Losing Prince Fielder for the year is somewhat catastrophic to the team, but it doesn’t have to be a death sentence to the 2014 year. The big 1B was not part of the 15 – 9 start the team put forth, before a rough 8 – 15 slide since then. Pitching will save the day, and the organization may look to add some players that don’t require a ton of assets to ascertain. If the club has bad next month,, it could also be time to sell some players off and retool for 2015. Fielder will have neck surgery, and when you are talking about possible spinal fusing, it is not an injury to be recovered from quickly
The Rangers have quite likely lost Prince Fielder for the year – with pending neck surgery. He joins a long list of players currently on the ‘MASH’ unit.
Prince Fielder’s 2013 – 3 Slash Line (.279/.362/.457) is far below his Career Mark of .286/.389/.527. The man has not hit a HR in his last 74 AB in the playoffs either. Fielder at least had 5 HRs in 1st 70 AB for his playoff Career. Maybe that will change in Texas, after he clubs his way to be an AL MVP Candidate for the Rangers in 2014. I expect him to return to the 40+ HR plateau, drive in well over 100+ RBI – and lead his team to a World Series Appearance this year. Fielder will be in Texas for the next 7 years, and the Rangers only have to pay $20 MIL per year, with Detroit eating $4 MIL each season as part of the trade that saw Ian Kinsler go to Motown.
The Texas Rangers bolstered their 2014 offensive lineup with 2 new .400+ OBP Players.
Shin-Soo Choo (.423 OBP in 2013, and a Career .389 OBP), and Prince Fielder (.362 OBP, but was .400 OBP+ in 4 out of the last 5 years and .389 OBP for his lifetime) – will be front and center into the Rangers new lineup.
This is not an indictment of the 3 right handed hitters either though, Beltre is a .312 hitter for Texas during his 3 campaigns, while Alex Rios and Andrus should hit anywhere from .280 to .290 this year.
You add Andrus’s speed with Leonys Martin – and these two guys could swipe 40+ bags each. Even Alex Rios thieved 16 Bags in 2013 – and Choo had 20 SB yet again.Read the rest of this entry →
This has been the most successful run in Rangers history in the last 4 years. 2 World Series Appearances (albeit losses) – and the club has 4 straight 90+ Win Seasons.
Nolan Ryan envisioned this kind of progress when he anchored the current regime. While he has left the nest, many of the players have been stocked up in the Minors and Majors.
The greatest job done by the brass was to assemble a pitching unit of homegrown products, as this has kept the teams payroll within reason – even as some of these guys mature. Read the rest of this entry →
With the latest signings (by Baltimore) of Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez, there is now just 3 Free Agents who come with the price tag of your 1st RD pick (or 1st available pick if you have been busy already this winter).
SS Stephen Drew is still on the open market despite several rumors about the Big Apple, DH/1B Kendrys Morales is on the board, with teams dwindling in interest, and SP Ervin Santana rounds out the list.
Agents of these gentlemen are now threatening to hold out their players until after the MLB Amateur Draft (when the Draft Pick is no longer forfeited), in order to turn the leverage back to their guys.
I am not sure that is such a great idea, particularly in the cases of the hitters, who are not likely to warrant more than 3 year deals apiece. Read the rest of this entry →
Darvish has provided Texas with ace-like material ever since coming over from Japan. At his current $10 MIL a year salary, this gives the club a bunch of financial freedom to sign other long term deals. Darvish finished 2nd in AL CY Young Voting with a 13 – 9 record, a 2.83 ERA and a league leading 277 SO in his 209.2 IP worth of work in 2013. Darvish’s high posting bid was not part of his salary prior to 2012, or converted towards the total team payroll. Texas is lucky his yearly hit is so low – as the team already has $116 MIL towards the Luxury Tax Threshold before Arbitration Players are paid in the next couple of weeks. The Rangers could still potentially sign more guys to raise this figure even more.
This is part 1 of our 2 part payroll piece we will do for each club. The Rangers are entering with the heavy payroll clubs in the game of MLB.
Their salaries after Arbitration Eligibles are paid, could range anywhere from $125 – $140 MIL, and even higher if they are able to land another Free Agent Pitcher or hitter.
They have spoken loud with the checkbook. With 370 wins over the last 4 seasons, and 4 straight 90+ win campaigns, the Rangers are hoping to cash in with the 2014 squad.
