As a follow-up to yesterday's post (which was a follow up to a series of posts in April), here's a look at my team of recently-departed, still-active ex-Rangers, after some mid-season adjustments to the bullpen, and picking up recently made available additions to the impressive list of talented ex-Rangers (Teixeira, Lofton, Mahay & Gagne).
Lineup (with stats to date for this season: OBP/SLG/AVG):
1. Kenny Lofton OF L (.369/.416/.296, 7hr, 25rbi, 67r, 21sb)
2. Alfonso Soriano LF R (.336/.511/.297; 18hr; 42rbi; 74r; 18sb)
3. Carlos Lee RF R (.356/.536/.302; 24hr; 95rbi; 68r)
4. Alex Rodriguez S/3 R (.407/.633/.300; 39hr; 114rbi; 107r; 14sb)
5. Mark Teixeira 1B S (.388/.535/.291, 17hr, 61rbi, 56r)
6. Adrian Gonzalez DH/1B L (.339/.477/.265; 19hr; 68rbi; 64r)
7. Mark DeRosa 2B/U R (.363/.418/.288; 7hr; 54rbi; 40r)
8. Ivan Rodriguez C R (.289/.426/.279; 9hr; 50rbi; 39r)
9. Esteban German 3/I R (.372/.399/.284; 3hr; 29rbi; 36r; 8sb)
Bench
Rod Barajas C R (.343/.376/.214; 4hr; 9rbi; 15r)
Mike Lamb INF L (.375/.478/.296; 11hr; 34rbi; 40r)
Travis Hafner DH/1 L (.380/.438/.254; 18hr; 70rbi; 58r)
Gary Matthews, Jr. OF S (.338/.448/.275; 14hr; 65rbi; 67r, 12sb)
Starting Rotation
Chris Young R (9-4; 2.02era; 119k; 44bb; 124.2ip)
Kenny Rodgers L (3-2; 5.23era; 17k; 12bb; 32.2ip)
Doug Davis L (9-10; 3.81era; 101k; 76bb; 146.1ip)
John Danks L (6-10; 5.22era; 22GS; 122.1ip; 96k; 46bb)
Adam Eaton R (9-8; 6.36era; 82k; 57bb; 133ip)
Bullpen
CL: Francisco Cordero R (36sv; 0-4; 3.14era; 66k; 17bb; 48.2ip)
SU: Eric Gagne R (16sv, 2-0, 3.62era, 39G, 37.1ip. 14bb, 34k)
Ron Mahay L (3-0, 2.53era, 34G, 46.1ip)
Doug Brocail R (4-1, 3.88era, 44G, 53.1ip)
Brian Shouse L (1-1; 2.60era; 52G; 34.2ip)
Ryan Bukvich R (1-0, 2.96era, 31G, 27.1ip)
Aaron Fultz L (3-2, 3.28era, 36G, 24.2ip)
Question: Could any other team put together a better 25-man roster consisting of players that have left their organization but are still playing?
The Marlins leap to mind as they'd have a great rotation of former Marlins, but just off the top of my head, I think there offense would be very weak.
Showing posts with label Gagne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gagne. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Should the Rangers Sign a Free Agent Pitcher This Winter, or Not?
Similar to early-season views on Torii Hunter, I and many others expected the Rangers sign a Free Agent starting pitcher this next Winter to add to the rotation for 2008. But with the upsides of failing fast now in full effect at the Ballpark, I'm not sure they should.
The earliest the Rangers window for being a true contender will open is 2009. So why not let all the young arms in the Rangers organization get every chance they can with as many innings as possible in the “Bigs” to become winning pitchers for '09 and beyond?
Millwood and Padilla are the only pitchers (and 2 of only 5 Rangers total) under contract past this season. And, with one of the league's 5 lowest team salaries after dumping Teixeira, Gagne, Lofton and Mahay's salaries ($22.2 million annualized), the Rangers certainly have all the flexibility and tons of money available to rebuild their rotation and fill holes in their lineup and bench.
But the Rangers also have a large collection of highly touted prospect young arms. While I'm not at all confident in the Rangers’ ability to turn prospects into winning major league starters, the law of averages has to kick in sometime. Doesn't it? I mean, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every so often.
So would it be better for the Rangers to let the remaining 3 spots in their rotation be filled by those prospects, instead of filling one with a free agent signing? (Of course, Millwood and Padilla’s seasons make them less than surefire long-term locks for any rotation and they could be traded away, but that’s a discussion for another time.)
I include McCarthy and Gabbard on the Rangers’ prospects list, as they still haven't completed a successful transition to the majors and are not bona fide winning starters. Then there's Tejeda, Loe and Wood who've had plenty of chances to get some traction already (not to mention Rheinecker – who’s about out of chances). Are they worth more time in the rotation to see what could happen? Or are they meant for the bullpen? And then there's Volquez, Hurley, Rupe, Harrison, Galarraga and Mendoza coming up from the minors.
That’s at least 12 pitchers who are touted to have various levels of major league potential. At least two or three of them should become major league winners, right? Again, the law of averages has to work in the Rangers’ favor at some point, doesn’t it.
