Texas Rangers: Five non-tendered free agents to ponder signing

Mike Fiers

The name should ring a bell. Texas seems to run into Fiers once or twice a season. The 6’2” right-hander pitched for the Houston Astros from 2015-2017, and then split time between the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics in 2018. He was a notable acquisition by Oakland prior to the trade deadline, but the A’s decided he didn’t fit into their 2019 plans.

Fiers finished this past season with a 12-8 record and a 3.56 ERA. It was a nice follow-up year to his abysmal 5.22 ERA with Houston the season prior. What led to the vast improvement? Probably the fact that he made the majority of his 2018 starts in either Comerica Park or Oakland Alameda Stadium. Both have the reputation of being extremely pitcher friendly. Nevertheless, Fiers has some nice momentum this offseason.

The Texas Rangers know full-well what he is capable of. The squad faced him on three occasions this past season and did not fare well…

May 8th vs. Texas: 5.1 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, 5 Ks

July 7th vs. Texas: 6 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 6 Ks

August 20th vs Texas: 7 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 8 Ks

2018 was really a great year for Mike Fiers. He had the occasional terrible start, but not many pitchers go an entire season without being touched up a few times. It seems the Rangers have a chance to sign a pitcher while he’s hot. And given the very shaky outlook of their starting rotation, they should probably explore that chance.

Fiers is a veteran pitcher that could take on a substantial workload for Texas. He fits in anywhere in the rotation and he would have every opportunity to prove last season wasn’t a needle in a haystack.