Bleacher Report - Texas Rangers

Previewing Possible Texas Rangers Trade Deadline Acquisitions

Zachary Krueger — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:04:15 -0400

The trade deadline is still months away, but it's never too early to take a look at a few possible acquisitions that could be made once it arrives. With Texas being one of the best teams in the league, it will likely look to be buyers in a market that could boast several good players.

Teams that are struggling right now could still turn their season around before the deadline. However, with a quarter of the season having passed, we should have a pretty good idea of who the contenders and non-contenders will be.

Here is a look at some possible trade acquisitions the Rangers could make.

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2013 MLB First-Quarter Grades: Texas Rangers

Zachary Krueger — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:00:21 -0400

The Texas Rangers are sitting pretty right now as the first quarter of the season comes to a close. With a 29-16 record, they have more wins than any other team in the league. Not bad for a team that lost superstar Josh Hamilton to the Los Angeles Angels last winter.

Texas boasts one of the most balanced teams in the league right now, as it has posted efficient numbers offensively and on the mound. With so many players making big contributions for the Rangers this season, it's tough to separate the good players from the great ones.

That said, here are some grades for Texas' top studs after the first quarter of the season.

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Breaking Down Texas Rangers' Best Options for Jurickson Profar

Zachary Krueger — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:11:21 -0400

The Rangers may find themselves in a tough place once infielder Jurickson Profar finally solidifies himself with the major league club. The top prospect of the 2013 season is listed as a shortstop, but with the talented Elvis Andrus already holding down that position for the Rangers, Profar finds himself in a crowded place.

With second baseman Ian Kinsler recently landing on the 15-day disabled list, Profar has found himself with another chance to earn a stay with Texas.

Here are some ideas Texas could consider for Profar's future with the team.

Move Kinsler to First Base

It's not uncommon to see a major league team ask one of its stars to change positions to make room for another upcoming player. You might recall Michael Young's time with the Rangers, where he played every position in the infield aside from catcher.

Texas could ask one of their star players to do the same once again.

Kinsler is one of three players who could be asked to change their positions. Having been a second baseman for his entire career, a move to first would make the most sense. He would still be able to play on the left side of the infield, and at 6'0" could make for a nice target to throw to.

Kinsler has never won a Gold Glove with Texas, so defensively he could be replaced. With the Rangers' history of asking players to change a position, it would not be crazy to think they could ask Kinsler to do so in order to make room for Profar.

Move Andrus or Beltre

Once again, this topic also deals with the position changing of a superstar. We've seen this before where a shortstop or third baseman will switch positions for a player of the same position. Most notably, the Orioles had prospect Manny Machado play third base despite his experience as a shortstop, a move that has worked out well for Baltimore.

There is no chance that Texas would move Beltre to shortstop, meaning that either Andrus or Profar would be taking over third for the Rangers. At 34 years old, Beltre's age could make him expendable, but the fact that he is a three time All-Star and four time Gold Glove winner could make this another tough decision for the Rangers.

Andrus or Profar would be the most likely options to end up at third base should the Rangers decide to switch up the left side of their infield. Being the incumbent, I'd expect Andrus to remain at shortstop while Profar goes to third, and Beltre either finds himself at first base or designated hitter.

Trade Profar or Another Key Player

There is no denying that Texas is stacked offensively and defensively. They boast one of the top hitting corps in the league, and their pitching staff has the ability to shut down any offense in the majors.

Depending on how Texas chooses to address its situation with Profar, it would not be surprising to see them trade one of their top infielders, or Profar, to bring in other needed talent. While they have a deep roster, there are still areas that could be improved on.

The Rangers could use help at catcher, designated hitter or the outfield. Age could come into play for two of Texas' players, as catcher A.J. Pierzynski and designated hitter Lance Berkman are veterans in their mid-to-late 30s. Both players are signed to one-year deals, an indication that neither may be with the team after 2013.

In the outfield, Nelson Cruz is still a great power hitter and won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Lenoys Martin has had a nice year for Texas, hitting .283 on the season with a .333 on-base percentage, but he has only two homers and five RBI through 38 games.

David Murphy has struggled this season in left field, but has been a good player for Texas since 2008. Even still, his numbers could certainly be replaced by a top-tier player.

The problem that Texas has is really a luxury. Any team would love to have too many good players on their roster.

Whatever it is the Rangers choose to do with Profar or other players on their roster, they appear to be in great shape for years to come. They can only improve from the eventual addition of Profar to their everyday roster, or moving him to another team to address a need.

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Breaking Down Jurickson Profar's Fantasy Value with Ian Kinsler on DL

Justin Onslow — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:43:44 -0400

There aren’t many teams in Major League Baseball that can replace an injured star with a potential superstar in the making.