Plus, the list of pitchers who’ll be free agents this winter doesn’t look too exciting and looks pretty old (source MLB Trade Rumors):
Carlos Zambrano (27)
Curt Schilling (41)
Jason Jennings (29)
Koji Uehara (33)
Freddy Garcia (32)
Kenny Rogers (43)
Jon Lieber (38)
Bartolo Colon (35)
Joe Kennedy (29)
Tomo Ohka (32)
John Thomson (34)
Kip Wells (31)
Wade Miller (31)
Livan Hernandez (33)*
Randy Wolf (31) - $9MM club option for '08
Paul Byrd (37) - $8MM club option for '08
Jeff Weaver (31)
Tom Glavine (42) - $9MM player option for '08
Kris Benson (33) - $7.5MM club option for '08
Jaret Wright (32)
David Wells (45)
Eric Milton (32)
Kyle Lohse (29)
Matt Clement (33)
Rodrigo Lopez (32)
Josh Fogg (31)
Byung-Hyun Kim (29)
Odalis Perez (31) - $9MM club option for '08
Brett Tomko (35) - $4.5MM mutual option for '08
If the Rangers can sign Carlos Zambrano, they should. He’s a true ace who could at 27 could anchor the Rangers’ rotation for years. But like so many aces before him, why would he come to the Ballpark and the Rangers? It would take crazy money for him to pass on the numerous great offers he’ll get from teams who will be contending for years to come.
So, short of a miracle signing of Zambrano, I think the Rangers best move may be to stick with the arms they have and see how these prospects play out. Then they’ll have the trade deadlines next season and the winter of ’08-’09 – when they’ll have a more clear picture of what they have in the guys they have – to shore up any holes in the rotation.
The problem there is that they’ll likely still have several large holes. But we’ve got time to wait and see.
The earliest the Rangers window for being a true contender will open is 2009. So why not let all the young arms in the Rangers organization get every chance they can with as many innings as possible in the “Bigs” to become winning pitchers for '09 and beyond?
Millwood and Padilla are the only pitchers (and 2 of only 5 Rangers total) under contract past this season. And, with one of the league's 5 lowest team salaries after dumping Teixeira, Gagne, Lofton and Mahay's salaries ($22.2 million annualized), the Rangers certainly have all the flexibility and tons of money available to rebuild their rotation and fill holes in their lineup and bench.
But the Rangers also have a large collection of highly touted prospect young arms. While I'm not at all confident in the Rangers’ ability to turn prospects into winning major league starters, the law of averages has to kick in sometime. Doesn't it? I mean, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every so often.
So would it be better for the Rangers to let the remaining 3 spots in their rotation be filled by those prospects, instead of filling one with a free agent signing? (Of course, Millwood and Padilla’s seasons make them less than surefire long-term locks for any rotation and they could be traded away, but that’s a discussion for another time.)
I include McCarthy and Gabbard on the Rangers’ prospects list, as they still haven't completed a successful transition to the majors and are not bona fide winning starters. Then there's Tejeda, Loe and Wood who've had plenty of chances to get some traction already (not to mention Rheinecker – who’s about out of chances). Are they worth more time in the rotation to see what could happen? Or are they meant for the bullpen? And then there's Volquez, Hurley, Rupe, Harrison, Galarraga and Mendoza coming up from the minors.
That’s at least 12 pitchers who are touted to have various levels of major league potential. At least two or three of them should become major league winners, right? Again, the law of averages has to work in the Rangers’ favor at some point, doesn’t it.
Plus, the list of pitchers who’ll be free agents this winter doesn’t look too exciting and looks pretty old (source MLB Trade Rumors):
Carlos Zambrano (27)
Curt Schilling (41)
Jason Jennings (29)
Koji Uehara (33)
Freddy Garcia (32)
Kenny Rogers (43)
Jon Lieber (38)
Bartolo Colon (35)
Joe Kennedy (29)
Tomo Ohka (32)
John Thomson (34)
Kip Wells (31)
Wade Miller (31)
Livan Hernandez (33)*
Randy Wolf (31) - $9MM club option for '08
Paul Byrd (37) - $8MM club option for '08
Jeff Weaver (31)
Tom Glavine (42) - $9MM player option for '08
Kris Benson (33) - $7.5MM club option for '08
Jaret Wright (32)
David Wells (45)
Eric Milton (32)
Kyle Lohse (29)
Matt Clement (33)
Rodrigo Lopez (32)
Josh Fogg (31)
Byung-Hyun Kim (29)
Odalis Perez (31) - $9MM club option for '08
Brett Tomko (35) - $4.5MM mutual option for '08
If the Rangers can sign Carlos Zambrano, they should. He’s a true ace who could at 27 could anchor the Rangers’ rotation for years. But like so many aces before him, why would he come to the Ballpark and the Rangers? It would take crazy money for him to pass on the numerous great offers he’ll get from teams who will be contending for years to come.
So, short of a miracle signing of Zambrano, I think the Rangers best move may be to stick with the arms they have and see how these prospects play out. Then they’ll have the trade deadlines next season and the winter of ’08-’09 – when they’ll have a more clear picture of what they have in the guys they have – to shore up any holes in the rotation.
The problem there is that they’ll likely still have several large holes. But we’ve got time to wait and see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
