Texas Rangers Black Friday List

If the Texas Rangers could do a little of their own Black Friday shopping what should they shop for? Around this point last year it seemed like they had just about everything. During the offseason the Rangers traded for power-hitter Prince Fielder and acquired the on-base machine Shin-Soo Choo.

Also, the starting rotation looked better than ever with Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Martin Perez and Colby Lewis. Although at the time no one knew how Harrison and Lewis would fair in the 2014 season. The Rangers knew they’d have a battle between Nefatli Feliz and Joakim Soria for the closer position, but everyone expected Feliz to win the role by Opening day.

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As well as the Rangers thought they had laid out plans for the 2014 season, things didn’t work out well at all. Overall, it wasn’t because of the players the acquired, traded for, or hoped would recover from surgeries and injuries, but rather the horrendous injury bug that seemed to touch almost everyone.

This season for the Texas Rangers Black Friday shopping they should buy something to stop the injuries. Well, you can’t actually do that, but many fans are hoping that the team will stay healthy in 2015. For the most part it seems highly unlikely the team will have that many players land on the disabled list again for a very long time.

But, besides trying to solve the injury problem the Rangers need to find starting pitching. They need to re-sign Colby Lewis and probably Scott Baker. Lewis proved last season he could comeback and pitched very well in the last two months of the season. If budget wasn’t an issue the Rangers should try to acquire a top-tier starting pitcher like Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, or James Shields. Between the three Jon Lester would be the best choice, but Lester won’t come at a bargain this Black Friday.

The Texas Rangers also need to be shopping for a power-hitter to join Prince Fielder and Adrian Beltre. Since the team no longer has Alex Rios in right field, that opens the door for the return of Nelson Cruz. Last season he hit 40 home runs and made a huge impact with his bat in Baltimore. But, like Lester he won’t come cheap and isn’t someone the Rangers will sign, but he would be a great addition. Another choice is Melky Cabrera who said recently he doesn’t want to return to the Toronto Blue Jays. Last season he had a batting line of .301/.351/.458/.808 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI. Like Cruz he brings a big bat to the lineup, but his defense isn’t that great.

Between the two Cruz would be the best option, but again would be considered a big ticket item this Black Friday. There have been some reports that the Rangers are trying to trade for the Atlanta Braves Justin Upton. The downside is he only has one year left on his contract and would require the Rangers to give up something considerable for his talents. But, he’s probably the cheapest and easiest option for the Rangers right now if they are really pushing for an outfielder with a big bat.

The Texas Rangers Black Friday list…

Starting pitcher – Jon Lester
Outfielder – Nelson Cruz
Eliminate the injury bug
Re-sign Colby Lewis, Scott Baker and maybe Neal Cotts
Relief pitcher – David Robertson, Luke Gregerson or Andrew Miller

The list is only a wish list and it seems like a Christmas list to Santa the Texas Rangers will only get a few of the items or something similar instead. But, the 2015 Texas Rangers are still a good team even without getting everything on the list. There is still plenty of time left in the Hot Stove season, hopefully Jon Daniels will work some Christmas magic.

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