Texas Rangers: 5 Offseason Moves to Claim a World Series Win

The Texas Rangers have been to the promised land the past two seasons. They tasted glory against the San Francisco Giants, and had glory stolen away from them by the St. Louis Cardinals. Tasting it won't be enough come 2012, when the Rangers will be in full-fledged "win now" mode.

But to return to the Fall Classic in 2012, the Rangers will need to retool, securing the futures of their up and coming All-Stars and also finding a few replacements before opening day (starting pitcher, utility infielder). They will have seven players on the roster who will be arbitration-eligible come February, including shortstop Elvis Andrus, outfielders David Murphy and Nelson Cruz and catcher Mike Napoli.

With those players sure to get a considerable raise, the Rangers will need to not only find money for their free-agent signings, but also find cash to lock up Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler long-term. That being said, here are five offseason moves that will help the Rangers reach the promised land again, except this time return to Arlington for a victory parade. 

1. Do NOT Overpay for C.J. Wilson

I love C.J. Wilson. Let's get that out of the way first. I've watched him grow from erratic closer to frontline starter as the team paralleled his rise from mediocrity to twice World Series runner-up. He takes the ball every fifth day, and Ron Washington isn't afraid for him to face any batter in any situation. He also takes his job very seriously, and prepares his body and mind with the utmost care.

Wilson will demand money from his suitors this offseason. The Rangers will probably not get a discount in keeping their best starter from this season in Rangers red and blue. Wilson compiled a 16-7 record, had a 2.94 ERA and fanned 206 batters in the regular season. His record probably would have been closer to 20 had Neftali Feliz not gotten injured and Darren Oliver and Arthur Rhodes not blown a couple saves early on.

With those kind of stats and a very limited market for starting pitching, Wilson will probably demand a four- to five-year deal with with at least $100 million in guaranteed money. Is C.J. worth that kind of commitment and dedication?

He is about to be 31 years old, and would be 36 at the end of that kind of deal. If the price is right and we can get C.J. for around four years and $75-85 million in overall money, I'd say pull the trigger. But I would also laden the contract with incentives and performance-based clauses that help C.J. reach his full potential. If not, there is no reason to waste that money, namely because guys named Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus will be knocking at the extension door very soon.  

2. Designate Neftali Feliz as a Full-Time Starter or Full-Time Closer

Neftali Feliz is on the verge of stardom in Major League Baseball. Those who don't know his name, soon will after his stellar postseason—the funniest thing about his current role on the team is he is only making around $400,000 to close for the second-best team in baseball.

During spring training this past year, we got a little taste of Feliz in a starting role, and he did well until the Rangers decided to go with Alexi Ogando and leave Feliz in the closer role. But following the club stretching Feliz out, he struggled early in the season with velocity and location when firing his fastball at 98-99 MPH instead of 92-94. 

This year, with the potential void C.J. might leave, the Rangers need to decide, and stick with, the decision on whether or not Feliz is a starter or closer going into the 2012 season. He has proven himself as a closer, performing on an All-Star level. He has the stuff, however, to become a frontline starter and replace the 206 Ks Wilson will leave behind. 

So whichever way the Rangers choose to go, I think they will find Feliz will have success. But I think he is the kind of pitcher to excel when given one task, and one ultimate goal. So when Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan decide, here's hoping they let him do the task to his fullest. 

3. Stay the Course on the Farm

The Rangers have one of the best farm systems in baseball, recently ranked No. 1 by Baseball America in 2010 before many of those prospects became part of the Rangers' big club (Holland, Feliz, Moreland, Borbon). This season they were ranked at 14, but had three players in the top 100 in Jurickson Profar, Martin Perez and Tanner Scheppers.

Leonys Martin, who Rangers fans saw late in 2011 in CF, will also be a key contributor to the organization, although his value might be better suited in developing in Triple-A for a little while as he continues to learn how to play the professional game.

Perez and Martin will both see time in Arlington in 2012, and hopefully will be able to add the extra zip and jive that will push this team over the top in the outfield and the back end of the bullpen, as Perez likely won't be asked to start during his first taste of the big leagues.

The key on this front is to maintain the level of success and player development that has allowed the Rangers to maintain a consistent status as one of the upper echelon teams in terms of maintaining and growing prospects. Daniels and Ryan have done a great job in pushing the right buttons, as well as letting young talent blossom in the lower levels of the club.

4. Keep Cash for Future Core Signings

We've already discussed tying up roughly $17 million a year on C.J. Wilson if Nolan Ryan decides he is worth it, and, assuming he does, it will likely mean the Rangers won't be able to keep every starter from the team that made it to the World Series two years running.

That means likely parting ways with Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler or Elvis Andrus, all of whom will merit a large lump sum to stick around in Texas after the 2012 season. Elvis will be in his second arbitration, Hamilton will be a Type-A free agent and Kinsler will likely be looking for an extension since he is only scheduled to make $500,000 that season.

Even if the Rangers don't keep C.J., the likelihood of keeping all those guys is going to be tight. Daniels and Co. will be working around the clock moving money around to keep those guys in a Rangers uniform for a long time. 

Money hasn't really been in the Rangers problems since ridding themselves of bad contracts in the middle of the decade. They built this core off of young talent and young pitching, which doesn't cost much until other people start noticing. But when they do, you can bet these young guys want to get paid like the rest of the league, and if Jon Daniels is the boy genius we all think he is, he'll be able to get deals done this offseason while shoring up some funds for the impending snow storm that will be keeping the core guys.   

5. Make a Big Play for Yu Darvish

The Rangers have given a bad contract to a foreign pitcher once before. Chan Ho Park ring any bells? The New York Yankees gave Hideki Irabu a big payday, and he never lived up to the hype. But Yu Darvish, the 25-year-old sensation from Japan, might be the one ingredient missing from a team that was so close to the champagne and the parade.

Darvish's numbers are incredible, especially this past season where he went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts. If you didn't just read it, or accidentally skimmed it, this kid is 25 years old. He would instantly become the ace of the Rangers staff, who just so happen to need an ace.

Not only would the money and popularity be there for Darvish, he would be working with people in the Rangers organization who he knew and worked with during his time in Japan. Yoshinori Tateyama, Koji Uehara and Colby Lewis are all familiar with Darvish, and the Rangers even hired a translator midseason for Tateyama and Uehara. I'm not saying the transition to American baseball wouldn't be a challenge, but these are definitely bargaining chips the Rangers have to use when it comes to their pitch for Darvish.

If nothing else, bidding high and winning the Darvish sweepstakes would keep teams like the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels and Yankees from having him. The Rangers are now one of the more powerful teams in terms of payroll, and they should act like it. Matching the big-wig superpowers of the North and a divisional foe out West will help legitimize the Rangers' growth as a franchise, and hopefully keep these teams from another piece that might beat Texas in 2012.

There will be risks with Darvish, including becoming the ace of a staff and carrying the load in a new country where no one really speaks your language. But if you are going to bet the farm on a guy (not literally), why not do it on Darvish, who Jon Daniels has personally scouted. Daniels doesn't make many mistakes in the scouting department. Sign Darvish, put him at the top of your rotation, and see how far the high-powered, aggressive offense and big-time, shut-down pitching takes you again in 2012.