Winter Meetings Preview – Rangers Addition

Jon Daniels

The Texas Rangers have been very active this off-season after what seemed like a completely silent off-season last year. Jon Daniels and crew have been filling needs left and right, and have not been waiting for the Winter Meetings to wheel and deal. Names like Prince Fielder and J.P. Arencibia are just some of the names the Rangers have added so far along with resigning Geovany Soto and Jason Frasor. And now the winter meetings start tomorrow. So what do I expect from Daniels and the Rangers crew? Glad you asked.

The Rangers need another outfielder and a DH in my opinion, and the names are starting to be whittled down at this point. Nelson Cruz and Shin-Soo Choo are the two main names still out there, but there is always a name or two that the Rangers have their eye on that no one knows about. I look for Choice to get a legit shot at being the everyday outfielder before I see the Rangers taking on a big contract for Choo, and I think Nelly might be back because I think the market for him will not be as big as he was hoping. And Nelly would solve the DH problem as well. The Rangers could have Michael Choice as the fourth outfielder with a Mitch/Nelly situation at DH. But of course that is before the Winter Meetings, i fully expect the Rangers to make some moves over the next week.

There is also still a chance that the Rangers try to make a play for either Stanton or Price, but I think both are not very likely at this point. Now that the Rangers are all in on Jurickson Profar with the exit of one Ian Kinsler, their trade capabilities have taken a hit. I do hear that the Rays are interested in Mitch Moreland, but it would take a lot more than Moreland to bring David Price to Texas. I am thinking something like Moreland, Martin Perez, Jorge Alfaro and a few other high level prospects and I just don’t see the Texas Rangers selling the farm for Price. Stanton would be a great pickup, but again I think he would be too expensive and I am not sure the Marlins would want to part with him in the first place.

This next week should be a lot of fun, and I am sure that Jon Daniels and the Texas Rangers will surprise us by picking up someone who none of us saw coming, and I can’t wait to see who that is. I must admit, I didn’t see the Prince Fielder trade coming. So time for all of us to speculate away and then see what really happens. The next week should be fun and exciting. Keep checking here for all of your Texas Rangers news and opinion.