The Texas Rangers used their resources carefully this offseason which may make them an intriguing pick for the following season.
The 2019 offseason proved to be a very interesting one in the American League West. The Los Angeles Angels shelled out $245 million to pair Anthony Rendon with Mike Trout. The Houston Astros jettisoned their general manager and on-field manager in response to sign-stealing allegations. And the Texas Rangers quietly signed four free agents and made a trade for an All-Star pitcher in what could be moved to bolster the team for the 2021 season.
The moves this offseason did not break the bank and they did not prove earth-shattering. What the moves did was put the team into a position to be half-way competitive this year while freeing up a lot of money next year allowing them to compete for the division title the following season.
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Pitchers Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles signed multi-year contracts and will be slotted into a rotation behind recently acquired Corey Kluber and Mike Minor, who won fourteen games in 2019. Robinson Chirinos and Todd Frazier were signed to one-year contracts (with team options for a second year) and could be shopped as deadline deals when the Rangers fall out of the race in the dog days of summer.
How can those one-year deals put the Rangers in position to be competitive in 2021? Moving Chirinos and Frazier in trades won’t return major league ready talent, but it will clear money off the books. Shin-Soo Choo, Minor, Jesse Chavez, and Jeff Mathis also enter free agency after this year freeing the Rangers of another $37+ million off the payroll.
Pair this with the increased revenue the Rangers plan to rake in from the opening of their new stadium, Globe Life Park, and the team will have sufficient funds to throw at top of the line free agents entering next year’s free-agent season.
Entering 2021 the Angels will still be saddled with the Albert Pujols and Justin Upton contracts. The Astros will be paying aging pitchers Justin Verlander and Zach Greinke over $60 million combined and will have decisions to make on free agents Michael Brantley and George Springer. The A’s won’t be spending money and the Mariners will still be in their complete strip down-rebuild-youth movement.
Combine this with the Texas Rangers having money to spend and we could see them position themselves at the top of the division for the first time since the Astros dethroned them following the 2016 season.