The Texas Rangers would like to forget 2014 ever happened. Coming into last season with big expectations based on the additions of Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo, Texas was decimated by injuries throughout the lineup and starting rotation, and it was too much to overcome. New manager Jeff Banister could be the new voice this team needs, and his analytical approach meshes better with GM Jon Daniels. The hope is that the labors of the previous offseason yield benefits one year later. But did the front office really do enough to improve this roster — especially on the pitching side — over the winter?
Depth Chart (as of 3/2)
C: Robinson Chirinos
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Rougned Odor
SS: Elvis Andrus
3B: Adrian Beltre
LF: Jake Smolinski
CF: Leonys Martin
RF: Shin-Soo Choo
DH: Mitch Moreland
SP: Yu Darvish
SP: Derek Holland
SP: Yovani Gallardo
SP: Colby Lewis
SP: Ross Detwiler
CL: Neftali Feliz
New Faces: Yovani Gallardo, Ross Detwiler, Kyuji Fujikawa, Carlos Corporan, Kyle Blanks, Nate Schierholtz, Ryan Ludwick, Delino DeShields Jr., Anthony Ranaudo, Carlos Peguero
Departures: Alex Rios, Alexi Ogando, Neal Cotts, Robbie Ross, Luis Sardinas, Scott Baker, J.P. Arencibia, Kevin Kouzmanoff
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Impact Rookies: Delino DeShields Jr. was picked up from the Astros in December’s Rule 5 Draft. As such, he Rangers have to keep him on the 25-man roster or offer him back to Houston. However, DeShields should stick based on merit, providing a backup center fielder with some much needed speed off the bench. The 22-year-old stole 54 bases last year in Double-A with 11 home runs and 57 RBI. While he only hit .236, DeShields compiled a .346 on-base percentage, which gave him the opportunity to use that speed.
Ryan Rua appeared to be blocked in the organization as a third baseman, but could be on track to win a major league job after showing the ability to play the outfield. That could put him in position to win a starting job this spring. Rua, soon to be 25, hit 32 home runs from Single-A to Double-A in 2013, but significantly improved his batting average last year. Splitting his season between Double-A and Triple-A, he batted .306 with an .866 OPS, 26 doubles, 18 home runs and 74 RBI in 529 plate appearances. That earned him a late August call-up, after which he hit .295 with a .740 OPS in 25 games.
On the pitching side, Chi-Chi Gonzalez, 23, could help out in the rotation later in the season or perhaps win a spot during the spring. Moving from advanced Single-A to Double-A, the right-hander went 12-6 with a 2.67 ERA and 113 strikeouts and 41 walks in 138 innings. Alec Asher may also get a look, after going 11-11 with a 3.80 ERA in 154 innings, compiling a rate of 1.9 walks per nine frames.
Rangers fans will be keeping an eye on No. 1 prospect Joey Gallo and his massive home run numbers. The third baseman, 21, hit 42 homers with a .636 slugging percentage and 106 RBI, advancing from high Single-A to Double-A last season. A .232 average with 115 strikeouts in 291 plate appearances in Frisco shows Gallo still has some major improvements to make in his strike zone judgment, so he might still be a year away from the big leagues. But if Texas needs help at first base or designated hitter, perhaps he’ll get a shot.
Jorge Alfaro is another top prospect who could be a September call-up. There’s no need to rush him, since the Rangers are stocked at catcher and Alfaro likely needs a full year in the minors after finishing last season in Double-A. The 21-year-old hit .261 with a .763 OPS overall, while throwing out 28 percent of opposing basestealers.
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Position Battles: Competition for the left field job will be the one to watch this spring, with as many as six candidates bidding for the position. As mentioned above, Rua is a leading contender after his September performance. Jake Smolinski was also impressive last season, batting .349 with a .903 OPS in 92 plate appearances.
Either Ryan Ludwick and Nate Schierholtz could win the job with an impressive spring, but would likely provide veteran reserve bats if they stick on the roster. (Schierholtz probably has an edge, as a left-handed bat, which Texas needs off the bench.) Carlos Peguero and Michael Choice are two more players in the mix, but face a steep uphill battle against so much competition.
Injury Concerns: Scratch Jurickson Profar off the “concern” list, since the Rangers already know he’s lost for the season. The infielder required surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, after missing all of last year with a similar injury.
Both Martin Perez and Matt Harrison are returning from surgeries that ended their 2014 seasons early. Perez underwent a Tommy John procedure last May, and the typical timetable for recovery puts him on track to possibly contribute until the second half of the year. Harrison might return sooner after having spinal fusion surgery in June, but still isn’t likely to be available for the first two months of the season.
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Most Important Player: Adrian Beltre
If there was any doubt as to Beltre’s importance to the Rangers, the front office took care of that by picking up his option for 2016. Beltre was originally set to make $18 million this season, with a $16 million option for next year, but the team amended the contract to flip those salaries.
