Look, I don't want to see the Texas Rangers win. Ever. I'm an A's fan, and we play in a four-team division. Being able to count out one of the other three teams as a contender is a huge plus...

How The Texas Rangers Can Instantly Become Contenders

by Nathaniel Stoltz (Analyst)

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Sports

April 24, 2008

Look, I don't want to see the Texas Rangers win. Ever. I'm an A's fan, and we play in a four-team division. Being able to count out one of the other three teams as a contender is a huge plus.

But hey, I don't dislike them as much as the Yankees. If they offered me a job today, I'd take it.

Let's hypothetically say they did, and asked me to give them a team that would win 80 games this year.

So, much in the same vein as my earlier piece on the San Francisco Giants, here is what I would do to improve the Rangers (while making them cheaper):

Step One: Break down the roster

The first thing to do is to identify who stays and who goes on the team.

Obviously, the Rangers have an inverse problem to the Giants; they can't pitch and never have. There are fewer market inefficiencies in pitching than in hitting, and thus, the Rangers' problem is much more difficult to fix than the Giants'.

On the plus side, plenty of people can hit in Arlington, so perhaps the best strategy is to trade hitting for pitching, and then pick up some scrap-heap hitters later.

Who stays:

OF Josh Hamilton

2B Ian Kinsler

OF/1B Jason Botts

OF David Murphy

RHP Franklyn German

RHP Joaquin Benoit

LHP Kason Gabbard (currently on DL)

RHP Dustin Nippert (currently on DL)

That's right, four hitters and four pitchers. That's it. Although, that's not everyone currently in the organization who will wear a Texas uniform.

Who goes:

RHP Jason Jennings

RHP Kevin Millwood

RHP Vicente Padilla

LHP C.J. Wilson

RHP Jamey Wright

C Gerald Laird

C Adam Melhuse

3B Hank Blalock

1B Ben Broussard

SS Michael Young

INF Ramon Vazquez

OF Milton Bradley

OF Frank Catalanotto

OF Marlon Byrd

LHP Eddie Guardado

RHP Brandon McCarthy

We'll get to all these in a second...

Sent down:

RHP Frank Francisco

RHP Wes Littleton

RHP Luis Mendoza

RHP Josh Rupe

INF German Duran

RHP Tom Diamond

LHP John Rheinecker

3B Travis Metcalf

All of these guys are fairly decent insurance, but if you're gonna build a .500 team, you don't start off with them in the majors.

Called up:

1B Nate Gold

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia

2B Ryan Roberts

1B/C Chris Shelton

So we replace the catching tandem of Laird and Melhuse with Saltalamacchia and Shelton. Yes, either one is a defensive downgrade on Laird, but both are better than Laird at the plate, and it's not like Adam Melhuse can defend well either. Roberts is a 27-year-old utility player who brings some solid pop at the plate, sort of like Marco Scutaro with a bit more pop and a bit less defense. He's an upgrade over Vazquez already.

So here's what we got:

Hamilton

Botts

Kinsler

Gold

Saltalamacchia

Roberts

Shelton

Murphy

German

Benoit

That's eight position players and two righty flamethrowing relievers.

Standard roster construction is something like this:

Two C

Three corner INF

Three middle INF

Five OFs, two that can handle CF:

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8 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

Bryan Thiel about 1 year ago

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Griffin is interesting, I definitely miss him here in Toronto, and it was terrible that he got dumped because of a numbers game (although if Lind's Triple-A average legitimately careers over to the bigs this year, I'll be quiet).

I just didn't understand one thing: In the suitors for Michael Young you listed Toronto. I don't know how willing they are to add to their roster (especially a contract of Young's calibre while still having to pay Frank Thomas), especially seeing as how we'd have to dump either J-Mac or Eckstein in the process (send Eckstein the way of Thomas, they way he plays defense we'll stick Vernon Wells at the top of the order again! haha). Either way, every time the Jays play him, we get reminded of how we "gave up on him"...and looking at our roster now—it's fairly disappointing.

I think the catching scenario also alleviates first base a bit because both Salty and Shelton can play first and catch. Cool strategy.

