Texas Rangers: Was Acquiring Matt Moore The Right Move?

The Texas Rangers made an interesting move when they acquired lefty Matt Moore from the San Francisco Giants. Was this a smart move by the Rangers organization or will this backfire on them?

General manager Jon Daniels continues his plan of restructuring the Texas Rangers rotation by acquiring Matt Moore from the Giants. In exchange the Giants received right-handed pitchers Sam Wolff and Israel Cruz. Neither pitcher was in the Rangers top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.com

The Giants are looking to cut down their payroll, and were successful. The Rangers will pay Moore’s $9 million contract for the 2018 season. Moore has a team option for $10 million in 2019 with a $750k buyout.

The former All-Star pitcher is coming off arguably the worst season of his MLB career. Moore went 6-15 with a 5.52 ERA in 31 starts and one relief appearance with the Giants. He allowed 107 earned runs, and gave up a career-high 27 home runs.

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Moore was once a young star in the Tampa Bay Rays rotation. He put together phenomenal 2012 & 2013 seasons, and was selected to the All-Star Game in ’13. Shortly after that an elbow injury derailed Moore’s successful career.

It’s safe to say Moore isn’t the same pitcher that he once was with the Rays. The 28-year-old was horrendous in 2017, and it’s surprising to see Texas make this move. The Rangers believe Moore can bounce back, but he hasn’t been the same since the elbow injury that crushed his career.

It was a questionable decision to acquire Moore, but it could’ve been much worse. He’s on a one-year deal and no top prospects were given up in the trade. There’s a slim chance that Moore bounces back in Arlington, but the Rangers believe in him.