Texas Rangers Baseball Thread

[Mark]

The Rangers have acquired Dane Dunning and 2016 sixth round pick Avery Weems from the White Sox in exchange for the final year of Lance Lynn's contract.

Dunning had a nice major league debut last season. He was a first round pick of the Nationals in 2016, and had TJ surgery in 2019.

Weems pitched well in the rookie league after being drafted in 2019.

This is a good deal for the Rangers. Dunning should be a good one, and the Rangers will control him for 6 or 7 seasons.

[BigTex]

Hate to see Lance Lynn go but if he was only going to be around for another year it's probably best to trade for youth.

[jellowrestling]

Hate to see Lance Lynn go but if he was only going to be around for another year it's probably best to trade for youth.

+1

[Mark]

It has come to light that one of the big reasons the Rangers were unable/unwilling to trade Lance Lynn at this past season's trade deadline is because he threatened to opt out of the season if he was traded to certain teams.

If that is indeed the case, then all I have to say to Lance Lynn is "Good Riddance."

[Mark]

The Rangers have traded three 20 year olds from their lower minors to the Rays for first baseman Nate Lowe, minor league first baseman Jake Guenther (who played college ball at TCU) and a player to be named later.

Lowe will get first shot and compete with Ronald Guzman for the starting job at first base.

This is a good trade for the Rangers. Lowe hit for average AND power in the Rays' minor league system, but never really got much of a shot to start in his two years in Tampa.

[Mark]

The Rangers have traded pitcher Rafael Montero to the Mariners for 17 year old pitcher Jose Corniell and a player to be named later.

[Mark]

The Rangers have booked a football game at their new Globe Life Field. The Commander's Classic will be played between Army and Air Force on November 21, 2021.

I didn't know the new park could be used for that purpose. Looking at the video in the link below, it appears that the end line of one of the end zones will be right at the left field wall, and the other end zone will be in front of the first base dugout.

https://www.mlb.com/rangers/video/comma ... globe-life

[Mark]

The Rangers are going to sign Japanese right-handed pitcher Kohei Arihara to a two year contract...

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/ ... ihara.html

[Mark]

The Rangers are going to sign Japanese right-handed pitcher Kohei Arihara to a two year contract...

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/ ... ihara.html

MLB Trade Rumors has now clarified the terms of the deal...

"... the posting fee will amount to $1.24MM, while the Rangers will pay out $6.2MM over the course of the two-year contract."

[Mark]

Here is another forward thinking "zero risk dart throw" deal by Jon Daniels...


The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed former Angels right-hander Justin Anderson to a two-year minor league deal with invites to Spring Training. Anderson is expected to miss most or all of the 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in July, so the two-year term of the minor league arrangement will give Texas the opportunity to help him rehab in-house this coming season with an eye toward contributing to the 2022 bullpen.

Anderson, 28, pitched in the Angels’ bullpen from 2018-19, logging 102 1/3 innings with a 4.75 ERA. He’s struggled in the big leagues due to a sky-high 15.7 percent walk rate, but Anderson’s fastball sat at 97.3 mph back in 2018 and he’s punched out 27.7 percent of opponents at the MLB level. The Rangers surely got plenty of close looks at him while he pitched for a division rival, and there’s little harm in taking a forward-looking flier on a potential power arm who could be controlled another four years once he’s added to the Major League roster.

While two-year minor league contracts aren’t exactly common, we’ve seen an increasing number of them in recent years. The Rangers inked Edinson Volquez to just this type of contract after he underwent Tommy John surgery with the Marlins late in the 2017 season.


https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/ ... ngels.html

[BigTex]

Elvis has left the building.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/308 ... hris-davis

[Mark]

Elvis has left the building.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/308 ... hris-davis

The catcher we picked up looks like he is ready to contribute in some way at the major league level. We needed a guy like that.

We get one year of Khris Davis. He is declining just like Elvis. Maybe he can help us more than Elvis would have.

The pitcher we picked up is Dane Acker. The A's drafted him in the 4th round just a few months ago from OU. He threw a 9 inning no-hitter at LSU last March. I expect him to contribute to the Rangers in some way at some point. The report on him is that he isn't flashy, but he is durable and has above average command. Guys like that find a way to contribute in the majors.

[BigTex]

Rangers get to face Mitch Moreland in an A's uniform. Has he got anything left in the tank?

[Mark]

Rangers get to face Mitch Moreland in an A's uniform. Has he got anything left in the tank?

After the A's traded away Khris Davis to Texas, they had absolutely nobody to hit at DH. That will probably be Moreland's job, but he doesn't hit lefties at all. He will probably have a platoon partner.

Matt Olson is one of the best first basemen in baseball. Moreland will also serve as his backup.

[Mark]

Shin-Soo choo was a good soldier in Arlington. I wish him well.



Outfielder/designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo returned to his native Korea on Monday, signing a one-year, $2.4MM contract. But Choo indicated that he heard from up to eight major league teams that offered him more money than he’ll make in Korea, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In explaining why he chose to go to the Korea Baseball Organization, Choo said, “I want to play in Korea because I want to play in front of my parents and I want to give back to Korean fans.” As Wilson notes, the 38-year-old Choo’s parents have never seen him play pro ball in person. They’ll now get that opportunity.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/02/ ... -choo.html

[BigTex]

Choo had more patience at the plate than any other player I can think of. And not afraid to lean and take a HBP.

[Mark]

It's time to hate the Red Sox even more. Lebron James is now part owner.

[BigTex]

Odor not on 40 man roster.

[BigTex]

They're calling it the worst opening day game in baseball history. And I watched all of it.

[Mark]

We went to Lowe's yesterday and had the game on the radio. When we got out the truck to go in Lowe's, the Rangers were ahead, 4-0. When we got back in the truck after shopping in Lowe's, the Rangers were down, 10-4.

This is looking very ugly.