However, that’s exactly what the Texas Rangers are attempting to do in recalling top prospect Jurickson Profar from Triple-A Round Rock after placing second baseman Ian Kinsler on the 15-day disabled list with bruised ribs, as reported by USA Today.

Kinsler has jumped off to a terrific start in 2013 (.302/.369/.500), and his starting spot is in no danger of drying up upon his return, but that doesn’t mean Profar isn’t worth an add in most fantasy formats.

The 20-year-old—widely regarded as the top prospect in baseball—is well on his way to an extended stint in the bigs at some point this season. Since May 8, the shortstop is hitting .415 with a .610 slugging percentage and an on-base plus slugging of 1.076. After a slow start, he’s starting to look like the superstar many expect him to be in the very near future.

Of course, minor league success doesn’t always translate to production at the big league level, but he’ll likely have an opportunity to prove his worth in Kinsler’s stead. He’s certainly worth a short-term add in deep formats.

But Profar’s reappearance at the big league level (he hit .176 in nine games with the Rangers last season) is a terrific sign for fantasy owners with an extra roster spot hoping to cash in on a high-upside prospect toward the end of the fantasy season.

Despite playing 312 games in the last two seasons, Kinsler missed 59 games in 2010 and 41 games in 2008, highlighting some durability concerns that could mean an extended stay for Profar should Kinsler run into further injury problems this season.

The Baseball America preseason No. 1 prospect has a big opportunity to show what he can do in a starting role. If Profar displays the five-tool skill set that has everyone’s attention, it will be extremely hard for the Rangers to not find a larger role for the 20-year-old at some point this season.

Now owned in 55 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy leagues, Profar’s fantasy value is skyrocketing—and it’s easy to understand why. Owners looking for a long-term starting option need not apply, but he’s certainly worth a roster spot for owners in need of short-term production and a potential utility player with huge potential later in the year.

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5 Predictions for Top Prospect Jurickson Profar's Latest Texas Rangers Call-Up

Joe Giglio — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:59:42 -0400

On Sunday, after a weekend of deliberation involving Ian Kinsler's rib injury, the Texas Rangers made prospect nerds everywhere happy by officially recalling top prospect Jurickson Profar from Triple-A Round Rock, according to the Associated Press via Yahoo! Sports.

Aside from being one of the most celebrated prospects in the game, Profar is a 20-year-old phenom, is well ahead of most of his peers, and, until this weekend, was a man without a spot in the mighty Texas Ranger lineup.

While Profar is a shortstop by trade, he'll play second base in the absence of Kinsler. As the years go—factoring in the lucrative, long-term contract Texas recently gave to shortstop Elvis Andrus—second base could become Profar's regular position in the major leagues.

Here are five predictions for the latest call-up in the career of Jurickson Profar.

1. He'll hit right away, continuing his Triple-A hot streak.

Despite his status as a future star, Profar actually got off to a very poor start, posting a .231/.355/.410 line in April for Triple-A Round Rock. Even if the Rangers had a spot for him to play, he wasn't doing enough to earn a call-up to the majors.

That's changed over the last 10 games.

Profar has come around, hitting .415 over the last few weeks.

For Texas, it means it adds a player swinging a hot bat to a lineup that will undoubtedly miss the presence and ability of Kinsler.

Expect Profar to pick up where he left off in Triple-A. It may not be to the tune of a .415 average against big league arms, but better than average offensive production won't be a problem.

2. Plate discipline won't be an issue for the 20-year-old.

Through 166 Triple-A plate appearances, Profar is showing a mastery of the strike zone. His BB/K ratio (21/24) is nearly even, profiling him as a hitter who understands what pitchers are trying to do, is willing to work deep into counts and is able to make contact when necessary.

To put that plate discipline into perspective, only 13 current qualified big league hitters have posted a BB/K ratio equal to or better than what Profar has done at the Triple-A level.

Those hitters: Joey Votto, Lance Berkman, Michael Young, Dustin Pedroia, Buster Posey, Billy Butler, Nate McLouth, Miguel Cabrera, James Loney, Norichika Aoki, Nick Markakis, Marco Scutaro and Placido Polanco.

Asking Profar to be just as disciplined on the big league level, against superior pitching, is probably expecting too much. Yet, even if his BB/K ratio slips a bit, it still profiles as above average for the game today.

3. Ron Washington will be criticized during Profar's stay in Texas.

If the Texas Rangers truly took their 25 best players from spring training with the team to start the season, Profar would have been on the roster. He wasn't for one reason: consistent playing time wasn't available, thus sitting him on the bench, finding spare at-bats and using him as a pinch runner would halt his development.

