The Official Off-Season Thread of the Texas Rangers

[Cursed Rangers]

The Nats just signed LaRoche. I would love to see the Rangers make a trade for Morse. He would be a perfect fit to play 1st and the OF

[stipe1280]

The Nats just signed LaRoche. I would love to see the Rangers make a trade for Morse. He would be a perfect fit to play 1st and the OF

Rangers, at least, get mentioned:

Nationals Discussing Morse With Several Teams
By Mike Axisa [January 8 at 1:26pm CST]
In the wake of re-signing Adam LaRoche, the Nationals are speaking to 5-6 teams about a trade involving Mike Morse according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 30-year-old right-handed hitter will earn $7MM in 2013 before qualifying for free agency after the season. He's hit .296/.345/.516 over the last three years. Here's the latest on Morse...

The Yankees are indeed among the interested teams, Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com reports (on Twitter).
Earlier updates:

The Nationals are seeking a left-handed reliever and/or prospects in any Morse swap, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (Twitter links). Amanda Comak of The Washington Times hears the asking price was high at the Winter Meetings.
The Nationals believe the Rays would make a great trade partner for Morse, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter). Tampa has a strong prospect base from which to build a package.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com points out that the Mariners, Indians, Rays, Rangers, Yankees, Phillies, and Mets all need a bat and could target Morse (Twitter links). Rosenthal doubts Washington would trade him within the division to Philadelphia.

Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/#fvPBihmTCMmuT6Ar.99

[Corked Bat]

i liked the idea of adding (Upton or) Morse and moving Cruz to the primary DH spot, helping save his hammies and increase his production, but with Berkman on board as the primary DH how would you use Morse now?
do you bench Murphy and play him in the OF?
do you move Kinsler to the OF(again benching Murphy) and play him at 1st to make room for Profar? or do you send Profar to AAA and then bench Moreland to make room for him at 1st?
is his best position corner OF or 1st?
i'm not against adding him, but how would you use him? and what would you give up for him? a left-handed reliever and/or prospects as payment = what in your POV?

[asmarks18]

Moreland would likely have to go for them to add Morse to this crowded roster.

[asmarks18]

Without Profar...

1. Andrus- SS (R)
2. Kinsler - 2B (R)
3. Berkman- DH (S)
4. Beltre - 3B (R)
5. Murphy- LF (L)
6. Morse - 1B (R)
7. Pierzynski - C (L)
8. Cruz - RF (R)
9. Martin- CF (L)

Bench: Soto (R), Gentry (R), Util. Inf, Moreland (L)

With Profar....

1. Andrus - SS (R)
2. Profar - 2B (S)
3. Kinsler- 1B (R)
4. Beltre- 3B (R)
5. Berkman- DH (S)
6. Murphy - CF (L)
7. Morse - RF (R)
8. Cruz - LF (R)
9. Pierzynski - C (L)

Bench: Soto (R), Gentry (R), Moreland (L), Martin (L)


Only way I see this working. Murphy has played CF before briefly. I'm sure he could hold his own for 40-50 games this season.

[Cursed Rangers]

Daniels mentioned yesterday that Profar and Olt will start the year in AAA.

I would see Morse in a role similar to what Young and Napoli have had the last two years. In other words playing multiple positions to give other players a break.

As a fellow Baylor Bear I really like Murphy. He hustles, has a good attitude, and seems to be a good teammate. However he really looked worn out the last 6 weeks of the season. In my opinion he performs best when he gets frequent breaks.

Nellie has a history of being injured and going in major funks. He hits lefties pretty well. When Cruz gets in one of his frequent down cycles, do we really want Berkman running around in the OF.

Lastly Morse could spell Moreland frequently at 1st.

I also have low expectations for the Puma. I just think Morse eliminates a lot of the risk surrounding our offense. Daniels has said we are done making moves. I still would like to see another legit bat added and a starting pitcher.

[asmarks18]

Seriously?

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas...ing-up-in-2013


Nolan Ryan can suck a fat one. I'll be dammed if I go to as many games as I did last year. We give him the best attendance in franchise history, he signs 2 hasbeens to 1 year deals, and then raises the ticket prices on us.

[stipe1280]

Seriously?

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas...ing-up-in-2013


Nolan Ryan can suck a fat one. I'll be dammed if I go to as many games as I did last year. We give him the best attendance in franchise history, he signs 2 hasbeens to 1 year deals, and then raises the ticket prices on us.

I kind of expected this to happen after we signed Berkman. Honestly, Berkman is nothing more than a justification to raise prices.

"See fans, we weren't cheap. We spent money this offseason. Now come out, spend a little more money and buy some more beef and get all excited about our awesome young team...that will be starting in AAA."

[Cursed Rangers]

Seriously?

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas...ing-up-in-2013


Nolan Ryan can suck a fat one. I'll be dammed if I go to as many games as I did last year. We give him the best attendance in franchise history, he signs 2 hasbeens to 1 year deals, and then raises the ticket prices on us.

This is another absurd move by the front office. They take this fan base for granted. They lost 3 popular players (Young was popular to many), bring aboard no one. Now they do this to all of the seats.

What a joke. The death spiral is in full force.

I am going to spend my money visiting the last 10 stadiums I haven't seen.

[Cursed Rangers]

I kind of expected this to happen after we signed Berkman. Honestly, Berkman is nothing more than a justification to raise prices.

"See fans, we weren't cheap. We spent money this offseason. Now come out, spend a little more money and buy some more beef and get all excited about our awesome young team...that will be starting in AAA."

