Texas Rangers: General manager Chris Young has wasted no time

New Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young has been pretty busy since taking over.

For many teams across Major League Baseball, it’s been a fairly quiet offseason as teams attempt to navigate an offseason that follows a pandemic-altered 2020 regular season and precedes a 2021 season with major question marks. But it hasn’t been so quiet for the Texas Rangers.

Named general manager just days ago, Chris Young and the Texas Rangers have wasted no time in kicking their rebuild into high gear, including trading away their ace starter in Lance Lynn to the Chicago White Sox.

The most recent signing saw Chris Young bring in a likely new starting outfielder in David Dahl, who was just non-tendered by the Colorado Rockies. The low-risk/high-reward Dahl is another addition to a Texas Rangers team that may not be competitive, but should be a more enjoyable product on the field in 2021.

Injuries have severely limited Dahl’s playing time since becoming a major leaguer, but he was an All-Star in 2019 with the Rockies, hitting .302 with a .353 OBP, 15 home runs, and a 110 wRC+.

Dahl could very well end up being the starting left fielder in Texas next season. Rangers left-fielders ranked dead-last among all MLB units with a -1.9 Wins Above Replacement value in 2020. Philadelphia was next on the list at -0.7 fWAR. It’s easy to see that David Dahl has the potential to be a very valuable upgrade at the position.

Texas Rangers trade for first baseman Nate Lowe.

First base was another position where the Texas Rangers ranked last in terms of overall value (-0.9 fWAR). Texas first basemen hit a combined .204 with a wRC+ of 71, but Chris Young worked his early trade magic for the second time in his very brief tenure this week, trading with the Tampa Bay Rays for Nate Lowe in a six-player deal.

A former Top 20 prospect with the Rays, Lowe has above-average hit and power tools in his arsenal, but has had just 71 games of major league experience under his belt to settle in.

Lowe has hit 11 home runs with a .251/.322/.447 slash line and a 106 wRC+ in his limited major league team, but terrorized Triple-A pitching in the International back in 2019.

In 93 games with the Durham Bulls, Lowe hit .289 with a .421 OBP and 40 extra-base hits.

Both Dahl and Lowe figure to be in the starting lineup at left field and first base, respectively, to open the 2021 season, providing what the Texas Rangers hope is a significant offensive boost to a lineup that was the only lineup in the big leagues to finish with a negative WAR in 2020 (-2.4).

Can the pitching staff hold up for the Texas Rangers?

While the offense should be more fun to watch, the pitching staff has certainly taken a hit over the last few days.

Lance Lynn was dealt to the Chicago White Sox after two fantastic seasons in Texas (8.3 WAR), but with one year left on his contract and the Texas Rangers look towards the future, trading Lynn was inevitable and they were smart to move him now while his value was high and interested teams would have a full year, versus half a season at the break.

The return may not have been what Texas Rangers fans wanted, but Dane Dunning has six years of control, which is more valuable than gold when talking about pitchers, and is ready now to step in and control a rotation spot.

Dunning missed the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery, but came back in 2020 to make seven starts, going 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA, a 45% groundball rate, and near 25% strikeout rate. He should be able to build on that production with a full offseason and “normal” spring training.

It’s still early in this offseason and the Texas Rangers have a few pieces on the roster they can move in smaller deals, even more pieces available to move with the additions of Lowe and Dahl, but for now, the Rangers have kicked off their rebuild with high-upside moves that will make 2021 a much more enjoyable ride.