to annual contract renewals, not seasons, so players who signed in 2002 and are completing their sixth seasons (Nate Gold, for example) aren’t eligible.
Pitchers
Ezequiel Astacio
Chris Baker
Michael Bumstead
Bruce Chen
Ken Chenard
Francisco Cruceta
Franklyn German
Jose Jaimes
Derek Lee
Jose Marte
Brandon Puffer
Scott Rice
Alfredo Simon
Jorge Vasquez
Randy Williams
Catchers
Salomon Manriquez
Infielders
Dave Matranga
Desi Relaford
Outfielders
Anthony Webster
Kevin West
OTHER POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS
Players who have been previously released can become free agents irrespective of the service time requirement. These players appear to fit that criterion.
SP Kendy Batista
RP Ryan Knippschild
C Reese Creswell
Posted by Lucas at 04:56 PM
August 16, 2007
Updates
40-man, org chart and draft list updated.
Posted by Lucas at 01:57 PM
August 15, 2007
McCarthy Out, Padilla Back
Texas activated pitcher VICENTE PADILLA from the 15-day Disabled List and placed pitcher BRANDON MCCARTHY on the same.
Apparently, McCarthy’s been battling pain for almost three months, but the injury, a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade, wasn’t discovered until Tuesday. Originally presumed to be a season-ending, he might miss only a couple of weeks and make a small handful of September starts.
Padilla was uniformly dreadful in his rehab outings but pitched well against Kansas City. Go figure.
Posted by Lucas at 11:56 PM
August 04, 2007
Other Transactions
Texas recalled reliever A.J. MURRAY from AAA Oklahoma and designated infielder DESI RELAFORD for assignment.
Texas recalled outfielder JASON BOTTS and reliever WES LITTLETON from AAA Oklahoma and optioned 3B TRAVIS METCALF and reliever SCOTT FELDMAN to AAA.
I’m not especially optimistic that Jason Botts will succeed in the Majors *, but he most definitely deserves an opportunity. If he fails, so be it. Better to find out now than wait until next March and have his future decided by 60 at-bats against a grab-bag of pitchers loosening their arms.
* Not to say I’m pessimistic, either. Somewhere in between.
Posted by Lucas at 11:17 AM
Thoughts On The Gagne Trade
Texas traded reliever ERIC GAGNE to Boston for pitcher KASON GABBARD, outfielder DAVID MURPHY, and outfielder ENGEL BELTRE.
Pretend that Texas led the AL West in late July and needed an ace reliever for the stretch run. Also pretend that Texas had a surfeit of starting pitching (use all your imagination). If Texas traded Kam Loe, Kevin Mahar, and Cristian Santana for Eric Gagne, how would you feel? (Maybe not a great comparison – Texas really doesn’t have an analog for Beltre -- but I think I’m in range. Your mileage may vary.) I’d miss Loe a bit, and I’d worry about Santana. But on the whole, I’d be happy with the GM.
As a fan on the receiving end of the prospects, I’m a bit underwhelmed. No, Gagne couldn’t hope to bring Teixeira’s bounty, but even if the Red Sox collapse, what are the odds that they miss any of these players?
Gabbard’s a ground-ball specialist and a lefty, two prized attributes in Arlington, but his 3.65 ERA in 67 Major-League innings rests on an unsustainable .265 BABIP. Indeed, his brief MLB career contradicts his run through the minors, which has consisted mostly of harsh beatings whenever he advanced a level followed by eventual, moderate success. He’s also already undergone four elbow surgeries. I worry that he’ll eventually reside in that Tweener Zone occupied by Mike Wood, John Rheinecker, John Koronka, and the like.
Maybe Gabbard evolves into a decent #4 starter. I hope so. Regardless, this statement…
Gabbard, who has a 1.12 WHIP and has held opponents to a .196 batting average this season, immediately becomes the Rangers' best young starting pitcher. Put him at the front of a line that includes Kam Loe, Brandon McCarthy and Eric Hurley.
…tells you all you need to know about the Dallas Morning News’s Tim MacMahon.
Outfielder David Murphy has yet to justify his 17th-overall selection in the 2003 draft. Murphy spent three years at Baylor, has never been young for his level, and has a career minor-league line of .273/.343/.407. He’s never slugged better than .447 or achieved 15 homers in a season. His OBP, while acceptable, won’t mitigate the lack of power. He appears to add a fourth outfielder to an organization already swimming in them.
The wild card, very wild, is Beltre, a 17-year-old outfielder fresh out of the Dominican Republic. Beltre received the tenth-highest International signing bonus in 2006 ($75,000 above Texas’s Emmanuel Solis) and is among the most highly regarded of that class. Baseball America described him as “loaded with tools� and possessing a “huge ceiling� but also “raw� and “years away from the Majors.� An 0-13 skid dropped him to .208/.310/.400 in the Gulf Coast League. To the tiny extent that rookie-level stats have meaning, he’s shown good power (five homers in 137 appearances), adequate patience (8% walk rate) and a scarifying strikeout rate (30%). Beltre’s the one to watch in this deal.
Finally, I’m astonished that the Yankees didn’t top Boston’s offer.
Posted by Lucas at 11:11 AM
July 27, 2007
Lofton Traded
Texas has traded outfielder KENNY LOFTON to Cleveland for catcher MAX RAMIREZ. Texas also recalled outfielder NELSON CRUZ from AAA Oklahoma.
A nice return for two months of a 40-year-old outfielder. Lofton fulfilled his role perfectly, which was to produce at a respectable rate for a good team or serve as worthy trade bait for a bad one.
Ramirez has a career minor-league line of .306/.407/.494, though he’s never been young at any level. He’s currently hitting .303/.418/.505 in the high-A Carolina League, which is significantly less hitter-friendly than the Cal League he’ll join. Good contact, great eye, decent power… and dubious defensive skills. There’s question of whether he can get by as a catcher, and he’d make an awfully short first baseman (5-11).
He’s not on the 40-man roster now but must be added this winter or face the Rule 5 draft. He’ll be added.
To my mild surprise, Cruz gets another shot. He destroyed Triple-A pitching, as is his wont, but only a few days ago his manager noted that he still chases too many bad pitches. I’m skeptical.
Posted by Lucas at 06:38 PM
July 14, 2007
Teixeira Back, Diaz Down
Texas activated 1B MARK TEIXEIRA from the 15-day Disabled List and optioned outfielder VICTOR DIAZ to AAA Oklahoma.
See below.
Posted by Lucas at 10:39 AM
July 10, 2007
Koronka Gone
Cleveland claimed pitcher JOHN KORONKA off waivers.
I saw Koronka pitch in Round Rock last August. Aside from a Jason Hirsh start, his performance was the most impressive I saw that year at the Dell Diamond. In seven innings he allowed two runs, walked one, and struck out twelve. He exhibited confidence, pinpoint control, and a revelatory changeup. The Express hitters guessed wrong most of the night and swung at air repeatedly. Texas called him up again, whereupon he reverted to his nibbling worst.
Cub Town’s Derek Smart nailed it back in 2005:
Congratulations to John Koronka on his first Major League victory, although in the interest of full disclosure, I found his outing less than inspiring. His early success looked to have more to do with the Dodgers' lack of familiarity than with any great show of competence on Koronka's part, and it showed the second time through the order as the Dodgers started to get after him more consistently.
His fastball was sans giddyap, and his breaking pitches didn't have the sharp bite of effectiveness. The change-up was his most effective pitch, although it wasn't the sort of ball that gives hitters fits. It was a solid turn, good enough to keep the team in the game, which is the most anyone could hope for, but it wasn't the type of work that would give me confidence enough to request a return visit.
Koronka's is the sort of stuff that is destined to be overmatched with prolonged Major League exposure, and barring abject need, it's a game that he and the Cubs should refrain from questioning, put in their pocket, and walk away from post-haste.
Posted by Lucas at 10:05 AM
July 08, 2007
Tejeda Down, Littleton Up
Texas optioned pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA to AAA Oklahoma and recalled reliever WES LITTLETON from AAA.
A temporary move until Texas needs Tejeda to start again. He's been awful all season.
Posted by Lucas at 06:58 PM
July 02, 2007
McCarthy Up, Kinsler Out
Texas activated pitcher BRANDON MCCARTHY from the Disabled List and placed 2B IAN KINSLER on the 15-day Disabled List.
Someday soon the Rangers lineup may include Jamey Wright, Ramon Vazquez and Desi Relaford. And I will weep quietly.
Posted by Lucas at 10:42 PM
July 01, 2007
Desimania!
Texas added infielder DESI RELAFORD to the 40-man roster and recalled him from AAA Oklahoma. Texas optioned reliever SCOTT FELDMAN to AAA. The Rangers also designated pitcher JOHN KORONKA for assignment.
With ten nominal outfielders on the roster, I expected Freddy Guzman to get the boot. However, a dealing Mike Wood and healthy John Rheinecker have supplanted Koronka in terms of filling the emergency starter role.
The active roster now contains Relaford, Ramon Vazquez, and Jerry Hairston. Good times. Relaford can play everywhere but can’t hit anywhere.
Posted by Lucas at 12:49 PM
June 26, 2007
Padilla Down, Feldman Up
Texas placed pitcher VICENTE PADILLA on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled reliever SCOTT FELDMAN from AAA Oklahoma.
Padilla's been hurt all year, apparently. Lovely.
Posted by Lucas at 12:37 AM
June 17, 2007
Wright Activated, Litteton Optioned
On Saturday, Texas activated pitcher JAMEY WRIGHT from the Disabled List, optioned reliever WES LITTLETON to AAA, and activated pitcher JOSH RUPE before transferring him to the 60-day Disabled List.
Posted by Lucas at 11:44 AM
June 15, 2007
Mahay Returns, Feldman Down
Texas activated reliever RON MAHAY from the 15-day Disabled List and optioned reliever SCOTT FELDMAN to AAA.
Mahay hadn’t pitched very well in rehab. He has a 3.86 ERA in the Majors… and a 1.65 WHIP… and 15 walks in 16 innings pitched.
Posted by Lucas at 06:34 PM
June 14, 2007
McCarthy Down, Loe Up
Texas placed pitcher BRANDON MCCARTHY on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled pitcher KAMERON LOE from AAA.
I hope all that time Loe spent in Oklahoma working on his offspeed pitches will pay off.
Posted by Lucas at 12:54 PM
June 09, 2007
Melhuse Acquired
Texas has acquired catcher ADAM MELHUSE from Oakland for cash considerations and has optioned catcher CHRIS STEWART to AAA.
Jason Kendall is the worst hitter in baseball even when accounting for his starting position, and now Oakland’s backup is a true-rookie 23-year-old who was hitting.280/.351/.365 in AAA. Kendall, as before, will rest less often than any catcher in baseball despite his spectacular inadequacy (.197 with a 4% walk rate and an isolated power of .010).
Melhuse won’t supplant Laird but will play more often than Stewart, who started 11 games in 10 weeks. He had a couple of good hitting seasons in 2003-2004 but hasn’t done much since. As reported in the DMN, he’ll “tutor and push� Laird.
Melhuse will be arbitration-eligible after the season.
Posted by Lucas at 11:43 PM
Teixeira Hurt, Loe Down, Wilkerson and Metcalf Up
Texas has placed 1B MARK TEIXEIRA on the 15-day Disabled List and optioned pitcher KAMERON LOE to AAA Oklahoma. Texas has activated outfielder BRAD WILKERSON from the DL and recalled 3B TRAVIS METCALF from AA.
Strained quad. Teixeira hasn’t missed a game since May 20, 2004. He’s batting .302/.405/.554; other Rangers non-pitchers were batting .248/.313/.413 coming into Saturday’s game. That’s an OPS+ of 88.
Demoting Loe to Triple-A is actually a vote of confidence. Texas really wants to see if he came become a viable starting pitcher, so he’ll work on his offspeed stuff in Oklahoma.
Ron Washington says Travis Metcalf will play, not sit. We’ll see. Ramon Vasquez has predictably cooled off (.197/.237/.222 in his last two weeks) after a stellar first few days, so Metcalf might not represent much of a dropoff.
Posted by Lucas at 11:20 PM
June 08, 2007
Hairston Up, Rheino Down
Texas activated utility guy JERRY HAIRSTON from the 15-day Disabled List and optioned pitcher JOHN RHEINECKER to AAA.
Noted for the record. Not having Hairston and Kata on the same roster is progress. Tiny progress, but progress.