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries Posts that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.
Yu Darvish Highlights Mature Lyrics So parental guidance is advised
By the time this offseason ends, the Rangers may have acquired the two best players for it. Placing Choo at the top of the lineup – as the OBP machine that he ends, followed by Adrian Beltre hitting 3rd – and Prince Fielder 4th, all of a sudden the Texas Rangers are looking like their vintage “offensive” selves. Based on this, go and pick up their World Series ODD win at +1100 (3rd favorite in the AL) anywhere you can as they should be the favorite. Choo signed for a 7 Year Deal worth $130 MIL this winter. It is an annual average contract of $18.43 MIL, but the man will only pocket $14 MIL for his services in 2014 and 2015 as well..
Prince Fielder was signed to a 9 YR/$214 MIL contract before the start of the 2012 season. He is not Slugging as much as his Brewers days, however his OBP is just slightly lower in the regular season. Fielder has a chance to have a Hall of Fame Career. If he can bring a World Series to Texas, he will enhance his chances. The Big man has to step up in 2014, or the team may fail to capitalize on the World Series Caliber team they have built over the last half a dozen years. After a few years with Detroit, that club will be on the hook to the big man for $76 MIL out of the deal, leaving Texas to pay $138 MIL over the 7 seasons he is signed with the club.
Note From Chuck Booth:
You guys are all in for a treat. Jeff Kleiner has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs.
We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams.
Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective.
If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.
In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball. He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job.
Jeff updates this page below on a daily basis. After you click on it….Bookmark it. There is a 3 year salary forecast and stats not listed here on this page. Jeff updates these pages daily and these changes include any Roster moves!
Authors for this post:
Jeff Kleiner: “I have been a sports fan since the first Baseball game I went to at Comisky Park in Chicago in 1959, when baseball for me turned from black and white to color.
I have attended or watched thousands of games, always paying attention to statistics, rosters and salaries of all professional sports.
Luckily I had the advantage of watching WGN TV and seeing hundreds of games in the 60’s. Collecting Baseball Cards and then later dealing them gave me an extra sense of the sport, both good and bad.”
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The Rangers have cobbled together 370 wins over the last four years, however they are now 2 years withdrawn from being a solitary strike away from winning the World Series. They have done a great job assessing their club over the last few campaigns, and with a great winter, the club’s competition window should be reset for many years to come. With Nolan Ryan leaving the franchise, the heat will be on Jon Daniels to administer such a daunting task. The Rangers have great attendance, and more National TV dollars are also being kicked their way for 2014, it is time to go and lure the top Free Agents in the game of MLB towards The Ballpark in Arlington!
Jon Daniels is more like the “Lone Ranger” now with the brass over in Arlington being astonishingly diminished by Texas native Nolan Ryan leaving.
He is effectively on the “hot seat” now.
His team is now 2 years removed from back to back World Series Appearances, followed up with an epic collapse down the stretch in 2012, and just falling short of the playoff bar in 2012.
The Rangers actually had a pretty decent season in 2013 at 91 – 72 (losing the play in game to Tampa Bay), when you consider they lost Mike Napoli and Josh Hamilton‘s services – and really only replaced them with “Fat Elvis” AKA Lance Berkman, who like Presley, has eaten themselves out of their careers at times.
In my view, Evan Longoria could end up being the MVP of the entire playoffs – with his penchant for being clutch in the last games of years. I am predicting the Tampa Bay Rays are going to win the World Series versus the LA Dodgers, iIf Wil Myers and Ben Zobrist help bashing the ball around, then this team is scary. Also picking up proven playoff performer Delmon Young (yes that guy) (HR’d last night – and is .266/.328/.887 – with 9 HRs and 16 RBI In 109 AB) was also a good move by the Rays brass. If these guys hit, the Pitching should do enough.
Okay, now that the Wild Card Games are over, I am 2 – 1 this week in predicting the outcomes of games. I had both Rays wins and lost with the Reds.
For those that have been reading my gambling pick posts, will also see that I have been discussing some of the odds posted for the playoffs. Check out those here.
I am not going with the masses this year, however I am picking 2 favorites and 2 underdogs in the 1st Round.
Really, I think the matchups are a lot more even than even some of the biggest betting industry odds are suggesting.
