Texas Rangers: 5 biggest decisions to make this offseason

Who takes over for Jeff Banister?

First thing’s first, GM Jon Daniels needs to decide on a manager. He’s now conducted eight interviews, though none have reportedly gone to a second round as of yet. Daniels interviewed Jayce Tingler, Brandon Hyde, Joe Espada and Joe Girardi last week. Already this week, he’s interviewed Rocco Baldelli, David Bell, Dusty Wathan and Don Wakamatsu.

You can read about each candidate’s background here.

It will be interesting to see which direction Daniels goes in deciding on a manager. Banister was let go due to a lack of communication and an “old school” approach. The majority of the candidates interviewed have more of a player-friendly reputation with a background in player development.

With the Texas Rangers currently in a rebuild, it would not be the least bit surprising if the organization opts for an analytically minded, player’s manager type. Moreover, someone who can relate to and provide noteworthy feedback to the organization’s analytical department. Also, someone who can relate to the youth on the major league roster and in the minors.

Given the ongoing success of the Boston Red Sox, Boston’s manager, Alex Cora, seems to be the measuring stick for teams searching for a new dugout leader. Cora is 42 years old and only seven years removed from his playing career. He appears to be well-liked by ownership, his players, his coaching staff, and the media.

Whether the Texas Rangers hire a Cora-esque manager or not, they need to make a decision soon so they can move onto other pressing offseason concerns.

What can be done to fill, and improve the starting rotation?

This offseason isn’t just about filling the 2019 roster, it’s also about building future promising rosters. There’s a lot to swallow here…

The Rangers could take a similar approach from last offseason’s playbook and sign a few iffy placeholders until a few prospects emerge. You know, like they did with Bartolo Colon, Yovani Gallardo, Doug Fister and Matt Moore. That experiment didn’t work out too well.

They could take the patient approach and let young arms like Yohander Mendez, Ariel Jurado, and Adrian Sampson pitch in the rotation. As a result, they’ll see how each player progresses with increased opportunity and they’ll save money by not spending in free agency.

Or, the Texas Rangers could take an aggressive approach in the market and sign two or three well-known, established arms. The key to this approach would be multi-year signings. Texas is not expected to contend next season so there is no point in signing any quality arms to one-year deals. Quality free agent pitchers will not be looking for one-year deals anyway.

The starting pitching market has some depth, but it is lacking aces. In my opinion, it sets up perfectly for the Rangers. They won’t be tempted to spend big on an ace; therefore, they can allot a safe amount of money to sign starters that won’t necessarily fight for 20 wins, but ones that will certainly win more ballgames than they lose.

Pitchers like Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel and Trevor Cahill would fit the bill. The Rangers have spending money; they need to use it wisely–help for the now and for the future.

Is it time to move on from Delino DeShields in center?

The center field position was in question for much of the 2018 season and it remains in question as 2019 approaches. Delino DeShields was terrible this past season. The speedster posted a .310 OBP, hit .216 and swiped only 20 bags. While he does play a good outfield, the Rangers can’t afford him another 100+ games next season if he continues to be so vastly unproductive at the plate.

Or can they?

DeShields may actually benefit from the lack of center field options Texas has. Really, Deshields is Texas’ only option. Nomar Mazara can’t play center field, Shin-Soo Choo can’t play center field and Willie Calhoun can’t play center field. Joey Gallo did a fine job in center in his few opportunities, but it doesn’t seem as if the organization wants to make that his permanent position.

If none of those guys can play center field then the job either goes to DeShields, a prospect, a free agent, or an acquisition. The chances of the Texas Rangers trading for a center fielder are very slim considering they already have an outfield surplus. And they’ll probably focus their free agent money on pitching, not on a starting center fielder. My guess is prospect Scott Heineman battles for the job with DeShields come spring training. Heineman was stellar between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018. MLB Pipeline named him the Rangers’ minor league player of the year.

Personally, I’d like to see Gallo play up the middle for the majority of the year. He’s young enough, fast enough, and skilled enough to handle the position.

What cannot be debated is the importance of the center field position. The Rangers better find improved production there next season.

How will the Rangers trim the outfield?

Staying on topic, Texas has five outfielders that are capable of playing everyday. Six if you want to consider Heineman as a legitimate outfield candidate. As you may know, only three outfield spots can be filled in baseball. You can only hope the new manager doesn’t have to deal with the headache of trying to fit all five or six guys into the lineup on some sort of a routine basis.

Unless one is traded, Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo will play everyday. That takes care of two positions, likely right field and left field. Assuming Beltre retires, Choo will be named the primary DH. That leaves Calhoun, DeShields and Heineman.

More from Texas Rangers News

• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Martin Perez accepting the qualifying offer looking like solid deal for the Rangers
• 4 outfielders the Texas Rangers can still pursue this winter

Calhoun is a tough one to figure. He just graduated from prospect status, ranking as high as #2 in the Texas Rangers’ system. He’s supposed to hit for contact and power; however, he hasn’t done much of either in his brief big league experience. Of course, he hasn’t had the chance to play consistently at the big league level just yet. Consistent playing time could lead to Calhoun blossoming into a quality MLB player.

The Rangers need to figure him out sooner rather than later. Or, maybe they can let some other team figure him out.

Given the outfield surplus and additional highly rated prospects on their way to the big leagues, now might be the opportune time to swap Willie Calhoun for young pitching. The Rangers don’t really have anywhere to play him besides left field and the only way to slot him into left is by moving Gallo to center.

…decisions, decision, decisions.

Is there a way to contend in 2019?

For those of you who are anxious to get back to competing in 2019, you may want to take a deep breath and reassess. As big of a hole as the organization has dug for its starting pitching, contending in 2019 would be a miracle. With that said, the Texas Rangers offense should be quite good next season, and the bullpen should be okay.

Still, there are too many uncertainties. Which version of Rougned Odor will show up in 2019? Can Mazara become an all-star caliber player? Will Jurickson Profar follow-up on his impressive 2018? Can Elvis Andrus return to his 2017 self?

The offense has outstanding potential, but potential isn’t enough to warrant wild offseason spending. If Jon Daniels wants to pursue Clayton Kershaw (if he opts out of his contract) then he’d be making a statement towards 2019 competitiveness. Though, it would take more than a Kershaw signing to jolt this team into contention.

The rest of the American League needs to be considered as well. Actually, there’s really no need to look any further than the American League West. The Astros will once again be the team to beat. Oakland will only improve, and Seattle and Los Angeles are in better form to contend next season than the Texas Rangers.

Point being, it would be a steep climb to even fight for third place in the West next year. There is always hope in the wildcard race, but it would not be surprising if the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics rematch in the AL wildcard game in the 2019 postseason.

So really, this is an easy decision. Play for 2020, not 2019.