Texas Rangers: Free agents who could fill the need at 3rd base
The Texas Rangers need someone to play third base as their future first-ballot Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltre retired just before Thanksgiving.
A few weeks later, the Texas Rangers were involved in a mega-trade with the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays. In it, the Rangers sent the player who was expected to play third – Jurickson Profar – to Oakland.
Since that trade and the Adrian Beltre retirement, the Texas Rangers have yet to sign a full-time player to take over for both players
The free agent list of available third basemen is dwindling, so if the Rangers plan to have a veteran player at that spot, they should make some moves soon. Profar will be easy to replace. But, finding someone to fill Beltre’s shoes will be nearly impossible.
In his 21-year career, Beltre spent eight of them with the Rangers. With the team, he hit a career slash of .304/.357/.509. He hit 199 home runs and knocked in 699 RBI. He played in 119 games in 2018, with 69 of them starting at third base.
According to the Rangers depth chart, there are two players who can man third base: Patrick Wisdom and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. While Profar played all over the infield in 2018, he did spend 58 games at third. In 2018, he hit .254/.335/.458 with 20 home runs and 77 RBI. Kiner-Falefa made his MLB debut in 2018, playing 46 games at third and hitting .261/.325/.357.
Wisdom joined the Texas Rangers in a trade for Drew Robinson on December 11, 2018. He came from the St. Louis Cardinals where he played 13 games at third and hit .260/.362/.520 with four home runs and 10 RBI.
The Rangers rotated players through third in 2018 to give Beltre the rest he needed and to give the young players experience at the hot corner. Kiner-Falefa best serves the team as a bench player and Wisdom just doesn’t have enough Big League experience to take the spot daily.
Let’s take a look at who could be affordably signed and take the lead at third in Arlington.
The third-baseman free-agent list isn’t very long, but a Moose is at the top of it.
The 30-year-old Mike Moustakas had a WAR of 2.4 in 2018. Considering that Beltre finished the season with a WAR of 2.2, Moustakas could be a solid replacement for the legendary player.
Of course, Moustakas doesn’t have the on-field personality that Beltre has, but there aren’t many players who do.
What Moustakas does have is the ability to field and the ability to hit. Which is what the Rangers need. He also brings a left-handed bat into the mix as Kiner-Falefa and Wisdom both bat from the right.
Moustakas also brings some consistency to the game, as he played in 152 games total with the Kansas City Royals and the Milwaukee Brewers. With those two teams, he hit a combined slash of .251/.315/.459 – not quite to Beltre’s standards, but he did hit 28 home runs and 95 RBI.
Remember that Moustakas did set the home run record for the Royals when he hit 38 of them in 2017. The last time Beltre was close to that number was 2012, when he hit 36.
The Rangers are in a state of flux – in a rebuild, but not totally. The team has a new manager – Chris Woodward, but they have the same general manager, Jon Daniels. They’ve added some notable pitchers: Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, and Jesse Chavez. But, the team has kept the position players relatively the same.
It is doubtful that the team would be interested in spending big money on a free agent like Manny Machado, so Moustakas should be an affordable addition. He only made $5 million last year and his highest contract with the Royals was $8.7 million. He would be a solid addition at an affordable price.
He may be 35 years old, but he’s still got the ability to make a play and hit the ball.
Jose Reyes might not be the first choice, but he could be a good choice to work with a young player like Wisdom.
Reyes has spent the majority of his career with the New York Mets with a short stint in Colorado and Toronto. In his 16 years in the MLB, his career slash is .283/.334/.427. He wasn’t very good in 2018, but none of the Mets with the exception of Jacob deGrom were any good in 2018.
The Rangers could most likely get Reyes for a one-year contract for an affordable price. He might not bring the pop that Beltre has at the plate, but Reyes certainly has a personality that makes him fun to watch. He, like Beltre, is from the Dominican Republic and the pair played together on the 2017 World Baseball Classic team from their home country.
He does have the history of domestic abuse after an arrest in 2015, but the charges were dropped in March 2016. He did serve a suspension for the allegations. That history, along with his struggles in 2018, could make it difficult for him to sign.
But, if the Rangers are looking for low-cost players, Reyes could be their guy. According to an article in Forbes, Barry Horn wrote:
” … Rangers general manager Jon Daniels has testified repeatedly that his team will be nothing more than bargain-basement shoppers until its new indoor/outdoor stadium is ready to host home games. This is a team building for the future, is Daniels’ mantra.”
Reyes might not be the ideal candidate for the position, but he could be a satisfactory stop gap until Wisdom is ready for the position on a daily basis.
He might have the lowest WAR of the 2019 third basemen free agents, but Yangervis Solarte should be worth a look.
The switch-hitter will turn 32 in July. In his five years in the MLB, he’s played for the Yankees, Padres, and Blue Jays. His career slash is .259/.317/.410 with 74 home runs and 300 RBI. He’s no Beltre, but if the Texas Rangers are going bargain shopping, he’s not a bad choice.
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In his 122 games, he played 83 at third base. His range is practically identical to that of Moustakas. And, his slash isn’t much different. However, Solarte’s home run numbers are slightly lower.
Solarte made MLB headlines during a double-header against the Cleveland Indians on May 3. In the first game, he went 5-6 in seven plate appearances, scoring two runs of his own and hitting a game-winning grand slam in the 11th inning. In the second game of the day, he went 3-4 with another home run. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays could not get the win in the second game.
Solarte hit well in May and June. While he didn’t hit for power, he did manage to have more hits than games played. He had 15 games with multiple hits in those two months. His bat slowed in July and then hit the DL in August. He never got back to his earlier form when he returned to the team after a month on the DL.
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Solarte would be an affordable addition. He made $4.2 million with the Blue Jays in 2018. The Blue Jays look to be in a rebuild themselves, as they’ve let several players go and they had to make room for their prospect Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. who is expected to play third base for the Jays and win the Rookie of the Year, too.