I may have also taken the Athletics all the way to the World Series if Cespedes wasn’t hampered by his injured Right Shoulder.
In my view, the Rays are the best odd on the board at +800. With David Price, Matt Moore and Alex Cobb all pitching so well, and the team have the best coach in Joe Maddon, I am really surprised that they are tied with Oakland for the 3rd in the AL in terms of longshots to win the whole Fall Classic. The Rays won a Game 163 vs the Rangers and the Wild Card Game versus the Indians. It was their 9th straight game on the road. This team just finds a way to win.
The National League is up for grabs – and I can’t believe that the Reds are +1800 right now to win the World Series. If they win the Wild Card game, the team could be extremely dangerous afterwards. Honestly, the Indians and Rays should not be favored ahead of them. TIP OF THE DAY: Bet $53 on the Reds to win the World Series, for a win of $1007. Then to offset a loss today, wager $70.52 on the Pirates at -133. If the Bucs win, you break even, and if the Cincy club escapes PNC Park, you are alive for your big payday, having bet $123.52, however your payout would still be $1007.
The Red Sox went worst to first in the AL East from last year to this year, and took the best record in the American League to boot along the way. The Boston club now will be able to sit around and watch 2 playoff games, in which their 1st round opponents will throw 1 if not 2 pitchers out of their rotation before heading to Fenway Friday night to start the ALDS series. Boston is the new favorite to win the World Series – as they possess home field advantage all the way through the Post Season, including the World Series – thanks to the AL winning the ALL – Star Game this past summer.
Alex Rios is one option that the Rangers could go with to meet the need of a right-handed bat for their club. He has a .272 average and a .752 OPS in 397 at-bats for the White Sox this season to include hitting 12 HRs and having 49 RBIs. The right-handed outfielder is also very adept at stealing bases, as he has already stolen 22 bases while being caught just six times. He also play good defense in the outfield as well with only committing three errors. Rios is a right-hander, but he excels in facing left-handers with a .296 batting average and an OPS of .829. He does most of his damage in 6th inning, as indicated by him hitting .352 with 19 hits in 54 at-bats this season.
By Chris Lacey (Lead Baseball Columnist/Minority Website Owner) Follow @aecanada12
For most baseball teams that won’t make the playoffs, the Trade Deadline is a way for them to trade players away that will be impending free agents the following season.
The teams don’t see these players as a part of their long-term plans for the organization will want to get something in return rather than just allowing the player to sign with another team and they get nothing in return.
Joe Nathan 2011 Highlights – Parental Guidance Is Advised
The Bucs have won 9 straight games and now possess a record of 51 – 30. You have to think that the club will finally put the nail in the coffin on its 20 year losing streak – with just needing to win 31 of their 81 games remaining. Better yet, ESPN has them listed as a 88 Percent chance to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1992 season. At the halfway point in the season, the Bucs have the best record in the MLB – and have reached #2 in our power rankings.
(MLB Reports) AL Hitter Of The Week – Jason Kipnis (CLE – He reached base 24 times in the 8 games (14 hits, 9 Walks and 1 HBP) – with 3 HRs, 6 – 2B, 9 Runs and 11 RBI. He hit .519 for the week).
Runners up were: Miguel Cabrera (DET – OPS of 1.583, with 4 HRs and 7 RBI), Dustin Pedroia (BOS – .560 BA, 14 hits), and Raul Ibanez (SEA – OPS of 1.455 – 3 HRs and 5 RBI.)
(MLB Reports) AL Pitcher Of The Week– R.A. Dickey (TOR – 2 hit CG Shutout versus the Tampa Bay Rays.)
One month down in the MLB season and that means it’s time for some Power Rankings! Chuck Booth the czar of MLBreports.com joins us in studio to rank every team from worst to first. Where does your team rank? Read the rest of this entry →
The Texas Rangers have been the most consistent American League Franchise since Nolan Ryan took over as CEO of the club midway through 2010. They made the World Series in 2010 and 2011 – losing to the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco in back to back years. The club has done a great job assembling a Minor League system full of talent – and a great amount of talent via Free Agency. Will the Rangers be able to finally win a World Series in the coming years?
You guys are all in for a treat. Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website. He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs. We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams.
Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective. If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.
In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball. He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job. So after the usual Video Clip and READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY button, you will find some serious &*!@?!#!
