5 Reasons the Texas Rangers Will Win Their 1st World Series in 2014
I can feel something in the air.
2014 might finally be the year. It should definitely be the Texas Rangers' best chance yet to win their first World Series title.
General manager Jon Daniels and the team's ownership group has stepped up in a huge way by breaking through the planned budget for 2014. In the process, they've made two tremendous acquisitions that together put the Rangers at the forefront of the American League.
The 2014 Rangers have a chance to be the franchise's greatest ever squad. The road to the World Series will still be a long and arduous one. Both the American and National Leagues are deeper than they've been in a long time.
But I really believe this team has it in them. The pieces are in place, minus a rounding out move here and there.
Here are five reasons the Rangers will win the 2014 World Series.
Enjoy!
All stats courtesy of ESPN.
5. Team Needs Were Filled Aggressively
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As I mentioned, Daniels along with majority owners Bob Simpson and Ray Davis stepped up in a big way. They were committed to giving this club the best chance possible to win in 2014 and in the next few years.
Every single major team need was filled, and Daniels did it brilliantly. He was cautious when he needed to be, intelligently playing the free agent market. When he needed to go all in, he did so.
Actually, team needs weren't just filled. They were blown away with elite personnel.
A left-handed power hitter? Rather than settling for resigning AJ Pierzynski, how about Prince Fielder, who is just a shade below 300 home runs in his career before age 30?
A table setter? Shin-Soo Choo was probably the best all-around one available. Texas got a player who does more than Jacoby Ellsbury for exactly $23 million less.
The catching situation? Geovany Soto isn't an all-star, but Daniels played it smart here and made a value decision. JP Arencibia can be a starting catcher on at least a few clubs. For $1.8 million guaranteed, he brought one of the games' most underrated power hitters to Arlington.
4. The Rangers Improved More Than the Other AL West Teams
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This offseason, the Rangers improved more than every other AL West club. Let's take a look.
The A's top free-agent signing was Scott Kazmir to a two-year, $22 million deal. They'll be paying a guy with a career .520 winning percentage, 4.16 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP more money per year than Yu Darvish makes with the Rangers. Eleven million per is quite a bit for Kazmir, who hasn't been truly dominant since 2007 with the Rays. He figures to be Oakland's no. 2 starter behind Sonny Gray.
Meanwhile, the A's lost Bartolo Colon, who was probably their best starter last year, to the Mets. They traded starter Brett Anderson to the Colorado Rockies. Anderson was their No. 1 starter just two years ago. Offensively, they made no significant lineup upgrades. If anything, they lost Seth Smith, who consistently grinded out at bats, to the San Diego Padres.
The A's really just bolstered the bullpen, which might be the best in baseball. A trade for Jim Johnson and Luke Gregerson makes their pen frightening. But at the end of the day, the Rangers have a noticeably better offense and a more proven rotation.
Robinson Cano does not a team make. After also signing Corey Hart and trading for Logan Morrison, they have a logjam of first base/DH types and still don't have any solid outfielders. With the price they paid for Cano, they could have made themselves a better team than they are now.
The Mariners' rotation is still only two-deep with Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma. If they sign Tanaka or Ervin Santana and then add Taijuan Walker to the mix, they might have the best rotation in the division. But not yet.
LA Angels
Trading Mark Trumbo to the Arizona Diamondbacks was seen as a mistake by many people. But he did bring back Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs from the Chicago White Sox and Arizona, respectively. Still their rotation is average at best. Jered Weaver, CJ Wilson, Santiago, Richards and Skaggs is probably the third-best rotation in the division.
At the plate, the Angels took a step back offensively by trading Trumbo, a 30-100 hitter. He was a thorn in Texas' side for a couple of years. They are still relying on aging and overpaid Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton to produce like they did two and three years ago. Mike Trout is the only sure thing in that lineup.
Trading for Dexter Fowler and signing Scott Feldman probably just helped them escape from the 100-loss zone. They are still two to three years from making the playoffs.
3. Getting Healthy
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Last year, the Rangers won 91 games without Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz for 99 percent of the season. Colby Lewis, the team's most successful postseason starter over the last three years, missed all of 2013.
