Texas Rangers 2018 Season Preview
By David Hill
Texas Rangers additions and subtractions
Key additions: Mike Minor, Matt Moore, Doug Fister, Bartolo Colon, Tim Lincecum
Newcomer to watch: Tim Lincecum. It has been a long time since Tim Lincecum was the dominant force he was for the San Francisco Giants. However, the Texas Rangers are not expecting him to be.
In their quest to fortify the bullpen, the Rangers have turned to Lincecum. He is expected to be a key part of the Rangers bullpen, potentially even becoming a part of the closer mix at some point in the coming year. However, due to the passing of his brother and missed time during Spring Training, he is behind in that race.
For his part, Lincecum looks drastically different than when we last saw him in the majors. He has completely changed his body, becoming far more muscular. The velocity is back, as he has been training with Driveline to regain his form. On a one year contract, Lincecum could end up being a bargain for the Rangers, and maybe even their eventual closer.
Key losses: Miguel Gonzalez, Andrew Cashner, Mike Napoli, Nick Martinez, Tyson Ross
Biggest loss: Andrew Cashner. Chances are, Andrew Cashner is not going to replicate his performance last year. However, with the Rangers in desperate need of help in the rotation, his loss may be felt more than any other pitcher on the roster.
After a couple of down years with the Padres and Marlins, Cashner returned to form last year. His 11-11 record belied a 3.40 ERA and a 1.340 WHiP, his best performance since 2014. Yet, even those numbers do not tell the entire tale of his season, as Cashner was lucky to perform that well. His 4.61 FIP and disappearing strikeout rate (4.6 K/9) were better indicators of how well Cashner actually performed.
Even though Andrew Cashner played beyond his statistics last year, he will still be missed by the Texas Rangers. Aside from Cole Hamels, the Rangers do not have any pitchers in the rotation that inspire confidence. Cashner may not have been what he once was, but he was a solid middle of the rotation arm who gave Texas far more than could have been expected.