That part about the young ones starting in AAA is classic!

[asmarks18]

I don't think I will give Nolan any of my money this year. He doesn't deserve it. I know he won't be hurting over my couple hundred bucks i'll spend on tickets and beer at his ballpark but I truly think I will not give him a dime this year. He's lost my trust.

[WeTradedWHO?]

I'm sure that Profar and Olt starting in AAA has NOTHING to do with service time considerations that cheap owners concern themselves with.

Now if one of them is called up a month into the season and has a year like a certain ichthyoidal outfielder in our division then I'm sure none of us would have a problem.

[Cursed Rangers]

I'm sure that Profar and Olt starting in AAA has NOTHING to do with service time considerations that cheap owners concern themselves with.

Now if one of them is called up a month into the season and has a year like a certain ichthyoidal outfielder in our division then I'm sure none of us would have a problem.

I had to google the word ichthyoidal as that was the first time I ever recall seeing that word!

[Cursed Rangers]

TR Sullivan
MLB.com

ARLINGTON -- New Rangers designated hitter Lance Berkman is a former teammate of both free-agent outfielder Michael Bourn and pitcher Kyle Lohse. Apparently those two names came up when Berkman had lunch with Rangers officials on Monday.

"We picked his brain over lunch," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said with a smile.

Berkman is happy to oblige if the Rangers want to talk about Bourn and Lohse.

"There are definitely a few guys that I would love to see come over here," Berkman said. "You can't have everybody, but if J.D. came and said, 'Can you put a sales pitch on someone?' I would be more than happy to do it."

The Rangers have not reached that point yet. But with five weeks to go before Spring Training, Texas has not ruled out going after Bourn or Lohse, who are the top two free agents remaining on the market.

The Rangers have been reluctant to pursue either player to this point because of the perceived high demands being set forth by their agent, Scott Boras. But both players remain unsigned, with no landing spot in site.

The Rangers don't have a desperate need for either player. Daniels said the club would be happy if it ends up in Spring Training with the team it has now. But Daniels also acknowledged that the Rangers might be able to fit one more outfielder and starting pitcher into the mix.

"They are both areas that we would look at," Daniels said at the news conference to introduce Berkman.

Bourn is more likely to appeal to the Rangers than Lohse. Bourn, 30, is a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner who played in 155 games for the Braves this past season, hitting .274 with a .348 on-base percentage, 96 runs scored and 42 stolen bases.

Bourn, who has played for the Phillies, Astros and Braves in his seven-year career, has led the National League in stolen bases three times and is considered a premier defensive player. But his .339 career on-base percentage is relatively low for a leadoff hitter. He was 10th in the Majors with a .346 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot this past season among players with 400 plate appearances at that spot in the order. Ian Kinsler was 17th with a .326 leadoff on-base percentage for the Rangers.

Right now, the Rangers are planning to go with a platoon of Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin in center. Martin, who turns 25 in March, remains a highly regarded prospect who hit .359 with 12 home runs, 42 RBIs, a .422 on-base percentage and a .610 slugging percentage in 55 games at Triple-A Round Rock this past season.

Signing Bourn would likely keep Martin from being an everyday player, but that may only be for one season. Both David Murphy and Nelson Cruz are free agents after this year. The Rangers don't want to do a mega-deal for Bourn, but they might consider something on a short-term contract.

"As we sit here right now, we set out our Spring Training roster today, and with the exception of some internal invites, we don't need to make any other additions," Daniels said. "We're ready to go with our club as is. With Nellie and Murph and all the guys we've got internally who we like in center field, we're real comfortable with our outfield."

The Rangers are also comfortable with four of the five spots filled in the rotation by Matt Harrison, Yu Darvish, Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando. The fifth spot is still open. Martin Perez finished last season as the fifth starter, but he was 1-4 with a 5.45 ERA in six starts and six relief appearances.

Justin Grimm, who was 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts and three relief appearances, is another fifth-starter candidate, and the Rangers are considering the possibility of moving Robbie Ross from the bullpen to the rotation.

Lohse is 34, but he is coming off an outstanding season. He was 16-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 33 starts and 211 innings for the Cardinals in 2012, and 14-8 with a 3.39 ERA in '11. Berkman, who played with Bourn in Houston, was Lohse's teammate for two years in St. Louis.

The unknown for the Rangers is Colby Lewis, who underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right arm on July 27. The Rangers have been getting good progress reports from their medical staff and are hopeful Lewis could be back before the original June 1 target date. That would lessen the need for a fifth starter, but the Rangers found out last season what happens when a rotation is hit hard by injuries.

"Much like the outfield, we have our four starters relatively set," Daniels said. "We've got really good news on Colby. If we don't add another starter on a guaranteed contract, you're looking at Martin Perez, Justin Grimm, Robbie Ross, maybe some others, maybe somebody on a non-roster deal competing for that spot. Or we could go in and add a guy on a guaranteed deal, in which case, when Colby comes back, we have a great problem."

The Rangers were willing to pursue free-agent starter Zack Greinke because they felt he is an impact No. 1 starter. Boras said at the Winter Meetings that Lohse fits that description as well. Greinke signed a six-year, $147 million contract with the Dodgers. The Rangers will not go anywhere near that for another starting pitcher.

But there are still two prominent free agents sitting out there the Rangers haven't ruled out.

[Cursed Rangers]

So no one was elected to the HOF. Wow