Texas Rangers: Yu Darvish on Track, Starter Still Needed
By Reid Hanson
Texas Rangers fans received good news when they learned ace pitcher, Yu Darvish, is on track to return this summer as planned. But that doesn’t mean another starter isn’t needed.
Someone needs to bridge the gap. At some point this summer, the Texas Rangers will have quite the formidable 1-2 punch in Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish, but they can hardly afford to relax and just wait for that glorious summer day to arrive.
The Rangers have roughly two months of baseball before Yu returns and they would be remise if they didn’t prepare for that early season stretch. With Cole Hamels entrenched as the opening day starter and Martin Perez, Derek Holland, and Colby Lewis falling in line after, the Rangers have the top four starters pretty well locked down. It’s after that where things start to get dicey…
Chi Chi Gonzalez, a Sport DFW favorite, is the pitcher most likely to lay claim to that final starting spot. He dazzled fans last season, showing everyone in the organization he could one day be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. His pitches, intelligence, and calm demeanor makes him a shoe-in for a big role in the Texas Rangers 2016 season.
If Chi Chi isn’t enough, RHP Nick Martinez, provides competition and insurance should anyone falter. Like Chi Chi, Martinez is a young arm (25) with loads of potential. In case you’re not counting, that’s six capable pitchers the Texas Rangers are heading into spring training with. So what’s the problem?
History is the problem.
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Over the past few seasons, spring training and the early season have been brutal to the Texas Rangers starting pitching Derek Holland, Martin Perez, and Yu Darvish have all missed significant time. Just last spring, the Rangers, who had already lost Martin Perez to Tommy John, lost Derek Holland and Yu Darvish. They played much of the early season without their top three pitchers and struggled mightily as a result.
That’s why the Texas Rangers are still looking for another starter.
When Assistant General Manager Thad Levine was asked what he was more concerned with, outfield or starting pitching, Thad jumped right into the pitching situation.
"“We would like to add another pitcher on the starting side. It doesn’t have to be a top-of-the-rotation guy but we would like to add something there, Levine said. “Having lived through 2014 and to a lesser extent 2015, we’re just so keenly aware that you can’t have enough pitching going into camp.”"
Former Texas Ranger, Yovani Gallardo, has been sitting out there waiting for a team but his cost is simply too high for the Rangers’ budget to handle.
Related Story: Is the Budget Holding the Rangers Back?
Keeping an eye on former ace, Tim Lincecum, is something Levine admits to be doing. The once-dominant starter has had his share of struggles (and injuries) in recent seasons and will have to prove himself capable before getting an offer from the Texas Rangers.
"“We monitored his health process throughout the offseason as well as his rehab,” Levine said of Lincecum. “We’ve been in contact with his agent as well. We’re definitely going to be in attendance at his next throwing session and evaluate him.”"
On paper, it’s easy to get excited about a 2016 playoff rotation of Hamels, Darvish, Holland and Perez, but in order to get to the postseason the Texas Rangers need to adequately cover themselves in the regular season.
And that means adding another arm.
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Even still, the solution may be to trade from a position of strength in order to find a more capable (and less risky) starter.