Playing GM for the Texas Rangers
Texas Ranger fans should be extremely grateful that we have such a well ran organization… for once. The days of trading away the best players in the organization for a bucket of cage balls and a log of Wintergreen Copenhagen are long gone. Jon Daniels has no doubt made a couple of stupid moves in his time, but he has over-compensated with brilliant moves too, and more of them. Jon Danks hasn’t been brilliant in Chicago, Adrian Gonzalez cuts deep but Josh Hamilton is a great band-aid to that wound.
Anyways, even though JD is the man and I trust him, I feel like some moves can be made to make the team better. I’m going to let you see inside of my head on what I think the Rangers could do before Spring Training rolls around to help them win that elusive W.S.
Need: Util. OF or starting CF, Util. Inf. and a Lefty Specialist Reliever
Idea #1 : Jack Wilson
Jack Wilson is a typical veteran Major League journeyman. He is a perfect Free Agent utility infielder for the Rangers. He is not a liability in the clubhouse, hits fairly well and can field very well.
Price: If he wants his usual $4-5 Million a year.. Forget about. But if the aging Utility man wants a ring or at least wants to win.. He would need to take a pay cut. Such as a 2-year $6 million contract.
Idea #2 : Eric O’Flaherty
Eric O’Flaherty dominated lefties last year with the Braves. He is not a free agent, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be acquired for a certain price. The 26 year old lefty posted a sub 1.00 ERA last year and dominated LH hitters in the process. The addition would make Texas’ bullpen the best in the league… easily.
Price: The Braves aren’t as high on O’Flaherty as most teams would be because of their surplus of good young bullpen arms. But for the Rangers to acquire the lefty specialist they would need a good trade. If I was Jon Daniels, I’d offer Michael Kirkman and a lower tier prospect for O’Flaherty.
Idea # 3 : Clayton Kershaw
First of all, I’m not saying this is going to happen, but Clayton Kershaw is an absolute beast on the mound and is still very young. The Dodgers are currently trying to fix their ownership situation but that shouldn’t stop them for wanting to acquire a ton of top-tier prospects for their Cy Young award winning ace.
Price: Most Ranger fans aren’t going to like this too much but… Martin Perez will have to be included in a trade for Kershaw. It would take something like this:
Martin Perez LHP
Mike Olt 3B
Robbie Ross LHP and maybe another prospect
Imagine the future rotation of Kershaw, Darvish, Holland, Harrison and Feliz…. Don’t tell me that wouldn’t be fun.
The CF position isn’t an extremely big need to the Rangers. Craig Gentry fills in very well and Leonys Martin should be sharpening his skills in Spring Training. With the absence of Endy Chavez… Martin should fill that spot on the roster if he performs at a high level in March.
It is always fun to imagine being an owner or GM of a team, but that is what Fantasy Sports are for.
I would have to imagine, LAD would want the Rangers #1 prospect, Profar, for their best pitcher and top 10 in baseball.