For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the Rangers Organization click here
Joe Ortiz was brought up from the farm system, and although he is only 22, he has spent six years with the Rangers. Ortiz has had an impressive Spring Training – and has caught the eye of fans as well as pitching coach Mike Maddux. Ortiz posted a 1.97 ERA in 24 Appearances with AAA Round Rock last season – and has officially made the big league Bullpen this year.
By Brooke Robinson (Rangers Correspondent): Follow @bka_9
Though baseball season begins in Texas just hours away, there were many questions left for the team to answer throughout Spring Training. Who will become the fifth starter? Who will recover from surgery this season? And who will revive the Bullpen?
In the past month of training in Surprise, Arizona, some of the answers of these questions have come to light. The Rangers were plagued with injury in the latter part of the 2012 season, particularly with their pitching.
So it was no surprise that the front office brought in and up some new faces to test out this spring. Pitchers that will still be recovering at the beginning of the season include: RHP Colby Lewis, RHP Neftali Feliz, RHP Joakim Soria, and LHP Martin Perez.
Texas has doubled their total team payroll since the new ownership group took over. As good as they are doing right now for Payroll – the Angels still have them beat by 35-40 Million Dollars.
By Nicholas Rossoletti (MLB Reports Trade Correspondent): Follow @NRoss56
It is easy to equate a big market team’s success with merely a willingness to overspend on free agents and use their superior earning power to dominate the sport. While the Rangers certainly are not afraid of spending all that money that playing the Dallas/Fort Worth area provides, it would be inaccurate to equate the team’s recent string of success with only their ability to outspend a fair portion of their competitors. As we enter the 2013 season, the Rangers have built a very strong base – while managing to not tie themselves to any back-breaking, future altering contracts. That is a testament to the organization’s belief in its system – and its refusal to spend on player just because they are able to. With that being said, let’s take a look at the Rangers 2013 payroll as of now and see where Texas will be spending its money next season.
The Rangers had back to back World Series Appearances in 2010 and 2011 – does this club have another run in them without Josh Hamilton and Michael Young? They regressed in the 2012 Season – losing a 13 Game Division Lead in the AL West before barely capturing a Wild Card Spot. They eventually lost the Play In Wild Card-Game to the Baltimore Orioles.
By Brooke Robinson (Rangers Correspondent): Follow @bka_9
Looking back on the end of the 2012 season, and how the AL West lead was given up in a matter of days to Oakland, it’s clear the Texas front office wanted change in the clubhouse for 2013. It seems as though GM Jon Daniels’ motto for the offseason is “out with the old, in with the new….er”. Daniels is eager to bring a World Series victory to Arlington and has pieced together a team of new players with old postseason successes. There is also a chance that the Rangers will also bring up some of their promising prospects that they protected throughout the offseason trade frenzy. This makes for some very interesting lineup possibilities for the upcoming season, especially with the major roles needing to be filled by former Ranger departures such as 1B/C Mike Napoli, U Michael Young, OF Josh Hamilton, and P Ryan Dempster.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024To say that this year has been a good year for baseball is an humongous understatement. I thought after last years finish, that nothing was going to duplicate the experience. Everyone forgets (or maybe not) that there should not even have been many races last year with Atlanta and Boston having such substantial leads on playoff spots. The Red Sox and Braves collapsed like a couple of bowling pins with King Kong Bundy splashing down on them!
This year, there are 15 teams still vying for 10 playoff spots. So far the only probable locks are Washington for a playoff spot-and Cincinnati to probably win their division The player races for all of the categories is almost as fascinating. Will Andrew McCutcheon catch Melky Cabrera for the Batting title? Or will 2012 be forever cemented in baseball folklore by a stained player like Cabrera? He could still end up determining who wins the World Series in the Fall Classic by his Testosterone filled antics in his MVP ALL-Star Game. The big question is, will the San Francisco Giants fans cheer for him if he comes back in the playoffs? They cheered for another league leader before when it was obvious he was guilty. Right now if you are the Giants, you will take an opportunity to boo or cheer for Cabrera because that means you would be in the playoffs.