Griffin is interesting, I definitely miss him here in Toronto, and it was terrible that he got dumped because of a numbers game (although if Lind's Triple-A average legitimately careers over to the bigs this year, I'll be quiet). I just didn't understand one thing: In the suitors for Michael Young you listed Toronto. I don't know how willing they are to add to their roster (especially a contract of Young's calibre while still having to pay Frank Thomas), especially seeing as how we'd have to dump either J-Mac or Eckstein in the process (send Eckstein the way of Thomas, they way he plays defense we'll stick Vernon Wells at the top of the order again! haha). Either way, every time the Jays play him, we get reminded of how we "gave up on him"...and looking at our roster now—it's fairly disappointing. I think the catching scenario also alleviates first base a bit because both Salty and Shelton can play first and catch. Cool strategy. Edit Comment Cancel

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- Nathaniel Stoltz about 1 year ago
  
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  If you're really playing to win now (and given your roster, you have to) you would be interested in the SS upgrade. I didn't do the Jays because I would have wanted Burnett, and that just wouldn't work, and Texas would've had to eat most of Young's contract, at least more than with the Cubs.
  
  Thanks for the complement.
  
  If you're really playing to win now (and given your roster, you have to) you would be interested in the SS upgrade. I didn't do the Jays because I would have wanted Burnett, and that just wouldn't work, and Texas would've had to eat most of Young's contract, at least more than with the Cubs. Thanks for the complement. Edit Comment Cancel
  
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Kyle Conover about 1 year ago

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One concern is Shelton as the back up catcher. It's hotter than hell in Texas, so Salty will probably need rest once a week or so or he'll wear down. Has Shelton touched a catcher's glove since 2004? Seems like a risk unless they're committed to playing Salty every game and having Shelton as an emergency back-up...

Also, would anyone trade anything for Melhuse? Melhuse as been DFA'd more times than I can remember the last few years, with only Oakland and Texas (probably because of Wash) having any interest in the old fart catcher.

My last concern is that I'm not sure that Cleveland would want Bradley back. They sent him off before and he's even more injury prone now.

I love all the other moves though, but I think the A's might value DiNardo a little higher than just any prospect because of his versatility. Sure, he's mediocre in the pen and in the rotation, but the fact that he can do both adds some value to the A's.

Looks like a lot cleaner project than the Giants' overhaul. lol. But I don't mind the Giants or Rangers sucking.

One concern is Shelton as the back up catcher. It's hotter than hell in Texas, so Salty will probably need rest once a week or so or he'll wear down. Has Shelton touched a catcher's glove since 2004? Seems like a risk unless they're committed to playing Salty every game and having Shelton as an emergency back-up... Also, would anyone trade anything for Melhuse? Melhuse as been DFA'd more times than I can remember the last few years, with only Oakland and Texas (probably because of Wash) having any interest in the old fart catcher. My last concern is that I'm not sure that Cleveland would want Bradley back. They sent him off before and he's even more injury prone now. I love all the other moves though, but I think the A's might value DiNardo a little higher than just any prospect because of his versatility. Sure, he's mediocre in the pen and in the rotation, but the fact that he can do both adds some value to the A's. Looks like a lot cleaner project than the Giants' overhaul. lol. But I don't mind the Giants or Rangers sucking. Edit Comment Cancel

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- Nathaniel Stoltz about 1 year ago
  
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  Yeah, Shelton's caught a bit since '04, but not much. Ever seen Melhuse catch, though? You're an A's fan for God's sake, you should know that Shelton can't possibly be worse than Melhuse's noodle arm behind the plate.
  
  NL teams might value Melhuse a bit because he's got versatility. If you don't think the Rangers could get Rosen for him, fine, but Rosen's easy to get (they started him back in AA this year, so ARZ doesn't value him), so just insert some other no-name.
  
  Bradley is better than Dellucci, Michaels, or Casey Blake, and he can play CF if Sizemore gets hurt, something they're woefully unprepared for.
  
  The A's don't have room for DiNardo, whether he's valuable or not, once Gonzalez comes up. It would take another tidal wave of injuries for him to be on the roster a year from now, or even on the 40-man.
  