Posted by Lucas at 01:04 AM
June 05, 2007
Hairston and Rheino Up, Cruz Down, Kata Out
Texas activated infielder JERRY HAIRSTON from the 15-day Disabled List and pitcher JOHN RHEINECKER from the 60-day DL. Texas optioned outfielder NELSON CRUZ to AAA Oklahoma and designated utility guy MATT KATA for assignment.
Welcome to the end of Nelson Cruz’s Major League career. Well, not the end, but as a soon-to-be 27-year old who failed a pretty lengthy trial stretching back to last August, he’s almost certainly done as a regular. Sure, there’s talk about him “making adjustments� and whatnot in Oklahoma, but really, he’s done.
That said, I still think the quasi-blockbuster Lee/Cruz for Cordero/Mench/Nix trade holds up. Cordero has pitched brilliantly, of course, but Mench is basically an expensive ($3.4 million) and ineffective (.285/.285/.417; 1 walk all season!) platoon outfielder, and Nix was dead as a prospect before the trade. With this trade, Texas tried, and failed, to make a run for the postseason last year but didn’t get burned too badly in the process. That’s a tolerable outcome.
As for Kata, here’s what I wrote on April 1st: “The surprise, in terms of incoming expectations, is Byrd, who only needed to beat out NRI Matt Kata for a roster spot and could not. Byrd would have made a fine fifth outfielder and 25th man.� And on May 27th, “Byrd ought to make one of Jerry Hairston or Matt Kata superfluous.� So I guess it worked out in the long run. Props to Kata for the hot spring that earned him two months of an MLB salary. The question is why Texas thought that hot spring was more indicative of his future than his career MLB line of .248/.308/.392 in 550 PAs or his line of .286/.325/.430 in 900 AAA appearances.
Posted by Lucas at 06:50 PM
June 01, 2007
Millwood Returns
Texas has activated pitcher KEVIN MILLWOOD from the 15-day Disabled List and optioned pitcher JOHN KORONKA to AAA.
Ideally, Millwood's stay on the active roster will last longer than an hour.
Posted by Lucas at 06:37 PM
May 31, 2007
Transaction
Texas optioned pitcher MIKE WOOD to AAA and recalled pitcher JOHN KORONKA from AAA.
Happened Wednesday. Just posting for the record.
Posted by Lucas at 11:46 PM
May 28, 2007
Wood Up, Feldman Down
Texas has recalled pitcher MIKE WOOD from AAA Oklahoma and optioned reliever SCOTT FELDMAN to AAA.
Wood is up for one of his spot starts. I’d guess that presently DL-ed Ron Mahay will replace him in a day or so. Oklahoma has only three true starting pitchers at the moment: John Koronka, Alfredo Simon (who has an 8.37 ERA) and rehabbing John Rheinecker.
I know Texas wouldn’t promote Eric Hurley from AA purely on that basis, but he sure seems ready to handle the challenge.
Posted by Lucas at 12:21 PM
May 27, 2007
Byrd Up, Mahar Down, Ojeda Out
Texas added outfielder MARLON BYRD to the 40-man and active rosters, optioned outfielder KEVIN MAHAR to AAA Oklahoma, and designated catcher MIGUEL OJEDA for assignment.
Back on April 1st I wrote that “Byrd would have made a fine fifth outfielder and 25th man.� Eight weeks later, he will. Byrd ought to make one of Jerry Hairston or Matt Kata superfluous, but he may not possess the precise combination of positional versatility and weak hitting that Texas demands in a bench player. He almost certainly won’t accept another outright assignment.
I know Ojeda has been designated previously, but I don’t know if he’s been outrighted. He’s had a long and peripatetic career that’s hard to follow. So, I can’t say whether or not he must accept an outright assignment.
Posted by Lucas at 11:27 AM
May 20, 2007
Koronka Down, Littleton Up
Texas recalled reliever WES LITTLETON from AAA Oklahoma and optioned pitcher JOHN KORONKA to AAA.
Koronka performed as hoped, chewing up six innings without too much damage. Littleton ought to be a full-time member of the pen, but we’ll see.
Posted by Lucas at 09:43 PM
May 19, 2007
Koronka Up, Hairston Hurt
Texas placed utility guy JERRY HAIRSTON JR. on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled pitcher JOHN KORONKA from AAA Oklahoma.
Probably a one-shot start for Koronka. He's ranged between respectable and awful in AAA.
Posted by Lucas at 05:44 PM
Blalock Out
Texas placed 3B HANK BLALOCK on the 60-day Disabled List and added 3B TRAVIS METCALF to the 40-man and active rosters.
Blalock suffers the same malady that felled Kenny Rogers suffered in 2001. Metcalf already has the glove rep; in 2007 his bat has returned after taking off ’06. Still, he’s never played above AA and wasn’t that highly regarded, and third isn’t where teams trade offense for defense.
The character litmus test will be whether anyone in the organization uses the rash of injuries as cover for the team’s performance.
Posted by Lucas at 12:01 PM
May 17, 2007
Another Exciting Transaction
Texas added infielder RAMON VAZQUEZ to the 40-man roster and active roster, optioned reliever A.J. MURRAY to AAA Oklahoma, and transferred shortstop JOAQUIN ARIAS to the 60-day Disabled List.
Vazquez was hitting .258/.375/.409 in AAA, not that it matters.
Posted by Lucas at 11:52 PM
Roster Moves: Mahar Debuts
Texas added outfielder KEVIN MAHAR to the 40-man roster and active roster, placed outfielder BRAD WILKERSON on the 15-day Disabled List, and transferred pitcher JOHN RHEINECKER to the 60-day Disabled List.
Yesterday, I had the following conversation with a Newberg Report reader via email:
Reader: Have you heard about Kevin Mahar joining Texas in Orlando?Me: What?!? You must be thinking of Marlon Byrd. What’s your source?
Reader: Kevin’s dad.
That’s a good source. Ten minutes later Mahar’s promotion appeared on the wire.
Posted by Lucas at 09:56 AM
May 15, 2007
Roster Moves: Murray Debuts
Texas placed pitchers KEVIN MILLWOOD and RON MAHAY on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled pitchers SCOTT FELDMAN and A.J. MURRAY.
Murray makes his big-league debut, a little under seven years after being the 574th player selected in the 2000 draft. Other MLB players from the infamous ’00 draft are Tyrell Godwin (cup of coffee with Washington in ’05), Laynce Nix, Nick Masset and Edwin Encarnacion.
Interesting that the Rangers didn’t recall a starter and that both relievers are lefties. Presumably Texas will make another move near the end of the week.
UPDATE: Feldman isn't a lefty. Just a righty with a weird delivery.
Posted by Lucas at 02:54 PM
May 14, 2007
Millwood Returns
Texas activated pitcher KEVIN MILLWOOD from the Disabled List and optioned pitcher MIKE WOOD to AAA Oklahoma.
After I commented on a message board that Wood looked “ordinary� in a Triple-A start, he held the Yankees to two runs in 6.1 innings with an effective sinker. In two subsequent starts he only aspired to ordinary, giving up ten runs in eight innings. Those three games effectively summarize his ability to help a Major League team.
Posted by Lucas at 12:18 PM
April 23, 2007
Francisco Up, Gagne Disabled
Texas recalled reliever FRANK FRANCISCO from AAA Oklahoma and placed reliever ERIC GAGNE on the 15-day Disabled List.
In case you’re not on the Newberg report mailing list, here’s what I said about Francisco after his Friday night appearance against Round Rock:
Frank Francisco pitched the last two innings for Oklahoma. Quite simply, he exists on a much higher level than any of the game’s other pitchers. Tonight, he used a fastball that ran between 92-95, an upper-eighties splitter, and a slow curve. Francisco’s first pitch of the game was a 94 MPH fastball that rose beyond Quiroz’s glove and hit the screen. He flashed a big smile as he received another ball. Then, he struck out the side in order.In the ninth, Francisco very nearly blew the game. He had Josh Anderson down 0-2 but buried his fourth consecutive splitter in Anderson’s posterior. Anderson stole second entirely off Francisco, who then walked Eric Bruntlett and Hunter Pence to load the bases with none out. Brooks Conrad generously popped out on a 1-0 pitch. Eric Munson worked his count to 3-2, but Francisco crushed him with a low, hard fastball. Francisco completed the dramatic win by striking out Danny Klassen on three consecutive fastballs.
Francisco has faced 23 batters in AAA. 14 have struck out. Four made other outs. Three walked. One was hit by a pitch, and I think one reached on an error. Which is to say, opponents are hitting .000/.130/.000 against him. Control may be an issue, but he’s cooking with serious gas again.
Posted by Lucas at 06:08 PM
April 22, 2007
Chen Gone
Texas added reliever WILLIE EYRE to the 40-man roster and purchased his contract from AAA Oklahoma. Texas also designated reliever BRUCE CHEN for assignment.
Eyre has 7.1 scoreless innings and eight strikeouts in AAA. His 2006 MLB debut season was unimpressive.
Posted by Lucas at 12:01 PM
April 10, 2007
Wright Up, Wood Down, Haigwood Out
Texas added pitcher JAMEY WRIGHT to the 40-man roster and purchased his contract from AA Frisco. Texas also optioned reliever MIKE WOOD to AAA Oklahoma and designated pitcher DANIEL HAIGWOOD for assignment.
Bleah.
Haigwood probably won’t ever become a useful MLB pitcher, but he at least has potential, whereas Wood is the very definition of a spare arm. Put another way, losing Haigwood on waivers would hurt just a little, while losing Wood would not even register.
Wood only made the Opening Day roster because Texas didn’t need a fifth starter for a week and Gagne needed a longer warmup, yet Texas is keeping the 27-year-old on the 40 in favor of the 23-year-old Haigwood.
Posted by Lucas at 06:20 PM
April 01, 2007
Transactions For Opening Day
Texas designated for assignment pitcher EZEQUIEL ASTACIO, catcher GUILLERMO QUIROZ, and outfielder MARLON BYRD.
Astacio had the thinnest of opportunities to make the roster and pitched poorly. Quiroz was out of options but probably would have been waived anyway, as four catchers are an awfully tight fit on a 40-man roster. The surprise, in terms of incoming expectations, is Byrd, who only needed to beat out NRI Matt Kata for a roster spot and could not. Byrd would have made a fine fifth outfielder and 25th man.
Texas has placed reliever ERIC GAGNE on the 15-day Disabled List.
Ostensibly this move is precautionary, simply to insure Gagne gets enough innings prior to pitching in a real game. Frankly, I’m a little worried. Maybe needlessly, but there it is.
Texas has purchased the contracts of relievers BRUCE CHEN and MIKE WOOD, super-duper utility guy JERRY HAIRSTON JR., utility guy MATT KATA, and outfielder SAMMY SOSA. All are new additions to the 40-man roster.
With Gagne disabled and fifth starter Jamey Wright not needed for a little while, both Chen and Wood get to fly to Anaheim. If Chen pitched well, I wonder if management might give him or Kam Loe the back end of the rotation and sheepishly tell Wright, “Ummm, I know we promised you a roster spot and everything, but… well… no.�
As for Kata, his spring was inspirational and all that, but what exactly does he bring to the table? Is there anything he does better than Hairston, which is to say, is he not completely superfluous? Okay, he does hit for a little more power, but he and his .392 career slugging percentage aren’t going to be pinch hitting for anyone. Why not keep Jason Botts instead? Botts is one-dimensional, but that dimension would be awfully handy whenever the opposition inserts a lefty reliever to face Kenny Lofton or Frank Catalanotto (or, dare I say it, Hank Blalock). Use Botts as a designated pinch-hitter, then use Hairston, Cruz or Wilkerson (or whoever’s on the bench that night) as a defensive replacement.
Posted by Lucas at 01:23 AM
March 29, 2007
Transaction Roundup
Texas released reliever RICK BAUER.
The Rangers couldn’t find a trade partner for Bauer, so away he goes. In just four weeks, Bauer slid from valued reliever and trade bait to unemployed. He’ll find a job somewhere.
Texas placed shortstop JOAQUIN ARIAS and pitcher JOHN RHEINECKER on the 15-day Disabled List.
Rheinecker never got out of the trainer’s room long enough to take a crack at the fifth starter job. He’ll join Oklahoma’s rotation when healthy. Likewise, Arias’s meager hope for a roster spot was ended by injury, in this case, an infected thumb.
Texas optioned relievers FRANK FRANCISCO and WES LITTLETON and outfielder JASON BOTTS to AAA Oklahoma.
