Texas Rangers: What will the team do at the Winter Meetings?

The virtual MLB Winter Meetings begin this week. We preview some potential moves the Texas Rangers could make.

The stove is never hotter than it is during the Winter Meetings.

While players, executives and agents will have to settle for virtual heat this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic (the original meetings were scheduled to be held in Dallas this year!), that won’t stop teams from engaging in the normal wheeling and dealing that comes with this time of the baseball off-season.

For the Texas Rangers, this year’s Winter Meetings has the potential to be especially intriguing. With the recent hiring of Chris Young as GM, the upcoming virtual gatherings will mark the former pitcher’s debut as a team executive.  While we haven’t heard any public statements from Young to this point, that won’t stop us from speculating what kind of agenda Young and the Texas Rangers plan to execute over the next several days.

At last year’s Winter Meetings, Texas was predominantly quiet. Outside of dabbling in the Anthony Rendon market (he ended up with the LA Angels), the team’s most notable move was trading outfielder Nomar Mazara to the White Sox for outfield prospect Steele Walker. The Rangers signed right-hander Kyle Gibson to a three-year contract just before the Winter Meetings and traded for right-hander Corey Kluber just after the meetings.

The team also signed veteran right-hander Jordan Lyles to a two year contract just after last year’s meetings.

Texas is in a vastly different position heading into this year’s edition of the Winter Meetings. With a limited budget and a need for young, controllable talent as the team looks to rebuild, expect the Rangers to remain mostly quiet. Of course, the organization will be making various minor transactions over the course of the week that we’ll have covered for you as the reports come in.

The Rangers have surprised us before, though, including recently with Chris Young. So, anything’s possible, we guess!

With all of this being said, let’s make some 2020 Winter Meetings predictions!

Team Needs: Pretty much everything

We’re not going to sugar coat things; this Rangers roster is not in great shape heading into the Winter Meetings. Chris Young must really love Texas, because he’s got his work cut out for him.

For starters, President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels and owner Ray Davis have said that the team will have limited resources to use in terms of roster upgrades, which already puts the team in a disadvantageous spot.

Texas basically needs help at every position on the diamond. The only player locked into a starting role heading into 2021 is Joey Gallo, and even he struggled in 2020. Every other spot on the roster is theoretically up for grabs.

Prediction #1: Rangers trade Lance Lynn and sign a couple of second-tier starters in his place

Texas’ starting pitching situation is a mess. The only reliable starter is Lance Lynn (and even he’s not that reliable for 2021 given the swirling trade rumors involving him). 2019 acquisitions Corey Kluber, Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson all flamed out and will either be departing the team (Kluber) or can’t be trusted heading into 2021 (Gibson, Lyles).

Mike Minor, a pretty reliable starter during his two year tenure with Texas, was traded to the Oakland A’s at the 2020 trade deadline and recently signed with the Kansas City Royals.

In house rotation options like Kolby Allard, Wes Benjamin, Kyle Cody and Joe Palumbo aren’t exactly the most appealing names in the world. No one’s confusing them for Rangers greats like Nolan Ryan, Fergie Jenkins, Charlie Hough or Kevin Brown.

The Rangers need to begin their rebuild as soon as possible, however. The team made the mistake of letting Mike Minor’s trade value evaporate after a solid 2019 by waiting to deal him after his poor 2020 showing. They can’t afford to do the same with Lynn.

There are many teams out there who could use Lynn’s services. Potential 2021 contenders like the Yankees, White Sox and Blue Jays, all of whom possess solid minor league talent pools, could be possible destinations for Lynn as the Rangers look to acquire prospects.

In the event the Rangers do trade Lynn, the team will need to sign low cost innings eaters in his place. The team could sign lefty Robbie Ray, a strikeout artist with spotty control who eats up innings and whose value is down from having struggled over the last few seasons between Arizona and Toronto.

Texas could also consider veteran right handers Rick Porcello or Adam Wainwright, both in the later stages of their careers, who while still serviceable, are not who they once were. All three of Ray, Porcello and Wainwright can likely be had on one-year pacts, fitting the type of profile the Rangers could chase this off-season.

Prediction #2: Rangers sign Ha-Seong Kim

Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) shortstop Ha-Seong Kim is one of the most coveted players on the international free agent market this winter.

At just 25 years old, Kim offers a unique blend of talents rarely seen from a shortstop. He has immense power, speed and defense that make him a prospect worth taking a chance on.

In 2020, Kim lit up the KBO with a .314/.405/.541 slash line with 30 home runs while stealing 21 bases.

He also has seven years of professional experience under his belt, having played in South Korea since he was 18.

There’s always the question of whether a foreign professional can make the transition to the Major Leagues, but Kim seems like the kind of prospect that could. Baseball America even wrote at one point that Kim could be a Top-100 prospect in baseball immediately upon his arrival.

The Rangers should be chomping at the bit to sign Kim. He won’t be as expensive as he would normally be due to the pandemic slashing budgets and therefore, salaries. Texas also desperately needs young, controllable assets who are close to being major league ready, if possible.

Kim appears to check all those boxes. And because he will need time to develop when he arrives, that would allow Isiah Kiner-Falefa to be given a proper evaluation at shortstop in 2021.

Prediction #3: Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor remain in Arlington

This isn’t the most sexy prediction in the world, but it’s one that makes sense.

Perhaps to the chagrin of Rangers fans everywhere, it looks like we’ll have to endure a few more seasons of Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor.

Let’s face it, neither player did anything to boost their trade values by stinking up the joint in 2020. They both also have long-term contracts that no team will want to take on willingly.

The Rangers would have to PAY other teams to take Andrus and Odor’s contracts off their payroll. That’s how bad they’ve been.

And while we mean no disrespect to two of the current longest tenured Ranger, the last thing Texas needs to do is to GIVE UP assets to offload undesired salaries. If the team were in a position to contend in 2021, perhaps that move could be justifiable.

For now, though, the Rangers will have to hope for better production out of Andrus and Odor in 2021 with the goal of trying to trade them next summer in the event that they do regain some of their value.