Nelson Cruz, who was leading the team with 27 homers and 76 RBI, was suspended on August 4, and he missed the remaining 50 regular-season games. Ian Kinsler, the club's leadoff man, missed over 40 games at the start of the year. Because of a rash of injuries, the Rangers had to use 11 different starting pitchers.
The Lance Berkman experiment was an utter failure. For much of the year, Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz were the team's only real power and run producing threats.
Health-wise, Texas was an absolute mess all season in 2013. To still win 91 games in what was one of the toughest divisions in baseball despite all of that is remarkable. They still ranked eighth in the majors in runs scored and 10th in ERA.
Sure, several players stepped up and made up for some of the loss. Neal Cotts, Martin Perez, Craig Gentry, Geovany Soto and Elvis Andrus in the second half. But overall, the injury/suspension bug bit Texas about as badly as it could have last year.
None of that extremity in 2014. Guys will get hurt, but it's a fairly safe bet that the club will be significantly healthier this time around.
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2. The Offseason Isn't over
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The bulk of the Rangers' offseason work was indeed completed before Christmas Day. I'm definitely not expecting another massive signing like Masahiro Tanaka. But Daniels has surprised me before. He did so by trading for Prince Fielder just about over a month ago.
But it wouldn't be wise to assume that Daniels is finished this offseason and is just sitting around waiting till spring training. The offseason is far from over, and there are still a couple of minor moves I can see the Rangers making to add depth to an already contending club.
I'd like to see Daniels sign Jeff Baker as a platoon bat to handle left-handed pitchers. He's lethal against southpaws. He'd be a cheap option to come off the bench in pinch-hit situations. He's a utility player who can man several different positions. He's got a great attitude, wants to win and produced very nicely for the Rangers last season. Paired with Arencibia, the Rangers would boast one of the league's best benches.
Some Ranger fans think signing another starting pitcher might be necessary to ensure that Alexi Ogando gets moved to the bullpen where he belongs. The goal with this move, in addition to moving Ogando, would also be to make sure Nick Tepesch isn't forced to be the No. 5 starter and that Colby Lewis isn't rushed in his return from injury.
I think Daniels has something up his sleeve. I truly believe that this team is not yet a finished product.
1. The Rangers Could Be the Most Complete Team in Baseball
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Call me biased if you want, but in my mind, the Rangers could be the most complete team in baseball. In the AL, I think they are right up there with the Boston Red Sox and a tick above the Detroit Tigers, who lost both Doug Fister and Prince Fielder.
In the NL, the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers are at least on the same level as Texas. The Cincinnati Reds have taken a step back by losing Choo to Texas, and that blow could be compounded if they don't resign Bronson Arroyo. The Pittsburgh Pirates lost both Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau and might lose AJ Burnett as well.
The Texas lineup will still be as versatile as ever but now with greater accents of power from the bats of Prince Fielder and JP Arencibia. Speed is all-around with Choo, Elvis Andrus, Alex Rios and Leonys Martin. Between those four, they could steal 120 bases. Texas is one of the league's fastest teams, if not the fastest. Heck, even Fielder can move well for his size. Manager Ron Washington will no doubt utilize the great weapon of speed that he has in his lineup.
Within the top four in the Ranger lineup, Choo and Fielder both have a career .389 OBP. Those guys will be on base, and more runs will be scored. Period.
The Rangers will have the ability to mash with Fielder, Beltre, Rios and Mitch Moreland or manufacture runs. Defensively, Fielder is a step back at first base from Moreland. But Choo is certainly an upgrade over Cruz defensively. Texas will also have one of the rangiest and best-throwing outfields in baseball.
The current pitching staff, when healthy and being backed by this offense as they will be, can fight their way through the AL. Darvish and the rest of the rotation figures to get solid run support far more often this season. If Lewis returns as the No. 5 and pitches well or if they sign a free-agent starter, Texas will have the best rotation in the division and probably the AL.
The bullpen is still very good even without Nathan. Not as good as Oakland's, but it still likely one of the top three in the AL.
I won't make any guarantees. I have in the past with this team, and I've been burned. But let me say this: I have never been as confident about the Rangers winning the World Series as I am with this 2014 team.
I—and I think I can speak for most Ranger fans—have never been so excited for an upcoming season of Ranger baseball.
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