Both Francisco and Littleton had roster positions waiting for them, but terrible springs left the door open for the likes of Bruce Chen and Mike Wood. I’d guess that Littleton gets first dibs on a bullpen opening.
Texas has removed FRANCISCO CRUCETA from the 40-man roster and outrighted him to AAA Oklahoma.
Cruceta cleared waivers. He’ll join the AAA bullpen and fall in line behind several others in the potential call-up order.
Posted by Lucas at 11:56 PM
March 26, 2007
Astacio in, Bauer Out
Texas claimed EZEQUIEL ASTACIO off waivers from Houston and placed pitcher ALEXI OGANDO on the restricted list.
One of three heralded minor-league prospects acquired from Philly for Billy Wagner, Zeke has yet to fulfill his potential. Occasionally very good, often very hittable, Astacio’s main problem is a catastrophic 2.5 homers allowed per nine innings. That’s one per sixteen batters faced. Astacio has no options remaining, so, like Houston, the Rangers must attempt to pass him through waivers if they want him in AAA. Perhaps he’s more likely to squeeze through at the end of the month when many teams will be facing difficult roster decisions. Now 27, he’s just a pitcher instead of a prospect, but he’s not a terrible insurance policy for the rotation.
Ogando and Omar Beltre will once again terrorize the Dominican Summer League.
Texas designated reliever RICK BAUER for assignment and added infielder ADAM FOX to the 40-man roster.
Huh? Like John Wasdin in ‘06, Bauer signed a Major League contract in the offseason, only to be released before the season begins. Going into Spring Training, he was the Ranger Most Likely To Be Traded To A Team Ready To Overpay For Relief Help, but his atrocious spring snuffed whatever hope Texas had of converting him into a real prospect or reasonable facsimile. Now, apparently, Texas will pay him not to pitch in Arlington. This is one of those roster moves that probably won’t have any positive or negative effect on the team. That said, it’s an odd decision. Despite his middling track record and awful spring, Bauer was a useful reliever last season.
As to why Texas added a 25-year-old who spent most of last year in high-A instead of, say, Sammy Sosa, it’s just a temporary situation. Per Jamey Newberg, Fox recently became a father and is held in high personal regard in the system, so Texas is buying him a few days in the MLB pension plan and a union card. When Texas puts Sosa, Jerry Hairston, or someone else on the 40, Fox will clear waivers with ease and probably join Frisco.
Posted by Lucas at 11:48 PM
March 19, 2007
"Transaction"
The Texas Rangers announced the cessation of its relationship with Ameriquest Mortgage Company. Its stadium will now be known as “Rangers Ballpark In Arlington� instead of “Ameriquest Field.�
As a fan, I can accept corporate sponsorship of stadiums, but I was never thrilled about the Rangers associating with the nation’s top sub-prime lender. Not that sub-prime lending is inherently unethical, despite its reputation. Folks with bad credit need loans, too. No, the problem is that when the naming deal was announced, Ameriquest was already under investigation by several state attorneys general for overcharges and other predatory lending practices. The investigation expanded to 49 states plus the District of Columbia, and in early 2006 Ameriquest agreed to a $335 million settlement. The company had also paid fines for prior transgressions.
To be sure, any renaming would have caused a little anguish because it eliminated the real sponsors of the stadium, the citizens of Arlington. Allying with a good corporate citizen with local ties would have eased the pain. Naming the stadium after a SoCal-based company of dubious standing did the opposite.
Now, with the sub-prime mortgage market in tatters and several lenders going belly-up, Ameriquest probably wishes paying the settlement was its only problem. Whatever its future, I’m glad its affiliation with the Rangers has ended. Despite a Ranger press release to the contrary, I expect another sponsorship before long, hopefully a more palatable one.
Incidentally, Ameriquest’s founder and majority owner of its holding company is Roland Arnall. Arnall has been the most successful fundraiser for President George Bush since 2002. In 2006, after the announcement of the $335 million settlement, he was appointed the US ambassador to The Netherlands.
Posted by Lucas at 07:07 PM
March 08, 2007
On Young
Note: I was in Las Vegas when Texas signed Young, so here's a belated review.
Texas signed shortstop MICHAEL YOUNG to a five-year extension beginning in 2009. Young will earn $80 million, $15 million is deferred. Details are lacking.A huge roll of the dice on the part of Texas. Young will be only two weeks shy of his 37th birthday by the time this contact ends (or actually be 37 if Texas makes the ALCS). Some thoughts:
Age
Young will turn 32 before his new contract commences. Here’s a list of starting shortstops in 2006 who were Age 32 or older:
| Omar Vizquel (39) Royce Clayton (36) Craig Counsell (35) Derek Jeter (32) |
That’s it. Two others were 31, another five were 30, and the other nineteen were under 30 (including Young).
In 2007, probably only eight regular shortstops will be older than Young: Vizquel, Jeter, Orlando Cabrera, David Eckstein, Carlos Guillen, Miguel Tejada, Julio Lugo, and Edgar Renteria. That’s as of today, not in two years when Young’s extension begins. By the time that happens, Young might already be among the five oldest shortstops in the Majors.
What became of 2002’s collection of aged starting shortstops? 2002 featured seven who were 32 or older and another four of 30-31 years of age:
| Shortstop | Age | What Became of Him |
| Barry Larkin | 38 | Retired after two more seasons. Could still hit respectably |
| Mike Bordick | 36 | Out of baseball after one more season |
| Omar Vizquel | 35 | Still starting and getting on base, averaged 151 games during last three years |
| Royce Clayton | 32 | Still starting, but on six different team in five years. Replacement-level hitter in 2002 and today |
| Shane Halter | 32 | Out of baseball after two more seasons |
| Tony Womack | 32 | Intermittent starter from 2003-2005; on the fringes of employment in 2006 and 2007 |
| Jose Hernandez | 32 | Still playing but has declined from regular to super-utility player to ordinary sub to infrequent sub and pinch-hitter |
| Chris Gomez | 31 | Mostly a utility player and most often a 1B; only 110 games at short during 2003-2006 |
| Andy Fox | 31 | Retired after two more seasons of minimal play |
| Rich Aurilia | 30 | Mostly a super-utility player who spends most of time at 1B and 3B, now a starter at 1B; bat improved during 2005-2006 |
| Rey Ordonez | 30 | Had two seasons of dwindling play; not retired but no MLB appearances since 2004 |
Six of the eleven players are retired or effectively out of Major League Baseball. Two others are bench players. One is now a regular first basemen, and two are still starting at short (though I’m skeptical of Clayton’s immediate future).
Now, I’m not suggesting that Michael Young won’t last at shortstop because of the case histories of Chris Gomez and Shane Halter. But this exercise clearly indicates that shortstop is a young man’s position. Young has been exceptionally durable, and I expect him to remain at short longer than most of his peers. Near the end of his term, though, he may have to move to third or left, where his bat probably will be a liability.
Money
Did the Rangers pay too much? Of course they did. But this contract doesn’t seem too far out of line with other deals inked this winter. Young’s contract wedges nicely between former Rangers Carlos Lee (6 years, $100 million) and Gary Matthews (5 years, $50 million). Give a choice between the three, I’d take Young and his contract.
Deferment
Reportedly, $15 million of the $80 million total is deferred. To my knowledge, the specifics weren’t publicized, but let’s assume $3 million is deferred in each of Young’s five extension seasons with deferred payments to begin the year after the extension ends. Thus, Young would receive $13 million during 2009-2013 and $3 million from 2014 through 2018. What do those deferments mean relative to a straightforward five-year contract at $16 million per season?
In terms of present value, not much. Using a discount rate of 6% (equivalent to a “safe” rate of return), deferring $3 million per season for five year lowers the present value of the contract from $69.2 million to $67.5 million, a difference of just $1.7 million. Upping the discount rate to 8% (equivalent to salary inflation) results in a savings of $2.2 million.
The real savings come from the retention of his current contract. Texas will pay Young only $3.5 million in 2007, his last arbitration-eligible year, and $5 million in 2008, his first free-agency year.
Assuming my guesses are within reason, I’d say the deferred payments make the deal more palatable for the Rangers but will have, at best, a small effect on their payroll structure and (in)ability to sign players during Young’s extension.
Defense
This is something I’ve been saving for my boffo article on Hank Blalock that I’ve been promising for many months, but I’ll print it here instead. For years, Baseball Prospectus rated Young as a bad defensive shortstop and Hank Blalock an average third baseman. Suddenly, in 2006, Young became Ozzie Smith and Blalock became Butch Hobson. You think I’m joking? I am not:
Baseball Prospectus “Rate2” Defensive Stat *
| Michael Young, 2002-2005: Michael Young, 2006: Ozzie Smith, career: | 90 113 112 |
| Hank Blalock, 2002-2005: Hank Blalock, 2006: Butch Hobson, career: | 99 87 87 |
* Rate2 is an indexed statistic measuring how many runs a player saves or costs a team defensively. 100 is average. Young’s 113 in 2006 indicates he saved Texas 13 runs per 100 games played. Scores outside the 90-110 range are rare.
My stat-free, visual opinion is that Young is an average defensive shortstop, neither as bad as previously rated by BP nor as fantabulous as rated in 2006. He’s no elite, but I certainly see no reason for a position switch in the near future. But again, age is a killer. Texas has locked up Young through 2013, but they haven’t locked up a shortstop for that long.
Teixeira
I don’t recall Teixeira ever indicating that he’d prefer to stay in Texas. He’s here only because Texas drafted him, and after 2008, he’ll sign with the team that offers the best combination of money and potential to win a championship. Retaining Young will have only a minimal effect on Teixeira’s decision.
I don’t mean that as a criticism. He wants to work for a winner and get paid as much as possible. Don’t we all?
Conclusion
Is it okay to remain ambivalent about this deal? To an extent, it is an attempt to defy Time, and Time never loses (except to Julio Franco and Elizabeth Hurley).
Texas desperately needs to make some noise during Young’s most productive years because the downside of this deal is almost too depressing to contemplate. Imagine a Ranger club that hovers around .500 for three or four more seasons, then falters with Young’s inevitable decline. At that point we’re looking at fourteen years (2000-2013) of mediocrity or worse.
On the other hand, I think that Young, more than anyone in baseball (and I do mean anyone), has the work ethic to make this deal pay off for Texas. Given how far he’s surpassed the expectations of almost everyone (me included), presuming that he’ll decline precipitously would be foolish. Who’s to say Young can’t emulate Omar Vizquel and Barry Larkin, blithely hitting well and playing shortstop into his late thirties?
I hope so.
Posted by Lucas at 06:07 PM
February 09, 2007
Transactions
Texas signed pitchers OMAR BELTRE, SCOTT FELDMAN, A.J. MURRAY, ALEXI OGANDO, JOSH RUPE, ROBINSON TEJEDA, and EDINSON VOLQUEZ, catcher CHRIS STEWART, infielder JOAQUIN ARIAS, and outfielder FREDDY GUZMAN to one-year contracts at or near the MLB minimum of $380,000.
All have splits that pay considerably less for time spent in the minors. Click the 40-Man Roster link at upper right for the details.
Posted by Lucas at 06:34 PM
January 16, 2007
All Arb-Eligible Players Signed
Texas signed outfielder BRAD WILKERSON to a one-year deal for $4.35 million, reliever AKINORI OTSUKA to a one-year deal for $3.00 million, and reliever RICK BAUER to a one-year deal for $735,000, avoiding arbitration with all three.
Reasonable contracts for all three given the strictures of arbitration. A player taking a pay cut in arbitration is as rare as a unicorn, so even Wilkerson gets a 12% raise after his lost 2006. Jon Daniels has absorbed his predecessor’s loathing of arbitration hearings.
Texas now has 14 players signed for a sum of $69.265 million, ignoring incentives.
Posted by Lucas at 04:42 PM
January 15, 2007
Benoit Signed
Texas signed reliever JOAQUIN BENOIT to a one-year contract for $1.05 million, thus avoiding arbitration.
Benoit gets a fairly modest raise over last year’s base of $750,000. He held opposing batters to a nice line of .224/.314/.310 overall (roughly speaking, he turned everyone into Brandon Fahey or Matt Treanor) and stranded 34 of 44 runners, a better rate than all but Wes Littleton. He also posted an uninspiring 4.86 ERA and has no lock on a roster spot. All pitchers melt down on occasion, but some of Benoit’s were painfully memorable, including allowing three runs in That Game and permitting a bases-clearing lead-losing triple to Adam Everett just three days later.
