Grading GM Chris Young’s first offseason with the Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers shook up the front office by hiring Chris Young to be their new general manager in December 2020.

It didn’t take long for Jon Daniels and Young to begin reshaping and retooling the Rangers roster, building it for the long run.

So, how did Chris Young do in his first, albeit short, offseason at the helm of the Texas Rangers?

Here’s how I graded his transactions, beginning with the trade market.

Trades

The Texas Rangers traded RHP Lance Lynn to the Chicago White Sox for RHP Dane Dunning and LHP Avery Weems.

Lance Lynn was a workhorse for the Texas Rangers, and to no one’s surprise, he was dealt just days after Chris Young took the general manager position.

Young didn’t play a huge role in this trade, but we’re including it because of the time of his hiring and the time the trade was finalized.

The Chicago White Sox got an ace-type pitcher who will fit nicely in a rotation with Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel and Michael Kopech.

For the Texas Rangers, they acquired righty Dane Dunning, who made his debut in mid-August of last season, and left-hander Avery Weems.

Dunning figures to be a key contributor in the Rangers rotation for years to come, as he is under control through 2027.

Weems has the potential to be a bullpen piece for the Texas Rangers, but we have yet to see where he land in the Rangers farm system.

Overall, this trade was a win-win for both parties.

Grade: B+

Texas Rangers traded C/OF/1B Heriberto Hernandez, IF Osleivis Basabe, and OF/1B Alexander Ovalles to the Rays for 1B Nate Lowe, 1B Jake Guenther and OF Carl Chester

In a surprising move, the Texas Rangers acquired two first basemen for a bevy of prospects.

Incumbent first baseman Ronald Guzman got some competition when the Rangers acquired Nate Lowe from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Lowe was ranked as the #97 prospect by Baseball America in 2019, but was blocked at the major league level by Ji-Man Choi.

The Texas Rangers believe that Lowe has the inside track to the first base job, and pushing Guzman out the door.

Only to find out that “Condor” had won the Dominican Winter League MVP.

The three prospects that Texas sent to Tampa are quality prospects, don’t get me wrong, but were stashed at the low levels of the minors and were blocked at every level above them in the Rangers system.

The Texas Rangers traded from depth for quality, controllable big league talent that they will build around going forward.

Another win-win for both clubs, but especially for Texas if they can flip Guzman for more prospects at the end of Spring Training.

Grade: B+

Texas Rangers traded RHP Rafael Montero to the Seattle Mariners for RHP Jose Corniell

For the Texas Rangers, shipping Montero to Seattle was a no-brainer.

By acquiring Jose Corniell, the Rangers got another top-30 prospect for their farm system and shed Montero’s increasing contract.

Albeit, Montero was only slated to make $3 million or so, the chance to acquire a quality pitcher and shed payroll is always an appealing deal.

The Rangers did great here, and the Mariners got a quality reliever that is under control through 2023.

Grade: B

Texas Rangers traded SS Elvis Andrus and C Aramis Garcia to Oakland for DH Khris Davis, C Jonah Heim and RHP Dane Acker

Yes, this one hurt, but it was a deal the Texas Rangers had to make.

In a bad contract for bad contract move, the Texas Rangers are taking on Andrus’ salary and Davis’ salary for the 2021 season in order to buy prospects and clear payroll for a big move next offseason.

The Rangers did good for themselves, though, acquiring Oakland’s ninth ranked prospect in Jonah Heim and their 2020 fourth rounder in Dane Acker.

Heim has the opportunity to come to Rangers camp and win the starting catching job, and worst case scenario is he’s the backup catcher.

He’s a switch-hitting catcher with a good arm and glove and figures to be apart of this team for a long, long time.

Acker came out of Oklahoma, and what can I say, you always need more pitching.

Davis will figure into the DH/LF/1B mix and try to get at-bats, and if he plays well, will probably get dealt at the trade deadline.

Obviously, it sucks to lose your franchise’s most beloved player, but he gets to go start at shortstop for a contending team and hopefully, for his sake, he gets that World Series ring.

Chris Young has been on a win-win streak, and that continues here with the major deals.

We love you Elvis, and thank you for your time here!

Grade: A

Free Agent Signings

The Texas Rangers were more active on the trade market this winter, but don’t sleep on some of their free agent signings.

They made good, quality signings that will not only affect them in the present, but possibly the future, assuming the players play to their potentials.

Texas Rangers signed LF David Dahl

David Dahl was an All-Star in 2019, only to be non-tendered the following offseason.

GM Chris Young and the Rangers jumped on the opportunity, bringing him in on a one year deal, worth $3 million.

Dahl is under club control for another three seasons, and could be a key piece in the Rangers next contending team.

He brings a solid glove to the Texas outfield, and the offensive ability will only boost a struggling Rangers offense.

The only kicker is Dahl’s health has been a hindrance for him over the years, so we’ll have to see how well he feels heading into and out of spring training.

It was an incredible signing, at a great price, and gives the Texas Rangers another piece to build around long term, assuming he stays healthy.

Grade: A

Texas Rangers signed RHP Kohei Arihara

With rumors surrounding Tomoyuki Sugano, the Texas Rangers flew under-the-radar and signed Arihara to a two-year, $6 million deal.

Kohei Arihara brings another quality arm into the Rangers rotation, and features a repertoire of seven different pitches.

The 28-year old has great control of his pitches and attacks the strike zone, making him a great fit in between Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles in the Rangers rotation.

The Texas Rangers got a No. 3 pitcher in their rotation for $6 million in total. You can’t beat that deal.

Grade: B

Chris Young’s first Texas Rangers off-season: Final thoughts

General Manager Chris Young took the reins in early December, making move after move.

He brought in young, controllable talent, as well as plenty of veteran pieces to help shore up depth at the minor league levels.

Drew Butera, his former battery mate, will be in camp with a chance to the Opening Day roster.

He also brought back several former Rangers in Delino DeShields, Spencer Patton, and once top prospect Luis Ortiz.

Overall, Chris Young has done a tremendous job of redirecting the Texas Rangers into their youth movement, while still fielding an interesting and competitive team.

No, they won’t be postseason bound in 2021, but with the amount of payroll coming off the books next offseason, as well as the emergence of top prospects (looking at you, Josh Jung and Leody Taveras),the Texas Rangers will ready to spend and jump back into contention much sooner than we may expect.

Overall, Chris Young did a tremendous job in his first offseason as the Texas Rangers general manager.

Therefore, I’d grade Chris Young with an A- for his work during the 2020-2021 offseason.

And who knows, many teams make last minute signings or trades right before or during spring training.

We may not have seen the last of his moves this offseason.