Texas Rangers: Offseason Has Semi-Clear Path To Opening Day
By Cody Smith
As we are nearing the home stretch to the start of the 2020 season for the Texas Rangers, their plans for the rest of the offseason are starting to become clearer.
The way that the offseason started for the Texas Rangers, it appeared that there would be some extremely aggressive moves on the horizon after the club signed Jordan Lyles, Kyle Gibson, and traded for Corey Kluber. Since the Kluber acquisition, the teams moves have simmered down, which started after missing out on all-star third baseman, Anthony Rendon.
Until about two weeks ago, the Rangers had become very quiet, not really making any moves, while constantly being considered suitors for free agents such as Nicholas Castellanos and Marcell Ozuna, as well as possible trade partners for Nolan Arenado and Kris Bryant. While the trade talks have seemingly come to a halt, the free agent news has started to heat up.
The Rangers made their signings of Todd Frazier and Robinson Chirinos official earlier this week to help fill out their lineup, where it would clearly be better than the one used in 2019, as Chirinos would bring some .200+ hitting stability to the lineup, and Frazier would stabilize a corner infield position.
Texas Rangers writer TR Sullivan Tweeted this from the conference that the Rangers held when they officially announced Frazier and Chirinos as members of the club…
Jon Daniels said Todd Frazier was signed to play third base....doesnt foresee anything changing that...did not address Nolan Arenado directly but seemed to downplay that possibility of a trade
— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) January 15, 2020
This Tweet seemingly provides guidance into what to expect for the rest of the offseason from the Texas Rangers. At the moment, the club would probably be okay with the following starting lineup being rolled out on Opening Day:
C-Robinson Chirinos
2B-Rougned Odor
3B-Todd Frazier
SS-Elvis Andrus
RF-Joey Gallo
Bench-Jeff Mathis, Nick Solak, and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa or Scott Heineman
It’s not a bad lineup by any stretch, but with the Rangers having quite a bit of spending money still left, and there being quality free agents still available, Texas is for sure still going to be in the market searching for upgrades.
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The most pressing need to that lineup if it is an Opening Day lineup would be first base, as Guzman has yet to really take any steps forward with his bat. Castellanos is able to play first base, and is likely the top target for the Texas Rangers of the players that are still available, and they have consistently been rumored to be the favorites to land him since missing out on Rendon.
Adding Castellanos’s bat to the lineup would take it from one that’s probably in the 10-15 range to one of the 10 best offenses in baseball. There would likely only need to be one more move made, if Jon Daniels sees fit: center field. The Rangers should for sure take a look at some of the CFers that are defense-first type players, as all three of the outfields that I listed as starters aren’t viewed as defense-first type players. Someone like a Kevin Pillar would be a great fit for that need.
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And one last need that the Texas Rangers should look at as the offseason comes to a close is the bullpen. The club has a few decent relievers, but if they plan on competing this season, they probably need to grab one or two solid relief arms to have near the back of the bullpen to take pressure off of Kluber, Mike Minor, and Lance Lynn.
- Published on 01/20/2020 at 13:31 PM
- Last updated at 01/20/2020 at 08:32 AM