Beltre’s power numbers were down in 2014, due in part to a quad injury early in the season. But he still had an outstanding year, batting .324 with an .879 OPS, 33 doubles, 19 homers and 77 RBI. He also played his typically excellent defense at third base, credited with +9 Defensive Runs Saved. At 36 years old and Gallo looking ready to take his position in another year, Beltre still appears to have plenty left. Signing a longer extension past 2016 is a possibility, as the Rangers might consider him valuable as a veteran leader as younger players join the roster.
X-Factor: Prince Fielder
High expectations for the Rangers in 2014 were based largely on the belief that Fielder would rebound upon being traded from Detroit to Texas and hitting in Arlington’s warmer climate. Unfortunately, he got off to a very slow start, batting. 206 in April with a .644 OPS. Fielder looked to be heating up in May, with a .333/.421/.458 slash average in 57 plate appearances, but those hopes were quickly dashed with a neck injury that eventually required season-ending surgery.
It’s possible that Fielder’s neck issues contributed to his lesser productions with the Tigers in 2013. But after having surgery to correct the problem, the presumption is that a fully healthy Fielder will provide the resurgent season that the Rangers were hoping for last year. With a career .444 slugging percentage in 152 plate appearances at Globe Life Park, is the first baseman ready to put up the MVP-caliber numbers that Beltre boasted he would going into last season? The Rangers’ batting order is certainly much more powerful and should improve upon last year’s -136 run differential if Fielder can be a run producer in the No. 3 spot.
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Key Question: How much starting pitching is there behind Yu Darvish?
Starting pitching was a disaster for the Rangers in 2014 when anyone but Darvish took the mound. Injuries decimated the rotation, with Holland, Perez and Harrison missing much of the season. Even Darvish only made 22 starts after getting shut down in August with elbow inflammation, amid grumblings that he quit on the team. Altogether, 15 pitchers got starts for Texas last season, just one indication of how difficult it was for the team to find quality innings.
Colby Lewis made 29 starts, but compiled a 5.18 ERA and allowed 11 hits per nine innings while working back from hip surgery. Young arms like Nick Martinez (5-12, 4.55 ERA) and Nick Tepesch (5-11, 4.36) struggled to pick up the slack. Texas should have more depth this season with Gonzalez, Alec Asher, Anthony Ranaudo and Luke Jackson possibilities to contribute starts early on or later in the year after work in the minors.
Daniels acquired a much needed starter in Yovani Gallardo, someone who can make 30-plus starts and throw 200 innings. A reliable, durable pitcher near the top of rotation is vital for a Rangers team that only had one starter pitch 170 innings last season. But are Gallardo’s days as a potential 200-strikeout pitcher over? He posted a career-low strikeout rate of 6.8 per nine innings last year. Yet the 29-year-old has become more of a groundball pitcher during the past three seasons, something that should help him in Arlington.
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Best Case Scenario: Everyone — everyone — stays healthy, Banister adapts well in his first year as manager, and the Rangers have something close to the roster Daniels envisioned they would have last season. Shin-Soo Choo rebounds from a poor first season in Texas and becomes the on-base machine with power and speed that he’s been throughout most of his 10-year MLB career. The rotation gets 30-plus starts from Darvish, Holland, Gallardo and Lewis, while one or more of the organization’s pitching prospects is reliable in that fifth spot.
But has the rest of the AL West left Texas in the dust? The Angels, Mariners and A’s should all be competitive, and even the Astros appear to be a significantly improved club. Improving from 67 victories to something in the 80-win range would be a significant leap for the Rangers, probably too big a gap to clear. Yet if injuries are kept to a minimum and the big bats perform up to expectations, this could be a surprising team.
Worst Case Scenario: Once again, the roster becomes brittle and the season is a frequent roll of disabled list moves. There are plenty of candidates for the left field and fifth starter spots, but if none of them work out, those will be season-long issues. So will second base if Rougned Odor shows he’s not ready. What if Fielder is simply no longer the hitter he once was and is increasingly immobile at first base? In that case, can Mitch Moreland recover from his injury-shortened 2014 and either provide production and first base or DH? If not, can one of the spare outfield bats or minor league sensations fill in that missing production? Another 90-loss season is not out of the realm of possibility.
Realistic Prediction: It’s difficult to imagine that Texas could experience a repeat of 2014, when just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong. With a Cy Young candidate in Darvish and a MVP contender in Beltre, there’s no reason to think the Rangers won’t be competitive this year if players stay healthy and some roster question marks get positive answers. Seattle and Oakland made several moves during the offseason, but it’s possible that no team will break away from the pack in the AL West. If Texas can approach .500, they might flirt with a wild-card bid. However, competing with the Astros to avoid last place looks far more likely.
