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The AL West: An interim report on front office work

By Bill Felber

May 25, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers General Manager Chris Young on the field before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers General Manager Chris Young on the field before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports /
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Martin Perez. Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Martin Perez. Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /

Texas Rangers front office, +0.6

Although the record of the Rangers front office is ordinary by MLB standards, it looks good when compared with the Rangers’ divisional foes. It also roughly reflects the team’s tentative improvement in the standings, from dead last in 2021 to a solid third so far in 2022.

The Rangers leadership team has made 30 moves since the conclusion of the 2021 season involving players who impacted a major league roster this year. Eleven of those moves benefitted the Rangers, 15 hurt and four were neutral.

Those moves included several prominent pickups: Corey Seager, a free agent pickup from the Dodgers, and Marcus Semien, formerly of Oakland.

Here are the five most consequential.

March 14: At the conclusion of the lockout, the Rangers signed free agent left-hander Martin Perez to a one-year, bargain-basement deal. Perez has been found gold: a 7-2 record and 234 ERA in 16 starts and a +2.2 WAA.

April 2: The trade of platoon catcher Jose Trevino to New York for a minor leaguer and a backup pitcher made few headlines. But Trevino has been working to change that. In New York, he’s improved his OPS by more than 100 points, from .607 last year to .722 so far in 2022. That works out to +1.5 WAA.

March 17. Brad Miller signed for two years as a free agent after playing his way through six cities since 2014. Miller has played rover, doing duty at third base, in the outfield and as a pinch hitter. What he hasn’t done has hit; Miller is hitting .210 with a .608 OPS and a -1.5 WAA.

April 7: Rookie Brock Burke made the team out of spring training and has justified the front office confidence in him. In 25 relief appearances, Burke has no saves, but a 1.09 ERA, having allowed only two earned runs since mid-April. On the Texas pitching staff, only Perez has a better WAA than Burke’s +1.3.

Dec. 1. Seager was one of the off-season’s big pickups by any team. He signed with Texas for $321 million through 2031. Seager’s .233 average has been a  disappointment, but he has upped his power game – 16 home runs – to keep his OPS a respectable if not typical  .724. Seager’s WAA is +0.9.

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