Benoit had one of the flakiest set of splits I’ve ever seen:
None on -- .240/.327/.340
Runner on first only -- .110/.217/.110
Runners in scoring position -- .298/.374/.381
Yes, with only a runner on first, Benoit’s opposing batters went 8-for-73, all singles, with 10 walks and 30 strikeouts.
Posted by Lucas at 11:51 PM
January 12, 2007
Meyer DFA'ed To Make Room For Trade Acquisition
Texas traded pitcher JOHNNY LUJAN to the Chicago White Sox for catcher CHRIS STEWART. Stewart joins the 40-man roster, and Texas has designated infielder DREW MEYER for assignment.
Stewart was Chicago’s 12th rounder in 2001. He’ll start in AAA with a chance to back up Gerald Laird in Texas. Stewart batted pretty well in AA as a 23-year-old (.286/.341/.460) but backslid to .265/.314/.393 in AAA last year. Lujan is two years younger and hit a big wall in high-A Bakersfield last year after gliding through lower levels in 2004-2005. So Texas gets the sure thing, albeit a drab one, in exchange for a longshot.
To clear space for their shiny new fourth catcher, the Rangers designated the tenth-overall pick on the 2002 draft. Drew Meyer depended heavily on a high batting average in college and has yet to develop much patience or power in five years in the minors. He never posted better than a .789 OPS except during a brief return to the Rookie League in 2004.
I loathe the “We drafted X when we could’ve have Y!� game because no team survives it. The best GMs on the planet routinely pass up future studs. However, I would note that the subsequent seven picks were Jeremy Hermida, Joe Saunders, Khalil Greene, Russ Adams, Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher and Cole Hamels. On the other hand, Picks 1, 3 and 5 were Bryan Bullington, Chris Gruler and Clint Everts. It’s a tough racket, the draft.
Posted by Lucas at 07:03 PM
January 06, 2007
Hairston Signed
Texas signed utility guy JERRY HAIRSTON JR. to a minor-league contract.
After my initial reaction (“Aaaaa!�) subsided, I decided this deal makes sense. Hairston, while by no means a good hitter, isn’t nearly as bad as last season’s display. He can play anywhere but catcher and probably can reach base near the league-average rate. As long as the new skipper doesn’t fall into the trap of believing Hairston’s is anyone’s platoon mate or a top-flight defensive specialist, all is well.
It’s a hard fall for a player who competed for starting 2B with the Cubs last March, and, to my knowledge, was seeking a full-time job this winter. Hairston is only 30 and made $2.3 million last year. Now, instead of getting DeRosa money, he’s an NRI.
Posted by Lucas at 12:51 PM
December 28, 2006
Quiroz signed
Texas signed catcher GUILLERMO QUIROZ to a Major League contract and added him to the 40-man roster.
Once a well-regarded prospect, Quiroz has toiled for eight years with only 98 MLB plate appearances to his credit. He peaked statistically in 2003, batting .282/.372/.518 for AA New Haven (Toronto system), and has bounced between AAA and the Majors ever since. He did hit .304/.359/.428 for AAA Tacoma last year, and as a 25-year-old, may yet mature into a decent MLB backup. Anything that might improve upon Miguel Ojeda would be most welcome. With his signing, Texas has filled its 40-man roster.
The Rangers also signed pitcher Mike Wood to a minor deal after waiving him a few weeks ago. They also signed former Twin reliever Willie Eyre, who should spend most or all of 2007 regaling the Redhawk faithful with his presence.
Posted by Lucas at 09:49 PM
December 23, 2006
Gigantic Trade
Texas has traded pitchers JOHN DANKS, NICK MASSET and JACOB RASNER to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher BRANDON MCCARTHY and outfielder DAVID PAISANO.
And here I am, doing Christmas with the in-laws (XM radio! Two bottles of wine!), blithely assuming MLB would be taking the weekend off, caught totally off-guard.
Ultra-quick first impression: I'm not sure I agree, but I understand. And Jon Daniels has a huge pair.
Posted by Lucas at 11:30 PM
December 13, 2006
Arbitration
Texas tendered contracts to arbitration-eligible pitchers RICK BAUER, JOAQUIN BENOIT and AKINORI OTSUKA and outfielder Brad Wilkerson. Texas did not offer a contract to pitcher MIKE WOOD.
I hadn’t given any thought to Wood being eligible for arbitration. Otherwise, no unexpected moves.
Posted by Lucas at 12:46 PM
December 12, 2006
Gagne Signed
Texas signed reliever ERIC GAGNE to a one-year contract for $6 million with (allegedly) $5 million in incentives.
The ultimate high-risk high-reward signing. Gagne has pitched in only sixteen games over the past two years, missing time with nerve-replacement surgery on his elbow and disc surgery on his back. So why drop no fewer than $6 million on a two-year hospital resident, particularly when the bullpen is already a team strength? Here’s why:
Hitters Against Gagne by Plate Appearance, 2002-2006:
| Strikeout | 38.7% |
| Out in play | 36.8% |
| Single | 10.8% |
| Walk | 6.2% |
| Double | 2.9% |
| Homer | 1.5% |
| Hit by pitch | 1.1% |
| Sac bunt | 1.1% |
| Sac fly | 0.4% |
| Reached on error | 0.3% |
| Triple | 0.2% |
Opponents have batted .169/.229/.254 against him during the past five years. He had a WARP of over ten in 2003, an absolutely outrageous number for a relief pitcher. If he returns most of the way to his prior form, he could be worth five to seven wins. Gagne’s presence also makes a trade of Aki Otsuka (packaged for starting pitching, presumably) more likely.
Posted by Lucas at 06:14 PM
December 11, 2006
Lofton Signs
Texas signed outfielder KENNY LOFTON to a one-year contract for $6 million.
Texas badly needed a sure thing in the outfield. The team already had far-from-proven Nelson Cruz in right and arb-eligible, shoulder-impaired Brad Wilkerson (or Frank Catalanotto) in left. Adding Fast Freddy Guzman or Marlon Byrd in center was too much to bear.
So, Texas gets a leadoff hitter and center fielder. Lofton doesn’t walk quite as often as in his prime but still reaches base at a respectable clip, and he’s stolen 54 bases versus only eight caught during the past two years. Defensively, he’s only adequate, though he probably won’t represent too much of a decline from the departed Gary Matthews, who mostly built his reputation on highlight plays.
For these services, Lofton receives his biggest paycheck since 2001. Let the good times roll!
Posted by Lucas at 10:26 PM
December 08, 2006
Byrd Sighting
Texas signed outfielder MARLON BYRD to a one-year contract.
Is it a Major League contract? Is he on the 40? Don’t know.
After a splendiferous rookie campaign in 2003, Byrd has since hit .238/.306/.345 in 850 plate appearances. He’s hit well in AAA (.300/.372/.496) during the same span, but at age 29 seems an unlikely candidate for resurgence. Then again, he might be the boffo sequel to From Waiver Bait To Multi-Millionaire: The Gary Matthews Jr. Story by Rudy Jaramillo. Also, I might discover gold in the creek in my backyard.
Byrd is probably 2007’s version of Adrian Brown, but I wouldn’t describe his signing as low-risk high-reward. There’s a chance he could attain 200 plate appearances and suck, which would make him the 2007 version of Doug Glanville.
Posted by Lucas at 08:10 PM
December 04, 2006
Padilla Signs
Texas signed pitcher VICENTE PADILLA to a three-year contract for approximately $33 million with a fourth-year option for $12 million.
Three and $18 would have seemed appropriate only three months ago, but this ain’t your daddy’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Given the $19 million bestowed on reliever Dannys Baez and $24 million on perpetual mediocrity Adam Eaton, Padillla’s signing doesn’t shock the conscience.
It also refills a gigantic hole in a rotation that temporarily featured Robinson Tejeda as its #2 starter. In 2006, he rebounded from two injury-plagued seasons and career highs in strikeouts, strikeout rate, batters faced, and wins. Statistically, he doesn’t do anything exceptionally well but also does nothing badly. While he’s had issues both on and off the field, Ranger management presumably is satisfied with his demeanor and long-term outlook.
200 annual innings of what should be slightly above league-average performance is a godsend to this team. Congrats to Daniels and company for closing the deal.
Posted by Lucas at 11:45 PM
December 01, 2006
Arbitration
Texas offered arbitration to pitcher VICENTE PADILLA and did not offer arbitration to catcher ROD BARAJAS or outfielder ERIC YOUNG.
Texas would have offered to Barajas had he signed with Toronto. Once he and the Jays departed on bad terms, the Rangers couldn’t risk that he’d hang around and earn a raise just to caddy for Gerald Laird.
Texas has four other arb-eligible players under their control – Rick Bauer, Joaquin Benoit, Aki Otsuka and Brad Wilkerson – and must decide on them by the 12th, if I’m reading the rules correctly.
Posted by Lucas at 11:02 PM
November 20, 2006
Two added to Forty
Texas added pitchers A.J. MURRAY and ALEXI OGANDO to the 40-man roster.
Murray is a 19th-round pick from 2000 who spent most of the last three years in the trainer’s room. The Rangers have been very patient with him and must have liked what they saw during his stint in the Arizona Fall League. I’d guess that they start him in AA with a quick promotion to AAA upon quality performance. He’s yet to turn 25.
Texas nabbed Ogando in the 2005 minor-league Rule 5 draft. Like Omar Beltre, he hasn’t pitched in the US since 2004 because of visa problems.
Posted by Lucas at 08:49 PM
Little Cat Comes Home
Texas signed OF FRANK CATALANOTTO to a three-year contract for about $13 million with a fourth-year club option.
Catalanotto returns to Texas after four years in the Great White North. Little Cat has a career line of .297/.362/.454, and last year he drew a career-best 52 walks. Texas can place him atop the lineup if new manager Ron Washington can tolerate modest speed at leadoff. Unfortunately, he doesn’t hit lefties, batting .221/.287/.331 against them during his four years in Toronto. He hits over .300 with mostly doubles power against righties.
Though considered a utility player, Cat honestly doesn’t have much utility in the field. The Dallas Morning News suggested he could fill in at second, but he hasn’t played there since 2002. From 2004-2006 he played 253 games in left field and one in right. That’s it. He’s not replacing Mark DeRosa.
Texas surrenders its first-round pick in 2007 by signing Type-A free agent Catalanotto. That’s a heavy price, but the Rangers aren’t done with the free-agent market and almost assuredly will sign another, similarly ranked player. With the many holes they needed to fill this offseason, losing that pick was a foregone conclusion.
Posted by Lucas at 08:41 AM
November 17, 2006
Ojeda Signs
Texas signed catcher MIGUEL OJEDA to a one-year contract for $430,000, $300,000 of which is guaranteed.
Last winter, Texas threw some guaranteed money at John Wasdin and waived him anyway. Ojeda might receive the same fate. I agree with Rod Barajas’s departure, but that’s not to say that Ojeda inspires confidence even as a backup.
Ojeda signed with the Pirates in 1993 but spent all but a smidgen of 1995-2002 in Mexico. He’s a career .240/.308/.380 minor-league hitter and not considered better than adequate defensively. Should Gerald Laird falter, the Rangers cannot abide 80+ games of Ojeda’s bat. I hope they sign another catcher, and by that I don’t mean Ken Huckaby.
Posted by Lucas at 01:23 AM
November 07, 2006
Texas Retains Mahay
Texas picked up the team option on reliever RON MAHAY.
Mahay’s had an odd tenure in Texas. After a couple of nice seasons, the Rangers signed him to a two-year contract with a team option for a third. Nine months later, they designated him for assignment and dumped him to AAA. The following April they re-instituted him on the 40 and active rosters, whereupon he pitched successfully, if not as well as during 2003-2004.
Mahay will earn $1.2 million next season and becomes a free agent afterwards. Already 35 and never more than a middle reliever, he won’t have suitors dumping wheelbarrows of cash at his feet next November, but he stands a good chance of earning very respectable money for another couple of years. More power to him.
Posted by Lucas at 12:57 AM
November 06, 2006
Texas Has A Manager
Texas hired Ron Washington as manager.
This managerial appointment was bound to be uncontroversial. Given the set of personality characteristics that distinguished Buck Showalter’s dismissal, the replacement was destined to be less authoritarian, more affable, more communicative, more a “player’s manager.� Ron’s not just your boss, he’s your pal, but he’s also no pushover. Who wouldn’t want to play for him?
