Texas Rangers Without A True 5th Starter?

With Opening Day less than a week away, the 5th starter role has yet to be filled bringing about questions on who is the front runner

Opening Day is now just 6 short days away and the excitement surrounding this upcoming Texas Rangers season is at one of its highest levels in recent memories. Major injury problems, which have plagued Arlington for the past 5 years, seem to be limited heading into 2016.

Cole Hamels has already been announced as the Opening Day starter effectively making him the number one man in the Yu Darvish-less rotation. That move was mostly expected as he was the most deserving and would give the Rangers the best chance to start off 2016 with a win over division rival, Seattle.

In my prediction of the Texas Rangers starting rotation, I listed Chi Chi Gonzalez as my expected 5th starter. Apparently Jon Daniels doesn’t look to me for advice because Chi Chi was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock the following day. That knocked the starter battle down to Jeremy Guthrie, AJ Griffin and Nick Martinez with a couple of guys on the fringe of the discussion. On Monday however, the Texas Rangers granted Jeremy Guthrie his release removing him from discussion.

The leader in the race for the 5th starter spot seems to be in the hands of AJ Griffin who has made more starts than the next three candidates combined. Griffin, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, is still a bit of an uncertainty because of his injury past. However, he has pitched fairly well this Spring Training with a 4.40 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched. His location is solid although he leaves some pitches a little too much over the middle of the plate.

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If Griffin is indeed named the 5th starter, he may not find himself on the 25 man roster out of camp. Griffin is on a minor league contract meaning that Texas could avoid adding Griffin to the 40 man roster until the time is needed. That would allow the Rangers to hold onto a 4-man bench and an 8-man bullpen for the first 4 days of the 2016 season. Going that route would let the Rangers keep Sam Freeman, who is out of options, on the Major League roster for a few days before DFA-ing him.

Questions that have to be faced though are those surrounding how the Rangers plan to use a 5th starter this season. A likely scenario sees Texas keeping a guy on as a part-starter/part-reliever pitcher. This would allow them to have a makeshift 8-man bullpen without sacrificing the much needed 4th spot on the bench.

Griffin however, might not serve the Texas Rangers best in this capacity. Regularity and routine serves a player coming back from Tommy John surgery well and the uncertainty of his pitching schedule may cause setbacks. There’s also the possibility that this 5th starter will be shifted back and forth between the minors a few times. Griffin can get out of his contract if he’s not on the major league club making the idea of shifting him back and forth unlikely. Nick Martinez in contrast has options to work with meaning he could be called up for spot starts along the way at least until Darvish returns from injury.

Regularity and routine serves a player coming back from Tommy John surgery well…

Despite the eccentricity of this plan, it is one that could serve the Texas Rangers well. A team that isn’t necessarily searching for a long term starter option would benefit from making a wholesale commitment. The Rangers would also add flexibility to their bullpen with an extra part time reliever and in turn, take some pressure off of the other guys already in the ‘pen. All of this would also come without sacrificing the coveted 4th bench spot.

Along with all of this, there have also been reports of the Rangers contacting other teams about a starting pitcher who they can control for the long term.

Comment below and let us know what you think the Texas Rangers should do with the 5th starter position.

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