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Texas Rangers: Top Five Offseason Priorities

By Bobby Mueller

Mar 14, 2015; Peoria, AZ, USA; A Texas Rangers cap sits in the dugout against the San Diego Padres at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 14, 2015; Peoria, AZ, USA; A Texas Rangers cap sits in the dugout against the San Diego Padres at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 8, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish (11) throws during the game against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish (11) throws during the game against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Starting Rotation

The Rangers starting rotation was a weak spot in 2016. The top of the rotation was good with Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. Hamels pitched 200 innings for the seventh year in a row and Darvish came back from Tommy John surgery to strike out 11.8 batters per nine innings in 100 1/3 innings. Hamels and Darvish should once again form a good 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.

The team has Martin Perez signed through 2017 for a dirt-cheap $4.4 million, so he’ll likely take one of the other three rotation spots. Derek Holland is a question mark, though. The team can pick up his $11 million club option for 2017 or buy out his contract for 2017 and 2018 for $2.5 million. Holland has had back-to-back season with an ERA near 5.00. He has a below-average strikeout rate (5.9 K/9) and trouble with the long ball. He had good seasons in 2011 and 2013, but hasn’t been very good recently. The Rangers will have to decide if keeping him is worth the $11 million it will cost for next year.

Colby Lewis had a 3.71 ERA with the Rangers last year, but his FIP was 4.81 and he also had a below-average strikeout rate. He’s a 37-year-old free agent that the Rangers will consider re-signing mainly because the free agent market for pitchers this year is mediocre.

A.J. Griffin is still under team control. He started 23 games last year, but with an ugly 5.07 ERA (5.74 FIP). It wouldn’t cost the team much to give him another shot in the spring now that he’s further along from the injury problems that cost him two seasons. Nick Martinez, Chi Chi Gonzalez, and Lucas Harrell are other cost-controlled options.

As mentioned above, the free agent market for pitchers is mediocre. There are no top-tier pitchers available, unless you have confidence that Rich Hill can stay healthy for the first time since ever. Hill has the best stuff of any free agent pitcher, but his health is always a concern. Shopping in the free agent aisle means the Rangers will be competing with plenty of other teams for the likes of Jeremy Hellickson, Doug Fister, Ivan Nova, Andrew Cashner, Jorge De La Rosa, and maybe Bartolo Colon, if he doesn’t re-sign with the Mets, where he’s had success recently. There are other names on the long list of mediocre or worse free agent pitchers, but they aren’t any better than the group listed above.

Another option for the Rangers is to look for starting pitching through the trade route. That’s always difficult because teams don’t generally have surplus pitching, but the Rangers do have attractive prospects to dangle.

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