I exaggerate, but you understand. After several years of machinations (never proven but always suspected) and increasingly bad vibes in the Ranger clubhouse and front office, Washington is a deep gulp of fresh air.
Can he manage? Beats me. Assessing experienced managers is tough enough, much less new hires. Informed fans can evaluate players reasonably well with numerical data and GMs with analyses of trades, free-agent signings, etc. Conversely, a fan’s assessment of a manager usually has to be personality-driven because managerial performance doesn’t translate to an easy number like ERA. Sure, managers can show their ineptness with ludicrous batting orders and pitching changes, but few are truly incompetent in those respects. At the moment, we have very little on which to base our opinions.
That said, Athletics players hold him in extremely high regard, their fans seem disappointed in his departure, and I would very much like for Texas to win a World Series at some point during my corporeal residence on Earth. So count me on board.
Posted by Lucas at 11:55 PM
October 12, 2006
Waiver Claims
Texas claimed pitcher FRANCISCO CRUCETA off waivers from Seattle and pitcher MIKE WOOD off waivers from Kansas City. Texas also designated utility guy JERRY HAIRSTON for assignment.
Despite my admonition, the Rangers made a roster move while I was out of town (in Beaumont, the crown jewel of southeast Texas).
Learn everything you’d ever want to know about Cruceta here. Also, USS Mariner is displeased. Sounds good to me. While Cruceta looks like a failed prospect that might yet pan out, Wood already looks played out. With 293 MLB innings, mostly during 2004-2005 when Kaufmann Stadium favored pitchers, Wood has produced a vanilla walk rate (3.3 per nine IP), a subpar homer rate (1 per 7.3 IP), and a grim strikeout rate (4.8 per nine IP). Feels like a Spring Training roster cut to me.
I guess the Nevin trade was a bust because we couldn’t resign Hairston. But seriously, folks...
Posted by Lucas at 12:34 PM
October 04, 2006
Showalter Fired
Texas fired manager Buck Showalter.
I haven’t written much about Showalter because I’m ambivalent about him. I agree that Showalter had to go, and I won’t miss him. Having said that, I have no doubt that he tried his best to make the team a winner and that he believed he could lead capably into the future. He refused to resign, and rightly so.
I doubt I’d enjoy working for him, but that’s an issue of personality, not managerial competence. Most people (and I can’t say I’m excluding myself) judge a manager based on personality because that’s all they have to go on. Sure, there are wins and losses, but that’s mostly the domain of the players. Grading managers objectively is a difficult task with nebulous results. Only those on the far end of the curve (say, Earl Weaver and Larry Bowa) are easily assessed.
Showalter’s dismissal actually did hinge on personality. Tom Hicks (and it is ultimately Hicks’s decision despite his public handoff to Jon Daniels) didn’t fire him because he started Rod Barajas too often. In today’s press conference Daniels expressed the need for a “fresh perspective,� usually an empty phrase but appropriate in this case. Not for the first time, Showalter’s personality didn’t mesh with the players. He consistently ranked among the least-liked managers according to secret ballots of players. Though a friendly relationship between manager and players certainly isn’t requisite to winning, too much dislike and mistrust can poison a clubhouse (or any working environment).
Tom Hicks may have wanted to retain Showalter, but Hicks himself paved the way for Showalter’s firing with his ill-advised interview questioning the character of the players. After the predictable backlash from the players, media and fans, the present situation could not stand. Someone had to go in order to relieve the tension. Should Hicks and Daniels have dismantled the team to save the manager? Of course not. Even on the assumption that Showalter is a great manager and doesn’t deserve firing, it’s far easier and sensible to replace him rather than the players.
Far more difficult is the task of replacing the team’s the biggest problem, its owner. As pointed out by Ed Coffin, frequent commenter at Lone Star Ball and Jamey Newberg’s message board, Tom Hicks is a deal broker, not an executive. It’s not that he has no plan. In fact, he’s had many plans, each diligently followed for a couple of years or so, whereupon an entirely new and often diametrically opposing plan takes its place.
In eight seasons of ownership, Hicks has employed three general managers and will soon hire his fourth manager. After 2001, Hicks replaced Doug Melvin with John Hart and simultaneously hired Grady Fuson with the understanding that Fuson would assume GM duties after a three-year “internship.� Two years and nine months later, Hicks dismissed Fuson. After Texas unexpectedly won 89 games in 2004, only the second winning season during Hicks’s tenure, he signed Hart to a rolling two-year extension and Showalter to a three-year extension with a club option. Nine months later, Hicks reassigned Hart. One year and nine months later, he fired Showalter before his extension began. Mull that one over. Hicks signed Showalter to a guaranteed three-year, $6 million contract when the existing contract still had two years remaining, and Showalter will receive that money without managing a single game.
Wait, there’s more. Hicks signed Alex Rodriguez to a ten-year, $252 million contract. Rodriguez lasted three years. During the next nineteen years the Rangers will pay him $87 million (plus interest) to play for the Yankees and to hone his golf skills after he retires. On a broader level, he instigated a period of frivolous spending followed by extreme parsimony. Accounting errors during 2001-2002 continue to haunt the team.
Replacing Showalter was necessary, but it doesn’t necessarily improve the team. I hope that in two years I’m discussing a Rangers playoff game and not the next Two Year Plan.
Posted by Lucas at 06:52 PM
September 08, 2006
September Call-Up Roundup
Between September 1 and September 8, Texas recalled pitchers SCOTT FELDMAN, JOHN RHEINECKER, and NICK MASSET from AAA Oklahoma, pitcher FRANK FRANCISCO from short-season Spokane, and shortstop JOAQUIN ARIAS from AAA Oklahoma. Texas also purchased the contract of catcher MIGUEL OJEDA and transferred outfielder BRAD WILKERSON to the 60-day Disabled List.
Francisco will see his first MLB action since September of 2004, when a thrown chair and Tommy John surgery suspended his career. The surprise is Arias, who batted a meager .268/.296/.361 in AAA as a (mostly) 21-year-old. I wouldn’t expect more than a couple of token appearances from him.
Posted by Lucas at 06:05 PM
August 30, 2006
Hyzdu Outrighted
Texas designated outfielder ADAM HYZDU for assignment and outrighted him to AAA Oklahoma.
Rotoworld expressed amazement that Hyzdu stayed on the roster for so long. Hyzdu didn’t survive on merit, rather on Texas’s lack of additional trades or need for another roster spot. Now, the Rangers need his spot, as they have traded 2004 fifth-rounder Mike Nickeas for New York Mets outfielder Victor Diaz. The Mets themselves designated Diaz last week, but Texas probably will add him to the roster and bring him to Arlington on September 1.
Diaz has cratered this year (.223/.275/.334 in AAA Norfolk) after showing promise in the Majors last year (.257/.329/.468). Still, he doesn’t turn 25 until December.
Posted by Lucas at 04:56 PM
August 25, 2006
Eric Young Rejoins Rangers
Texas purchased the contract of utility guy ERIC YOUNG and recalled him from AAA Oklahoma. Texas optioned pitcher NICK MASSET to AAA.
It’s nice to have Young back, in theory. In practice, maybe not so much. Young does have the warm ‘n’ fuzzy memories of 2004 attached to his name, but he also has the exact same skill set and handedness as Jerry Hairston plus nine additional years of wear and tear. What, honestly, does he bring to a team with its playoff hopes hanging by a thread? I think the Eric Young Farewell Tour is a terrific idea. I just didn’t expect it to begin a week before rosters expanded.
Posted by Lucas at 05:28 PM
August 21, 2006
Transactions A Go Go!
On Saturday the 19th, Texas recalled pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA from AAA Oklahoma and optioned outfielder FREDDY GUZMAN to AAA.
On Sunday the 20th, Texas recalled pitcher JOHN KORONKA from AAA Oklahoma and optioned pitcher SCOTT FELDMAN to AAA.
On Monday the 21st, Texas recalled pitcher NICK MASSET from AAA Oklahoma and optioned pitcher JOHN KORONKA to AAA.
Nobody said maintaining a fourteen-man pitching staff would be easy. Of the two Redhawks called for duty last weekend, I would have expected more from Koronka. In contrast to his recent plate-nibbling that led to excessive free passes, his one AAA effort featured sharpness, efficiency, and a wicked changeup that fooled many a Round Rock Express batter (Expresser? Expression?). Tejeda, on the other hand, offered a superficially brilliant performance (two walks, ten Ks) that, in my opinion, relied too much on pure heat and papered over too many high-pitch at-bats (98 pitches in just five innings).
Sure enough, against the big boys Tejeda excelled while Koronka inexplicably reverted to nibbling. Watching him try, and try, and try to squeak a third strike by a batter has become a gloomy experience. As for Tejeda, simply being league-average would greatly assist the Rangers’ quest for a fourth division championship and provide a partial answer to the question of who joins Kevin Millwood in the 2007 rotation.
Posted by Lucas at 06:02 PM
August 17, 2006
Wilkerson DL'ed, Out For Season
Yesterday, Texas placed outfielder BRAD WILKERSON on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled outfielder FREDDY GUZMAN from AAA Oklahoma.
Well it wasn’t supposed to work out that way. The keystone of the Alfonso Soriano trade batted a meager .222/.306/.422 and gave up on his sore shoulder with six weeks remaining. I loved the trade at the time. There are worse ways to embarrass myself, I suppose.
In his first twenty games, Wilkerson struck out in an ungodly 40% of his plate appearances (34 of 85) and often seemed utterly helpless at the plate. No, strikeouts don’t normally hurt more than any other type of out, but Wilkerson certainly didn’t endear himself to fans with his frequent whiffing despite leading the team in homers for much of the season. Only in May (.293/.414/.598) did he avoid dragging down the offense.
Texas management now faces the uncomfortable decision of whether to offer Wilkerson arbitration. He earned $3.9 million this season. My guess is that the Rangers cut bait.
Posted by Lucas at 05:35 PM
August 15, 2006
Wells DL'ed, Feldman Recalled
Texas placed pitcher KIP WELLS on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled reliever SCOTT FELDMAN from AAA.
Sprained ankle. Wells may not achieve even the modest goal of bettering the performance of John Rheinecker.
Posted by Lucas at 07:20 PM
August 11, 2006
EY rejoins Rangers
Texas signed outfielder ERIC YOUNG to a minor-league contract.
Eh, why not. On the field, Young offers scant value beyond his ability to play numerous positions, a skill that both Mark DeRosa and Jerry Hairston provide with superior quality. At this stage of his career, Young doesn’t hit lefties especially well and is beyond hope against righties.
Still, his Ranger teammates loved him back in the salad days of ’04, and perhaps come September’s roster expansion he can dispense some advice, encouragement and peaceful vibes to a clubhouse in need of them. That’s worth a little something and costs essentially nothing. Texas has an open spot on the 40, and it’s not as if Young would be preventing Adam Hyzdu from achieving his destiny. If Texas’s faint playoff hopes evaporate, the Rangers can give him a few starts as a pleasant coda to a nice career.
Posted by Lucas at 11:59 PM
August 07, 2006
Volquez Recalled
Texas recalled pitcher EDINSON VOLQUEZ from AAA Oklahoma and optioned pitcher JOHN KORONKA to AAA.
Here we go! The 22-year-old takes over for ailing Kip Wells in the most important game of the season (to date). Here’s why Volquez will mow down the A’s.
9.7 strikeouts per nine innings in AAA.
One homer allowed per 13 innings.
.208 opponents’ batting average (86 hits in 120.2 innings)
Here’s why he’ll get slaughtered:
5.4 walks allowed per nine innings.
5.7 walks per nine in July.
Ordinary .242/.367/.426 line against righties.
Posted by Lucas at 08:59 PM
August 04, 2006
Loe Optioned
Texas activated pitcher KAMERON LOE from the 15-day Disabled List and optioned him to AAA Oklahoma. Pitcher JOHN WASDIN refused assignment to AAA and has been released.
Loe isn’t getting his rotation job back with Adam Eaton and Kip Wells on the roster, so the Rangers have dropped him off in Oklahoma to get acclimated to the bullpen. Wasdin lasted nearly three years in Texas and occasionally pitched well. He’ll have another job within the week.
Amazingly, Texas hasn’t a single player on the Major League disabled list. Frankie Francisco, Edinson Volquez and Jason Botts reside on minor-league DLs at the moment.
