Texas Rangers: All Planning Must Have Darvish and Lucroy in Mind
By Reid Hanson
As the Texas Rangers enter offseason mode, they have many tough decisions to make. But they would be wise to keep the futures of these two players in mind.
The Texas Rangers, the number one seed in the American League, are beginning their offseason very prematurely. After getting swept by the rival Toronto Blue Jays, the Rangers embark on the offseason.
With players like Mitch Moreland, Carlos Beltran, Ian Desmond, Colby Lewis, and Carlos Gomez set to hit free agency, the Rangers have a pretty hefty to-do list to address. But this offseason isn’t just about building a team for 2017, it’s about seasons beyond as well. This makes things considerably more difficult for President and General Manager Jon Daniels.
No matter how much we want to deny it, the window is closing on the Texas Rangers. 2016 was supposed to be THE season. Adrian Beltre is now one year older and the aforementioned list of players are now set to hit free agency. Everyone cannot come back and the Rangers offense will certainly suffer as a result.
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The knee-jerk reaction to the looming closing window would be to re-sign as many players as possible. In other words, strike while the iron is hot and make one last gasp. But such irresponsibility may cost the Texas Rangers two of their most important players in 2018.
I’m talking about starting pitcher Yu Darvish and catcher Jonathan Lucroy.
Yu Darvish, his playoff performance notwithstanding, is considered one of the best pitchers in the game.
Now fully recovered from Tommy John surgery that blanked his 2015 season, Darvish is expected to be as good as new in his final season under contract (2017).
The Texas Rangers have always struggled signing top-flight pitchers in free agency and re-signing Yu Darvish remains the best option at locking down an “ace” beyond next season. It’s not going to come cheap and if the Texas Rangers hope to be competitive in a bidding war, they’re going to need to start planning now.
Jonathan Lucroy has a club option on his contract that will keep him in Texas for the 2017 season. After that he becomes a free agent. Lucroy, like Darvish, is considered one of the best in the game at his position.
As a catcher, Jonathan Lucroy’s value is particularly high since MLB is experiencing a shortage of blue chip catchers and the Rangers have next to nothing in their system. Lucroy is a great teammate both to the players on the field and to the pitching staff he works with.
Whatever the Rangers do this offseason they need to do so with Yu Darvish and Jonathan Lucroy in mind. Both players MUST be retained after next season and that’s likely to total well over $300M in contracts.
Next: Rangers Shopping List Part 2
It’s never fun being a responsible spender in the offseason but it’s often the wise thing to do. And if it lets the Rangers retain Darvish and Lucroy in the end, it’s the only thing to do.