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Texas Rangers: The Real Meaning of Texas’ Offseason Moves

By Cody Smith

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 30: Anthony Rendon #6 of the Washington Nationals hits a solo home run against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning in Game Seven of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 30: Anthony Rendon #6 of the Washington Nationals hits a solo home run against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning in Game Seven of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Earlier this week, the Texas Rangers agreed to terms on a two-year deal with Jordan Lyles. With Lyles and Kyle Gibson, the Rangers have made their goals for the offseason very clear: third base is their priority.

The signing of Lyles gives the Texas Rangers their fourth vet in a rotation that really lacked depth in 2019 after Mike Minor and Lance Lynn. It seems like the Rangers are going to be content with their four mid-level starters, then having a competition between the young guys for the fifth spot, as Kolby Allard is currently the favorite to land it.

Of course, the Texas Rangers have been rumored to still be in on Gerrit Cole, but I believe that it will be a long shot for him to sign with Texas, given that he will likely become a bidding war between the Angels, Yankees, and more. Signing Cole would be just what Texas needs to be the cherry on top of a solid rotation, as they would become feared in any playoff series that comes up, but signing Cole seems very unlikely at the moment.

Now, on to what the more likely signing is going to be… with the Rangers having the four vets in their pitching staff, and a glaring hole at third base still, it seems like they are in Anthony Rendon-or-bust mode, as they have been strongly connected to him throughout the off-season.

There is some pretty tough competition for Rendon, as the Texas Rangers are also battling the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Dodgers, just to name a few, but it seems like they are slightly emerging as the front-runners.

According to reports, the Nationals are likely going to keep one of Rendon or Stephen Strasburg, with Strasburg being the more likely option, which would essentially eliminate them from the competition, and give Texas a better chance.

The Dodgers may be able to throw more money per year at Rendon, but they may not offer as many years, and the Phillies may be a team that’s in more of a win-now spot than the Rangers, but there is one beauty of signing with Texas (assuming the money is close)… no state tax, which would save Rendon a significant amount of money by returning to his home state.

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If things do not work out for the Rangers, they could then turn their attention to Josh Donaldson to fill their third base void, as it seems like he is content to just wait and see what happens with Rendon before he signs. With Donaldson waiting, if Rendon decides to sign with the Phillies, for example, it would then create a bidding war for Donaldson between the Rangers and Braves, and possibly other teams as well. If he signs with the Dodgers, it would be the two teams mentioned, as well as the Phillies.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the offseason works out, as the Texas Rangers have seemingly made it clear that they plan to come away with a big signing of at least one of the big name third basemen, which should make it exciting for fans to keep up with throughout the off-season.

Hopefully the Texas Rangers can win the Rendon sweepstakes, and be a wonderful Christmas present to the team and the fans as they prepare to open Globe Life Field in 2020.

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