Posted by Lucas at 08:56 AM
August 02, 2006
Feldman Up and Down, Wells In, Rheinecker Out
On Tuesday, Texas recalled reliever SCOTT FELDMAN from AAA Oklahoma and optioned pitcher JOHN RHEINECKER to AAA. On Wednesday, Texas activated pitcher KIP WELLS and optioned FELDMAN.
I hope Texas lets the players keep their frequent flyer miles.
Posted by Lucas at 11:18 PM
July 31, 2006
Wasdin DFA'ed (again)
Texas designated pitcher JOHN WASDIN for assignment.
Wasdin enjoyed a run of surprising adequacy last year, but in 2006 he regressed to his replacement-level mean. He has withstood numerous DFAs without a claim, and he’ll likely ply his trade for Oklahoma within a few days.
Posted by Lucas at 11:58 PM
Texas acquires Stairs, Wells (Kip, not Vernon)
Texas traded minor-league pitcher JOSELO DIAZ to Kansas City for outfielder MATT STAIRS.
Stairs has a zesty career line of .273/.367/.501 against righties but hasn’t actually slugged .500 since 2003. This season, he’s a more vanilla .264/.361/.447. He obviously improves the roster, and yet I wonder how much he’ll actually help. Mark DeRosa has backslid rapidly during July but probably will continue to start every day because… well, because he’s Mark DeRosa. Thus, Stairs would supplant Brad Wilkerson, who despite his struggles isn’t that much worse than Stairs against righties (.240/.327/.471). Likewise, if Texas continues to bench Hank Blalock against tough lefties, Stairs seems a bit superfluous. Considering how infrequently Buck Showalter employs his bench, does having two quality lefty bats mean anything?
I don’t dislike the trade. I just think its impact is very marginal.
Texas traded minor-league pitcher JESSE CHAVEZ to Pittsburgh for pitcher KIP WELLS.
Wells missed almost three months while recovering from shoulder surgery. In seven starts he has an ERA of 6.69, a WHIP of 1.76, and 2.6 fewer strikeouts per nine innings than his pre-’06 career. Though he’s allowed only four runs in his last three starts, he’s allowed permitted 30 baserunners in those 19.2 innings. Frankly, he hasn’t pitched well since 2003. Nevertheless, ousting John Rheinecker for Wells certainly improves the rotation.
Neither Chavez nor Diaz ranked among John Sickels’s pre-season Top 20 Ranger prospects. DVD-H remains intact. (That's Danks-Volquez-Diamond Hurley for you non-Ranger fanatics.)
Posted by Lucas at 06:20 PM
Last Week's Non-Carlos Transactions
Last week I was out of town every day but Thursday. For the sake of completeness…
On July 25, Texas activated pitcher ADAM EATON from the 60-day Disabled List and added him to the active roster. Texas designated pitcher BRYAN COREY for assignment.
On July 30, Texas traded pitcher BRYAN COREY to Boston for minor-league pitcher LUIS MENDOZA. Texas also acquired catcher MIGUEL OJEDA for cash.
Barring another deal, Eaton serves as Texas’s Big Trading-Deadline Pitching Acquisition. He’s not even above-average, of course, but perhaps with some luck he can imitate Jason Schmidt for a couple of months.
I was a bit surprised Texas chose to DFA Corey instead of optioning Rheinecker or C.J. Wilson, but it probably doesn’t matter. The 22-year-old Mendoza pitched well in high-A but has struggled in AA (67 hits allowed in 43 innings). Ojeda is a stopgap in case Texas trades Barajas.
Posted by Lucas at 12:10 PM
July 28, 2006
Carlos Lee A Ranger, Mench and CoCo join Brew Crew
Texas has traded outfielder KEVIN MENCH, outfielder LAYNCE NIX, reliever FRANCISCO CORDERO, and minor-league pitcher JULIAN CORDERO to Milwaukee for outfielder CARLOS LEE and outfielder NELSON CRUZ.
In short, I like it. Yes, Lee will be a free agent and almost certainly will find himself in another uniform next season, but so will the players Texas relinquished. Now 28, Mench appears to have topped out as merely average outfielder. He does have two arbitration years remaining, but neither will be cheap since he makes $2.8 million already. Nix is three years younger but has stalled in AAA. Perhaps Texas wrecked his career in 2003 by calling him up from AA as a 22-year-old despite his unspectacular stats, but that’s a philosophical discussion for another time. Cordero had probably pitched himself out of next year’s team option.
The wildcard is Cruz, who is three months older than Nix and a bit old for a prospect. Still, he’s batted .302/.380/.525 for AAA Toledo with good patience and a terrible strikeout rate.
I’m revising the organization depth chart, so no update of that for a few days.
Posted by Lucas at 02:03 PM
July 13, 2006
Guzman Up, Botts Down
Texas optioned outfielder JASON BOTTS to AAA Oklahoma and recalled outfielder FREDDY GUZMAN from AAA.
Given that Botts wasn’t starting and Buck Showalter apparently is legally proscribed from using a pinch hitter, Guzman makes better use of the 25th spot on the roster.
Posted by Lucas at 03:09 PM
July 04, 2006
Littleton Up, Guzman Down
Yesterday, Texas recalled reliever WES LITTLETON from AAA Oklahoma and optioned outfielder FREDDY GUZMAN to AAA.
In a mild surprise, Guzman hung around for three games beyond the end of Texas’s tour through NL parks. Guzman had no value beyond pinch running because Gary Matthews occupies his natural position, and Buck Showalter avoids pinch hitting like the plague. Littleton didn’t make an appearance in his first stint with the club.
Posted by Lucas at 07:24 PM
July 01, 2006
Wasdin Up, Masset Down
Texas activated pitcher JOHN WASDIN from the 15-day Disabled List and optioned pitcher NICK MASSET to AAA Oklahoma.
The Rangers need a starter for Saturday’s game. Masset got a fly out from Kevin Frandsen to retire his first MLB hitter.
Enjoy your Fourth.
Posted by Lucas at 01:06 PM
June 29, 2006
Castro Traded for Haigwood
Texas traded reliever FABIO CASTRO to Philadelphia for pitcher DANIEL HAIGWOOD. Texas also activated pitcher JOSH RUPE from the 60-day Disabled List, optioned him to AAA, and released infielder MARSHALL MCDOUGALL.
A nice return for the DFA’ed Castro. Haigwood was one of the chips traded to Philly for Jim Thome. This season he has a 3.86 ERA, 3.54 ERA, 85 strikeouts and 42 walks in 84 innings for AA Reading. He turns 23 in November.
McDougall might have made a decent bench player, but we’ll probably never know now.
In other news, the Rangers lost again, and Sleater-Kinney have broken up.
It’s been better.
Posted by Lucas at 07:17 PM
June 26, 2006
Tejeda Up and Down, Masset Up, Castro Out
I'm running late...
On Saturday, Texas recalled pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA from AAA Oklahoma and designated relief pitcher FABIO CASTRO for assignment.
Odds are that Texas won’t regret losing Castro, the first pick of the offseason Rule 5 draft, but it’s an irritating move nonetheless because of the rationales offered.
One, Buck Showalter noted that “there are some things to like about [Castro]… but we’re also trying to win a division. It’s a tough call.�
In spending tens of millions for Kevin Millwood, trading for Adam Eaton and Brad Wilkerson and Aki Otsuka, trading away Alfonso Soriano and Chris Young, and so on, the Rangers quite obviously have been “trying to win a division� since last November. If holding on to a not-ready-for-prime-time Rule 5 pick contradicts that goal, why bother drafting him? Alternately, why not give Castro a legitimate chance to show whether he belonged and then cut bait in May if need be, rather than let him rot on the bench and remain an enigma in late June?
Two, per MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, reliever Bryan Corey’s “performance was one of the reasons why the Rangers were willing to let go of Rule 5 pitcher Fabio Castro.� Texas would have had to send Corey through waivers to get him back to Oklahoma. Showalter said, “With the state of pitching in baseball, we could have lost Bryan,� who would have been exposed to waivers had Texas tried to send him back to AAA.
Really? Bryan Corey? The 32-year-old with only four more big-league innings than the 21-year-old Castro? Now, I’m rooting for him; the Bryan Corey Story is an example of what makes baseball more interesting than any other sport. But will Texas keep him when Adam Eaton, Frankie Francisco, John Wasdin and perhaps Josh Rupe claim their places on the active roster?
On Sunday, Texas recalled pitcher NICK MASSET from AAA Oklahoma and optioned pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA to AAA.
Three cheers for Masset, who pitched himself off the 40-man roster in 2005 but revitalized his career this season.
Posted by Lucas at 09:49 PM
June 20, 2006
Loe DL'ed, Guzman Recalled
Texas placed pitcher KAMERON LOE on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled outfielder FREDDY GUZMAN from AAA Oklahoma.
Loe doesn’t strike anyone out, so he lives and dies on the basis of homers allowed (over which he has substantial control) and his hit rate on balls in play (over which he has little). Last year, Loe allowed one homer per 56 batters faced and had a quite lucky .271 average on balls in play. This year, one homer per 36 batters and an unlucky .328 average when the ball stayed in the park. Somewhere in the middle is a pitcher with a borderline-acceptable ERA of 5.00.
Guzman came to Texas from San Diego in exchange for minor-leaguers John Hudgins and Vince Sinisi and was batting .278/.378/.346 in Oklahoma. Guzman should be limited to pinch-running duties but might get an at-bat or two during Texas’s upcoming jaunt through NL parks. He can dream of more without undue illegitimacy; after all, ostensible 25th man and non-hitter Jerry Hairston has inexplicably started five of the last ten games, two more than Jason Botts.
Posted by Lucas at 01:07 PM
June 16, 2006
Wasdin Out, Castro In
Texas placed pitcher JOHN WASDIN on the 15-day Disabled List and activated reliever FABIO CASTRO from the Disabled List.
Wasdin bruised his hand fielding a comebacker. Texas stashed Rule 5 selection Castro on the DL with a minutely strained groin six weeks ago and has been trying to avoid having to place him on waivers ever since. With twelve other pitchers on the roster, Texas can hide him more easily while he accrues the mandatory service time.
Posted by Lucas at 07:20 PM
June 09, 2006
Corey Purchased, Alfonseca Booted
Texas purchased the contract of reliever BRYAN COREY and recalled him from AAA Oklahoma. Texas also designated reliever ANTONIO ALFONSECA for assignment.
What? Texas discarded El Pulpo just two days after activating from the DL, in favor of a 32-year-old with five MLB innings to his credit. Corey has pitched extraordinarily well between Frisco and Oklahoma: a 1.39 ERA, eight walks and 35 strikeouts in 32 innings. His career ERA in AAA going into this season was 4.48 with generally shrug-worthy peripherals. He credits a slight mechanical change for his sudden improvement.
Alfonseca was allowing baserunners at an alarming rate, but Corey’s odds of a better performance are pretty thin. On the other hand, hey, why not? A disaster would result in perhaps five innings of terrible pitching followed by his own designation and the return of Wes Littleton or the rehabbing Frankie Francisco. It’s a weird transaction but ultimately of minimal risk.
Posted by Lucas at 05:46 PM
June 07, 2006
Alfonseca Returns, Jimenez Departs
Texas activated reliever ANTONIO ALFONSECA from the Disabled List and designated infielder D’ANGELO JIMENEZ for assignment.
In 2010, Texas will routinely carry sixteen pitchers and the minimum nine hitters.
I’m no fan of an eight-man bullpen because having one means apportioning innings to the twelfth and thirteenth best pitchers on the team in the interest of keeping everyone fresh. On the other hand, Texas rarely platoons, pinch-hits or pinch-runs, so being the last man on the Ranger bench means a nice per-diem and endless hours of boredom.
Anyway, the Rangers didn’t need Jimenez once Hairston arrives, and should the need arise later, they’ll call for Drew Meyer.
Posted by Lucas at 12:36 AM
June 01, 2006
Wasdin!
Texas purchased the contract of pitcher JOHN WASDIN from AAA Oklahoma and optioned reliever C.J. WILSON to AAA.
The Rangers signed Wasdin to a Major League deal in the offseason, only to dump him a few days before the start of the season. Wasdin has pitched very well in AAA (2.17 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) and dominated righthanded batters (.177/.238/.269). Last year’s pleasantly surprising middle relief was borne largely from a low .277 average on balls in play; he remains an extreme flyball pitcher who will give up the titanic blast. Still, he’s not a bad guy to have around for chewing up the middle innings.