Kinsler's injury and Profar's call-up seemingly made that logical point moot. In theory, Profar should play second base every day, collect his four plate appearances and continue to develop, albeit now on the big league level.

Yet, that's unlikely to happen.

Profar is expected to receive the majority of the playing time, but not every at-bat, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News).

If that is the case, manager Ron Washington will be criticized by local and national media.

4. Curacao's shortstop pipeline will come into focus.

The island of Curacao has produced few major league players, most notably former Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones.

Now, the minute Profar steps on the field against the Oakland Athletics on Monday night, three starting middle infielders, all shortstops by trade, will be starting and thriving as young stars in the bigs.

Andrelton Simmons in Atlanta, Didi Gregorius in Arizona and Jurickson Profar.

All are young, gifted and potential future All-Stars.

In a twist of scheduling irony, Arizona and Texas square off in a doubleheader next Monday.

5. Upon the return of Ian Kinsler, Profar will be optioned back to Triple-A.

Much to the impending chagrin of Profar fanatics, it's hard to imagine this being the last call-up of his career.

Texas' roster is too deep, too talented and not nearly flexible enough to allow Profar to stay, lose at-bats on the bench and halt his overall development.

If, or—assuming you choose to believe wholeheartedly in these predictions—when Profar hits, shows master of the strike zone and proves he belongs, it likely won't change the outlook on his immediate future in Texas or Round Rock.

Core injuries such as Kinsler's ailment can sometimes heal slower than expected, so Profar's stay could be longer than two weeks.

Just don't expect it to be for the duration of the season.

Instead, a September call-up, inclusion on the postseason roster and everyday playing time in 2014 is the more likely path for this future star.

What are your predictions for Profar's big league career?

Comment below, follow me on Twitter or "Like" my Facebook page to talk all things baseball!

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Texas Rangers: Injured Pitcher Alexi Ogando Angers Team

Andrew Martin — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:06:51 -0400

Texas Rangers pitcher Alexi Ogando is not having a good week. First he was placed on the disabled list, and then came the news that the injured hurler had angered the team by not divulging his injury earlier.

The Rangers announced via Twitter that the 29-year-old right-hander was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 16 because of biceps tendinitis:

BREAKING NEWS: @ogandoalexi was placed on the 15 day DL with right bicep tendinitis. @joshlindblom52 will start on Monday.
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 16, 2013

Ogando had been pitching well as a starter this season, going 4-2 with a 3.08 ERA in nine starts before the injury.

ESPN Dallas’ Todd Willis reported that Ogando took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his last start against the Oakland A’s before leaving after complaining of soreness in his arm.

Although the pitcher had an MRI, Rangers manager Ron Washington told Willis, “It’s nothing. This could be workload.”

Ogando spent all of 2012 as a reliever with Texas and, with 49.2 frames under his belt so far this season, has already nearly matched last year’s total of 66 innings.

What has made Texas unhappy is that they recently discovered Ogando had been hurting prior to that last start but had not told the team’s coaches or medical staff.

The Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant is reporting that during a meeting on Saturday, Ogando revealed to Washington that his arm had been bothering him leading up to the Oakland game. It was a revelation that angered his skipper.

Washington described his reaction to Grant:

He finally told me that when we were talking and I said ‘You can’t do that.’ He’s got a different workload this year. When you are a reliever and you only have to pitch an inning or so, you can pitch through some soreness, but when you are a starter, it’s a different situation. You can make it worse. It’s something that comes with experience. Now that he has the experience of going through this and knowing the situation, hopefully it won’t happen again. Thank God it wasn’t more serious.

Before the season started, Ogando was identified as a potential injury risk by FanGraphs.com’s Jeff Zimmerman because of his inconstant velocity and delivery.

Despite the solid numbers, Ogando had looked like a different pitcher before his trip to the disabled list. FanGraphs.com shows his average velocity has dipped more than four mph to a career-low 92.8 mph since last season. Additionally, he’s thrown his fastball a career-low 42.4 percent of the time, while mixing in his changeup a career-high 18.5 percent of his pitches.

Fortunately for Ogando and the Rangers, according to a separate article by Willis, the pitcher’s MRI showed no structural damage, and he could return sooner rather than later.

Washington told MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan that deactivating Ogando was a necessary step to preserve him for the remainder of the season. “He's a starting pitcher and he's taken on a big work load. Rather than letting this drag on, we're going to nip it in the bud and get it right. Otherwise, he'll take the ball and go back out there."

It appears that other than needing a little rest, Ogando has dodged the injury bullet for now. However, since he has proven to be less than forthcoming about his health, it’s a safe bet that the Rangers will be monitoring him closer than they ever have before.

Statistics via Baseball-Reference

Follow @historianandrew

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