Will the spending happy Dodgers have to wait another year to capitalize on their new plan to make the playoffs? If they ultimately miss the playoffs outright, are they going to buy every player they can in the off-season? I sure hope Magic knows that there are Luxury Tax penalties for spending over 178 Million Next Year. 1st year fine is 22.5%, 2nd year is 30%, 3rd year and beyond is 40%. So if they plan on having a 250 Million Dollar Payroll in 2013 (by adding 2 or 3 more top Free Agents) will the Dodgers just forego the worry of any financial penalties on a yearly basis– just to dominate the whole National League (plus baseball for that matter.) Every other team has to consider the urgency in cashing out a World Series right now while the Dodgers have not had a full off season with the new management yet. Can Oakland and their ‘New Money Ball philosophy’ make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2006?
The Best Players over the last month were: Buster Posey, Prince Fielder, Giancarlo Stanton, Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton, Yovani Gallardo, Kris Medlen, Adam Wainwright, Aroldis Chapman and Felix Hernandez. The best teams have been Oakland, Washington, San Francisco, San Diego, Baltimore and Texas. The worst teams have been Houston (at least its better to go down hard and stockpile #1 Draft Picks guys.) I have a feeling you will be there for a while with the division you are heading into and may even challenge the 120 Loss Single Season Record. At least you are not going into the NL West to compete with the LA Dodgers! The Cleveland Indians have fallen to an epic drop-off as well. Toronto misses their top sluggers. What has happened to the Minnesota Twins? The Mets have ownership and payroll problems, so at least they have an excuse. Plus they lead the world in guys being hurt. When David Wright has been your healthiest player, you know the season has been backwards! So sit back, get your notebook and popcorn ready for this Month’s Rankings!Read the rest of this entry →
Ryan Ritchey: Most teams are 12 games in to this 162 game season, with many teams having played close games in all 12. With that in mind I would like to check out the stat that no one really pays attention to (except some hardcore fantasy baseball fans)… that being holds. For those of you that don’t know what a hold, is let me explain. A hold by definition is when a relief pitcher enters the game in a save situation, records at least one out, and leaves the game without his team giving up the lead- with also not recording the save. That is a lot to take in at one time but it all works out in the end on the stat sheet.
Now that you know what a hold is, let’s take a look at the top ten relievers in holds:
10. David HernandezARI – 3 holds, Arizona has gone on a hot streak and it is because of their pitching. With Upton not producing, the pitching is taking most of the responsibility on their shoulders and are doing a great job. Hernandez in 7 appearances has 8 strikeouts to only 2 walks allowed. He also has one blown save. (more…)
The Phillies have acquired outfielder Jordan Qsar from the Rays, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Phillies are sending cash considerations the other way, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Qsar, 27, will jump to just the second organization of his career, as he’s spent it all with the Rays until now. That club…
The Phillies announced today that right-hander Mark Appel has been released. He had been in camp on a minor league deal. They also reassigned left-hander Ben Bowden, right-hander Louis Head and catcher Max McDowell to minor league camp. Appel, 31, had been having a rough showing this spring. In six appearances, he allowed six walks…
The Guardians announced Monday that they’ve signed right-handed reliever Jhon Romero to a minor league contract. He’s headed straight to minor league camp and will appear in a minor league game for them today, per the team. Romero, 28, has seen brief big league time in each of the past two seasons. He tossed four…
The Reds announced Monday that they’ve released left-handed reliever Daniel Norris, who’d been in camp on a minor league deal. Cincinnati also optioned outfielder Stuart Fairchild to Triple-A Louisville and reassigned righty Silvino Bracho and infielder/outfielder Alejo Lopez to minor league camp. It’s been a tough spring for Norris, who’s appeared in seven […]
The Athletics signed veteran catcher Carlos Perez to a minor league contract yesterday, per his transactions log at MLB.com. It’ll be his second stint with the organization. The 32-year-old Perez — not to be confused with the White Sox catching prospect of the same name — has appeared in parts of four big league seasons…
Ryan Ritchey: Most teams are 12 games in to this 162 game season, with many teams having played close games in all 12. With that in mind I would like to check out the stat that no one really pays attention to (except some hardcore fantasy baseball fans)… that being holds. For those of you that don’t know what a hold, is let me explain. A hold by definition is when a relief pitcher enters the game in a save situation, records at least one out, and leaves the game without his team giving up the lead- with also not recording the save. That is a lot to take in at one time but it all works out in the end on the stat sheet.
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