Posted by Lucas at 07:02 PM
May 31, 2006
Nevin Traded
Texas traded DH PHIL NEVIN to the Chicago Cubs for utility guy JERRY HAIRSTON JR..
Hairston earns $2.3 million annually this season to Nevin’s $10 million plus, and Texas has emptied a cash-filled dumptruck onto Wrigley Field to consummate the deal.
Nevin batted .204/.287/.382 as a Ranger. He could have continued to provide a useful lefty bat, but his public pouting upon being benched last year probably hastened his exit. It didn’t matter much last September with the Rangers virtually eliminated from postseason play, but now, with the team in first place and two-thirds of the season remaining, his disposition matters. “Marginally useful� plus “potentially troublesome� does not equal “helps team win division.�
Hairston presumably makes D’Angelo Jimenez superfluous. He can play second, short and any outfield spot. He’d offered respectable on-base skills until this season.
Finally, when Texas releases Hairston or declines to offer arbitration at season’s end, the Chan Ho Park saga will reach its merciful end.
Posted by Lucas at 05:09 PM
May 25, 2006
Kinsler Returns, Brown Out
Texas activated 2B IAN KINSLER from the 15-day Disabled List and designated OF ADRIAN BROWN for assignment.
Kinsler returns from an involuntary six-week vacation stemming from a thumb-first slide into second base. The question is what to do with Mark Derosa’s nifty Michael Young impersonation (.338/.407/.600). Yes, Derosa can sub at any other infield spot, but Blalock, Young and Teixeira would rather fight than sit. Likewise, he doesn’t make a quality substitute for Kevin Mench since both specialize in bashing lefties.
Brown’s departure leaves Texas without a top notch backup in center or speedy pinch-runner. If or when the Rangers decide to promote new outfielder Freddy Guzman, candidates for dismissal include D’Angelo Jimenez and recently semi-demoted Phil Nevin.
Posted by Lucas at 06:30 PM
May 23, 2006
Botts Up, Meyer Down, Nevin...?
Texas recalled 1B/OF JASON BOTTS from AAA Oklahoma and sent IF DREW MEYER to AAA.
Botts batted .318/.373/.615 in his second tour of duty in AAA. The ten homers in forty games speak to his potential, as does striking out once per 3.4 at-bats. Botts turns 26 in a couple of months and needs to exploit this opportunity lest he receive the Adrian Gonzalez treatment. As you may recall, Gonzalez hit lights-out during Spring Training in 2005 and earned a roster spot, only to play sparingly and hit poorly in a two-week trial, whereupon he was dumped back into the minors. Botts’ situation isn’t a perfect analogy, but there is the fear that Texas could settle too soon for the dull certainty of Nevin’s underachievement rather than ride out a slow start by Botts.
Since the start of 2005, Nevin has 596 plate appearances and a line of .234/.299/.388, roughly comparable to the immortal Neifi Perez. This season, Nevin has all but twelve of the team’s cleanup plate appearances and all but five from the DH slot. To what end?
| Phil Nevin, 2006 | OBP+ |
SLG+ |
OPS+ |
| Relative to the AL | 96 |
92 |
88 |
| Relative to other DHs | 95 |
85 |
80 |
| Relative to other cleanup hitters | 88 |
78 |
66 |
Texas has received better cleanup production than only two teams (Kansas City and Seattle) and better DH production than three (KC, Los Angeles, and Minnesota). Nevin’s 2006 performance thus far should strike a familiar chord for Ranger fans:
| Player | Line |
| Phil Nevin (2006) | .226/.324/.409 |
| Brad Fullmer (2004) | .233/.310/.442 |
| Andres Galaragga (2001) | .235/.310/.424 |
| Ken Caminiti (2001) | .232/.318/.432 |
Only the 40-year-old Galaragga had any gas left in the tank after leaving Texas, lasting another three reasonably productive years.
Posted by Lucas at 06:23 PM
May 19, 2006
Tejeda Up, Alfonseca Hurt
Texas placed reliever ANTONIO ALFONSECA on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA from AAA Oklahoma.
El Pulpo has a sore tentacle.
Posted by Lucas at 06:51 PM
May 13, 2006
Shouse Traded
Texas traded reliever BRIAN SHOUSE to Milwaukee for infielder ENRIQUE CRUZ and a player to be named.
The Rangers had designated Shouse a few days ago. He provided two excellent seasons during 2003-2004, then faded. Homers signaled his downfall: he allowed only four in 105 innings during ’03-’04, eight in 57 innings since.
Cruz was a Rule 5 selection in 2003 as a 21-year-old. He survived the full season, sort of, getting all of 76 plate appearances and batting .085/.145/.099 with 30 strikeouts. Playing in AAA for the first time, he was batting .261/.320/.377. He’s shown slightly increased power and decreased patience while slowly moving up the ladder. Doesn’t appear to be more than a 25th man at the Major League level.
Posted by Lucas at 03:50 PM
May 08, 2006
Feldman Up, Tejeda Down, Shouse Out
Texas recalled reliever SCOTT FELDMAN from AAA Oklahoma, optioned starting pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA to AAA, and designated reliever BRIAN SHOUSE for assignment.
Feldman had pitched well enough in his prior stints on the active roster, but the optionless status of many other Ranger relievers made him the default choice to demote. Rather than keep him in AAA, Texas opted for the more difficult decision of waiving the rehabilitating Brian Shouse. Shouse is a pure LOOGY who nonetheless had faced righties half the time and wasn’t retiring lefties at the necessary rate (.400/.400/.600 in ten plate appearances). Statistically, one can’t infer anything from such a small sample, but Texas seemingly has decided that Feldman (or, more likely, fellow lefty C.J. Wilson) is better suited to terminate Major League hitters.
Posted by Lucas at 11:29 PM
April 30, 2006
DeRosa Returns
Texas activated infielder MARK DEROSA from the 15-day Disabled List and optioned outfielder ADAM HYZDU to AAA Oklahoma.
50,000,000 DeRosa fans can't be wrong.
Posted by Lucas at 08:35 PM
April 22, 2006
Rheinekcer Up, Shouse DL'ed.
Texas placed reliever BRIAN SHOUSE on the 15-day Disabled List and recalled pitcher JOHN RHEINECKER from AAA Oklahoma.
Texas wins the battle with Oakland over which traded pitcher would join the active roster first. Rheinecker has a bizarre line in AAA so far: ten Ks and only one walk in 15+ innings, but also 26 hits allowed and a 5.87 ERA. The hits aren’t necessarily just a function of luck. In 541 AA-AAA innings, Rheinecker’s opponents have batted a robust .325 on balls in play. He’ll start Saturday night against a salty Tampa Bay offense.
Shouse has a strained right calf and an opposing batters’ line of .316/.350/.632.
Posted by Lucas at 06:18 PM
April 21, 2006
Nix Optioned
Texas optioned outfielder LAYNCE NIX to AAA Oklahoma, added outfielder ADAM HYZDU to the 40-man and active rosters, and moved pitcher JOSH RUPE from the 15-day to the 60-day Disabled List.
Healthy, yes, but no more productive. After a late spring surge and Gary Matthews’s injury propelled Nix to a starting role, he opened the season with a line of .094/.118/.125, drew zero walks and struck out seventeen times in his 34 plate appearances. While just about anyone could hit that poorly in that short a span, Nix has a depressing affinity for these cold streaks. He now possesses a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.6 to 1 as a Major Leaguer.
Nix has walked a spiffy once per 9.8 plate appearances in the minors. Perhaps a long stretch in AAA will promote better pitch selection. He won’t turn 26 until the fall and had only 87 games of experience above A ball (all in AA) when Texas promoted him to Arlington.
Not that it’s anyone’s fault per se, but in three short weeks Texas mutated from a team with “too many outfielders� to having Adrian Brown and Adam Hyzdu on the active roster. Whee.
Posted by Lucas at 11:23 PM
April 19, 2006
Transactions
Texas placed infielder MARK DEROSA on the 15-day Disabled List, added infielder DREW MEYER to the 40-man and active rosters, and moved pitcher ADAM EATON from the 15-day to the 60-day Disabled List.
Grady Fuson’s first pick and most notorious draft pick makes his big-league debut. The tenth pick of 2002, Meyer didn’t merit a spot on the 40-man roster last fall or a selection in the Rule 5 draft last winter. His career AA-AAA line of .281/.339/.363 shows far too much reliance on batting average for offensive value; he walks once every thirteen plate appearances and has five homers in 843 at-bats. Meyer doesn’t turn 25 until August and can play practically anywhere but catcher, so he has more upside than, say, 27-year-old Marshall McDougall. Perhaps he’ll get what has eluded McDougall: the opportunity to mature into a genuinely useful utility player.
Texas moved Eaton to the 60-day DL to accommodate Meyer.
Posted by Lucas at 11:30 PM
April 15, 2006
Transaction
Texas activated pitcher C.J. WILSON from the Disabled List and optioned pitcher SCOTT FELDMAN to AAA Oklahoma.
The Rangers already had two lefties in the pen, but Brian Shouse is a LOOGY poster boy while Fabio Castro hasn’t merited use in anything approaching a high leverage situation. Wilson potentially gives Texas a lefty who can chew a whole inning or two in the middle of a close game. Potentially.
Among the logical candidates for demotion, only Feldman had options. Indeed, this option is just his first, so it’s not as if Texas is burning one needlessly. Feldman hasn’t even acquired 100 innings in professional baseball. He'll cope.
Posted by Lucas at 12:55 AM
April 13, 2006
Transactions
Texas placed 2B IAN KINSLER on the 15-day Disabled List.
Ugh. Kinsler’s ill-fated slide will cost him three weeks. He suffered “only� a dislocated thumb and ligament strain; a torn ligament would have given him a three-month vacation. Buck Showalter will give most of the starts to Mark DeRosa over D’Angelo Jimenez even though DeRosa doesn’t hit righties.
Texas activated OF GARY MATTHEWS JR. from the 15-day Disabled List.
Matthews takes Kinsler’s place on the roster and Brad Wilkerson’s at the top of the lineup. Per Showalter:
Comparatively speaking, he’s as good a candidate as we have. He’s a guy you could potentially put there and leave alone.
I couldn’t agree more. After all, Matthews did go one-for-five last night, and the leadoff spot is the ideal location for someone with a career OBP of .327. Likewise, Wilkerson’s career OBP of .365 in 2,700 plate appearances is utterly nullified by his awful week-and-a-half as a Ranger.
Incidentally, I went three-for-three for my softball team last week. Comparatively speaking, I think there’s a pretty good chance I will never make another out. Ever.
Texas activated infielder MARSHALL MCDOUGALL from the 15-day Disabled List and optioned him to AAA Oklahoma.
Even with Kinsler’s injury, Texas doesn’t need poor McDougall.
Posted by Lucas at 11:33 AM
April 07, 2006
Transaction
Texas optioned pitcher R.A. DICKEY to AAA Oklahoma, purchased the contract of pitcher RICK BAUER and added him to the active roster.
The Rangers have an organizational policy imposing a demotion for any pitcher who allows in excess of 2,000 linear feet of home runs in one game. Bauer epitomizes mediocrity but ought to provide modest improvement on Dickey’s opponent slugging percentage of 1.500. Bauer’s promotion pushes the 40-man roster to its limit. Both Dickey and Bauer have an unusual physical attribute: Dickey, as you probably know, lacks a forearm ligament, while Bauer possesses neither jaw nor chin.
Texas also re-signed DH Erubiel Durazo.
Posted by Lucas at 06:06 PM
April 02, 2006
Transactions
Texas placed pitcher ADAM EATON and outfielder GARY MATTHEWS JR. on the 15-day Disabled List.
Eaton will undergo surgery on his injured middle finger in a few days. Surgery or no, he is looking at three months on the shelf. Matthews never played in Spring Training because of sore ribs but should begin a rehab assignment next week. Upon his return to Arlington, he'll man center field against lefties and spot Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench on the corners.
Posted by Lucas at 03:19 AM
Transactions
Texas purchased the contracts of reliever ANTONIO ALFONSECA, infielder D’ANGELO JIMENEZ, and outfielder ADRIAN BROWN.
Texas designated reliever ERASMO RAMIREZ for assignement.
And the Rangers fill out the back end of their roster. Alfonseca will attempt to provide league-average middle relief. The 28-year-old Jimenez probably will rot on the bench in an attempt to resurrect his career. He falls behind Kinsler and DeRosa on the depth chart at second base, and Blalock and Young rest about once every three months. Brown, likewise, should play very infrequently even though he comes to Arlington as the fourth outfielder. Texas needs him for the time being because of the trade of Dellucci and injury to Gary Matthews.