  I don't mind them sucking either. Just always interesting to see how it can be done. I don't agree that it's cleaner, though; the Giants actually have starting pitching, which is easily the hardest thing to find. All I did there was basically acquire a ton of Quad-A hitters to make their lineup better while making their rotation a bit worse. Here, I had to deal away 3/4 of the team just to land two good starters and three guys who match the ballpark pretty well. Definitely much more difficult, although at least you have more trade chips here.
  
  Yeah, Shelton's caught a bit since '04, but not much. Ever seen Melhuse catch, though? You're an A's fan for God's sake, you should know that Shelton can't possibly be worse than Melhuse's noodle arm behind the plate. NL teams might value Melhuse a bit because he's got versatility. If you don't think the Rangers could get Rosen for him, fine, but Rosen's easy to get (they started him back in AA this year, so ARZ doesn't value him), so just insert some other no-name. Bradley is better than Dellucci, Michaels, or Casey Blake, and he can play CF if Sizemore gets hurt, something they're woefully unprepared for. The A's don't have room for DiNardo, whether he's valuable or not, once Gonzalez comes up. It would take another tidal wave of injuries for him to be on the roster a year from now, or even on the 40-man. I don't mind them sucking either. Just always interesting to see how it can be done. I don't agree that it's cleaner, though; the Giants actually have starting pitching, which is easily the hardest thing to find. All I did there was basically acquire a ton of Quad-A hitters to make their lineup better while making their rotation a bit worse. Here, I had to deal away 3/4 of the team just to land two good starters and three guys who match the ballpark pretty well. Definitely much more difficult, although at least you have more trade chips here. Edit Comment Cancel
  
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Brandon Heikoop about 1 year ago

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Great passion, but a few errors.

The Cubs would have little to no interest in CJ Wilson. Also, they have made it known that Hill is essentially untouchable. That trade would never happen.

The second, the Indians essentially dropped Milton Bradley. They got rid of him because of his attitude. Little has changed for the Indians and for Bradley. They wouldn't take him for free.

Great passion, but a few errors. The Cubs would have little to no interest in CJ Wilson. Also, they have made it known that Hill is essentially untouchable. That trade would never happen. The second, the Indians essentially dropped Milton Bradley. They got rid of him because of his attitude. Little has changed for the Indians and for Bradley. They wouldn't take him for free. Edit Comment Cancel

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Nino Colla about 1 year ago

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Yeah the chances of Milton Bradley ever being an Indian again are slim to none.. Eric Wedge and him are not best friends and he called Cleveland a "sinking ship" after he left. He burned that bridge a long time ago.

Great job overall.

Yeah the chances of Milton Bradley ever being an Indian again are slim to none.. Eric Wedge and him are not best friends and he called Cleveland a "sinking ship" after he left. He burned that bridge a long time ago. Great job overall. Edit Comment Cancel

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ChatterBalks about 1 year ago

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I agree with a lot of comments saying you're assuming that all these teams are willing to get traded.

I mean, why did you specifically decide those players? Maybe you should have concentrated on people who are going to be FA next off-season so it didn't seem like you were just randomly picking prospects on random teams.

Article was confusing and all over the place.

And having pitching in Texas makes about as much sense as having hitting in San Diego.

I agree with a lot of comments saying you're assuming that all these teams are willing to get traded. I mean, why did you specifically decide those players? Maybe you should have concentrated on people who are going to be FA next off-season so it didn't seem like you were just randomly picking prospects on random teams. Article was confusing and all over the place. And having pitching in Texas makes about as much sense as having hitting in San Diego. Edit Comment Cancel

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Matthew Goodman about 1 year ago

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No offense, but these trades make no sense. The other teams simply wouldn't make these trades. The Dodgers already have a glut of OF (Kemp, Ethier, Pierre, Jones). Adding another makes no sense, especially if they're subtracting a reliable SP. The Indians would never gut their bullpen for Bradley. It goes on but you really need to get more realistic with trade scenarios, especially for arms, if you want to have a serious analysis like this.

No offense, but these trades make no sense. The other teams simply wouldn't make these trades. The Dodgers already have a glut of OF (Kemp, Ethier, Pierre, Jones). Adding another makes no sense, especially if they're subtracting a reliable SP. The Indians would never gut their bullpen for Bradley. It goes on but you really need to get more realistic with trade scenarios, especially for arms, if you want to have a serious analysis like this. Edit Comment Cancel

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