The decision to DFA Ramirez is interesting but not unexpected. Ramirez had no more options, and his slow/slower/slowest repertoire didn’t inspire much confidence despite his left-handedness and an opposing batter line of .256/.297/.382. Ramirez also has a pronounced reverse split: .622 OPS versus righties and .761 against lefties. I’d bet someone claims him.
By my count, Texas currently has 41 players on the 40-man roster. They had 38 going into Thursday, lost Dominguez but gained Koronka and Rheinecker to gain one, then added the three noted above and designated Ramirez. Assuming I’m correct, the Rangers probably have bumped one of their disabled to the 60-day list.
UPDATE: Forgot that Texas outrighted reliever Jon Leicester. 40 on the roster.
Posted by Lucas at 02:21 AM
April 01, 2006
Trade
Texas traded outfielder DAVID DELLUCCI for Philadelphia for pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA and outfielder JAKE BLALOCK.
Apparently the Ranger braintrust looked askance at throwing newly acquired John Koronka onto the mound for the fifth game of the season. Despite concerns about Brad Wilkerson’s shoulder, Laynce Nix’s ability to hit MLB pitching, and Gary Matthews’s hamstring, Texas decided to cash in on Dellucci’s fine 2005 and affordability ($900,000 salary) to upgrade the pitching. Since Philly has Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu as outfield corners and no need for a DH, Dellucci will recede to the status of seldom-used fourth outfielder.
Tejeda turned 24 a few days ago. As a rookie last season, Tejeda lucked into his 3.57 ERA. He walked or hit 16% of the batters he faced and allowed only a .260 average on balls in play. On the other hand, he struck out just under 20% of his opponents and permitted only five homers and a meager .329 slugging percentage. In 2004, as a 22-year-old in AA, he offered promising peripherals (3.5 walks and 8.0 Ks per nine innings) except for Wasdin-esque homer per five innings. With his arrival, John Koronka’s tenure as the fifth starter lasts all of two days. I peg Tejeda for an ERA of 4.80 and a WHIP of 1.50 in Texas.
Blalock is Hank’s kid brother. He batted .279/.359/.388 as a 21-year-old for high-A Clearwater last year. He may begin ’06 in AA Frisco.
Posted by Lucas at 11:59 PM
March 31, 2006
Transactions
Texas placed pitchers FRANK FRANCISCO, JOSH RUPE, and C.J. WILSON, and infielder MARSHALL MCDOUGALL on the 15-day Disabled List.
Adam Eaton and Gary Matthews will join them soon. Francisco is still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery.
Posted by Lucas at 11:19 PM
March 30, 2006
Trade
Texas traded pitcher JUAN DOMINGUEZ to Oakland for infielder FREDDIE BYNUM and pitcher JOHN RHEINECKER.
Texas trade infielder FREDDIE BYNUM to Chicago (NL) for pitcher JOHN KORONKA.
Depressing, even if Dominguez flops as an Athletic. He represents yet another homegrown arm that won’t blossom for Texas. I was skeptical that he would ever develop into more than a league-average pitcher, but guys like that currently have much greater marginal value for Texas than, say, Oakland. One more vanilla league-average starter could have delivered a division title to Texas in 2004. The possibility of Dominguez growing into his talent in Oakland is a waking nightmare. Somehow, in the space of three months, “the team with no pitching� traded Juan Dominguez and Chris Young, both of whom are under 27 and have better-than-league-average ERAs.
Texas immediately flipped Bynum for Koronka, who has eight years experience and 920 professional innings of which 905 have accrued in the minors. He also has a career minor-league RA of 5.17 and an ERA of 4.39. Texas drafted him as a Rule 5 pick from Cincinnati back in 2003 but surrendered him before the start of the season. Koronka spent most of the last two years in AAA; let’s compare him to Mystery Pitcher X:
| AAA, 2004-2005 | IP |
RA |
ERA |
HR% |
BB% |
SO% |
| John Koronka | 289 |
4.70 |
4.29 |
2.5% |
9% |
17% |
| Mystery Pitcher X | 177 |
4.37 |
4.06 |
2.8% |
6% |
19% |
Mystery Pitcher X allowed a few more homers but otherwise pitched marginally better than Koronka. Given these numbers and a rather unpalatable decision to make, you’d probably select Mr. X.
X is John Wasdin.
Koronka excelled in the Arizona Fall League as a reliever and, unlike Wasdin, impressed this spring, but Texas intends to return him to the rotation. Wasdin might do better. As mentioned by Newbergreport.com’s Mike Hindman, so might A.J. Murray. Dig around the Ranger farm system and find your own example.
Oakland selected Rheinecker as a supplemental first rounder in 2001. He doesn’t strike out many batters either but does have a minor-league ERA of 3.79 while pitching in several hitter-friendly leagues (California, Texas, Pacific Coast) and is more reluctant to allow walks and homers than Koronka. Still, he’s a pretty marginal prospect.
Posted by Lucas at 11:16 PM
March 27, 2006
Transaction
Texas has waived pitcher JOHN WASDIN.
Let’s review the $600,000 contract to which Texas signed Wasdin last November:
This contract recalls the $1 million bestowed upon Doug Brocail last year and the two years given to Herbert Perry after 2001; it’s really more a reward for a previous season’s unexpected adequacy.
This time, Texas didn’t even grant Wasdin the chance to disappoint. Wasdin pitched atrociously enough this spring (26 baserunners in 10.2 innings) to obliterate the misty water-colored memory of 2005’s satisfactory performance. Frankly, it was hard to envision him having a season-long, vital role for a ballclub that purports to contend for a division title.. On the other hand, he’s not the worst guy in the world to recall for a few innings in an emergency. Texas may resign him to a minor-league deal (he won’t be claimed).
Interestingly, Texas already had one open spot on the 40-nan roster.
Posted by Lucas at 11:40 PM
Transaction
Texas released designated hitter ERUBIEL DURAZO.
Durazo entered camp with a chance to claim a partial share of the DH role, but he didn’t hit and didn’t play much because of his presence on the WBC’s Mexican squad. By implication, Texas has granted Phil Nevin full-time DH status and in fact plan to bat him cleanup. Nevin himself hasn’t hit well this spring after an early homer barrage. If he can’t recapture his old glory, Mark Teixeira might surpass last year’s five intentional walks by the end of April.
Posted by Lucas at 11:39 PM
March 13, 2006
Transaction
Texas sent pitcher CLINT BRANNON to Chicago (NL) as the player-to-be-named in the trade for pitcher JON LEICESTER.
The Rangers drafted Brannon in the 34th round of the 2004 draft. He shredded the short-season Northwest League, then gave an okay performance in a level hop to the high-A hitter-friendly California League. Leicester for Brannon seems reasonable.
Posted by Lucas at 06:30 PM
February 25, 2006
Transactions
Texas signed pitchers FRANK FRANCISCO and JON LEICESTER and outfielder LAYNCE NIX to one-year contracts.
$345,260 for Nix, $332,100 for Leiscester, $331,500 for Francisco. Texas has everyone on the 40-man roster signed.
Posted by Lucas at 12:31 PM
February 23, 2006
Transactions
Texas signed pitchers R.A DICKEY and KAMERON LOE and infielder JOAQUIN ARIAS to one-year contracts.
$380,000 for Dickey, $348,770 for Loe and the minimum for Arias.
Posted by Lucas at 11:31 PM
February 22, 2006
Transaction
Texas signed DH ERUBIEL DURAZO to a minor-league contract.
A nice pickup. Durazo averaged .290/.385/.477 in Oakland during 2003-2004, his only two years of healthy and full-time play. Elbow tendonitis and eventual Tommy John surgery wrecked his 2005 campaign. He’ll make half a million if he makes the team. He hits lefties adequately but probably would be the “right� half of a DH platoon with Nevin if both are still on the squad come April. As to where Jason Botts fits in all this… he doesn’t.
Posted by Lucas at 11:30 PM
February 16, 2006
Transactions
Texas signed pitcher C.J. WILSON, catcher GERALD LAIRD and outfielder JASON BOTTS to one-year contracts.
Terms undisclosed. Botts probably gets the minimum, the other two very slight bumps.
Posted by Lucas at 06:57 PM
February 10, 2006
Transactions
Texas signed pitchers OMAR BELTRE, FABIO CASTRO, JUAN DOMINGUEZ, SCOTT FELDMAN, WES LITTLETON, JOSH RUPE, and EDISON VOLQUEZ, and infielders AAROM BALDIRIS and MARSHALL MCDOUGALL to one-year contracts.
All will earn the $327,000 minimum or very close to it, though the salaries of Dominguez, Littleton and McDougall are not available at the moment. The Star Telegram article doesn’t say so, but these contracts almost certainly are prorated for time spent on the Major League roster. Which is to say, most of them won’t really make $300+.
Posted by Lucas at 11:59 PM
February 03, 2006
Transaction
Texas signed outfielder KEVIN MENCH to a one-year contract for $2.8 million, avoiding arbitration.
As happened last year, Mench and Texas couldn't agree to a long-term deal. Still, a nice payday for Mench, who was arbitration-eligible for the first time.
Posted by Lucas at 01:38 PM
January 28, 2006
Transactions
Texas signed pitcher VICENTE PADILLA to a one-year contract for $4.4 million, avoiding arbitration. They also signed outfielder GARY MATTHEWS JR. to a one-year contract for $2,387,500, avoiding arbitration. Reliever ANTONIO ALFONSECA signed a minor-league contract.
Padilla received slightly under the midpoint of his $4.8 million request and the team’s $4.1 million offer. Matthews had asked for $3 million and was offered one million less. Pretty amazing for a guy in his seventh organization, thrice waived, once released.
Alfonseca has an erratic track record in performance and status, having declined from well-paid closer to well-paid setup man to mop-up man to NRI in three short years. He doesn’t strike out a great many batters. He does keep the ball in the park and on the ground. Alfonseca’s a nice addition relative to the loopy dollars being handed out to just above-average relievers, but where he fits among all the other right-handed bullpen options in a mystery.
Posted by Lucas at 11:42 PM
January 20, 2006
Transaction
Texas claimed IF Aarom Baldiris off waivers from New York (NL).
Yes, it’s “Aarom.� Baldiris just turned 23 and spent 2005 in the AA Eastern League, batting .275/.341/.416. He has a decent batting eye and showed previously unseen power (career-best 35 doubles and eleven homers) last year but lost thirty points of batting average moving up a level. He has only one option remaining, to my knowledge.
Posted by Lucas at 05:28 PM
January 17, 2006
Transaction
Texas signed pitcher ADAM EATON to a one-year contract for $4.65 million, avoiding arbitration.
Nice money for a pitcher with a career ERA+ of 92. An improved showing in his contract year is vital to the team’s chances to contend. The Rangers do love his arm.
Chris Young will make $500,000 this season.
Posted by Lucas at 01:12 PM
Transaction
Texas signed outfielder BRAD WILKERSON to a one-year contract for $3.9 million.
A modest raise for Wilkerson, who made $3.05 million in his first arbitration year as a Senator. The Texas salary commitment for 2006 just passed $50 million, with four more arb-eligible players and a host of indentured servants yet to sign.
Posted by Lucas at 11:05 AM
Transaction
Texas signed 1B MARK TEIXEIRA to a two-year deal for $15.4 million, avoiding his first two years of arbitration.
Tex will earn $6 million this year and $8.4 million in 2007. He’ll have one more arbitration season. Rangers who stand to become free agents after 2008 and their ages in 2009:
Mark Teixeira (29)
Hank Blalock (28)
Michael Young (32)
Kevin Mench (31)
Joaquin Benoit (31)
Brian Shouse (40)
Posted by Lucas at 10:15 AM
January 16, 2006
Transaction
Texas signed catcher ROD BARAJAS to a one-year deal for $3.2 million, avoiding arbitration.
Barajas vaults from low-rent minor-league free agent to $1.85 million to $3.2 million in two years, thus raising US aggregate inflation-adjusted wages by 0.2% all by himself. Though he ranked only 15 th in VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) among MLB catchers, he provided strong defense, which VORP doesn’t measure. Perhaps he doesn’t deserve quite that much, but Texas loathes the (usually) needless acrimony of arbitration as much as any team in baseball.
The real fun begins after the season, when Barajas can become a free agent. Will someone guarantee his current salary or more for three-plus seasons?.