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The three moves the Texas Rangers should make in case they do not get Shohei Ohtani.

No team has repeated as World Series champion this century, but if Texas makes these three moves they will give themselves a good chance to repeat.

By Jacob Stubbs |
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San Diego Padres v Chicago White Sox / Quinn Harris/GettyImages
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The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes will define this off-season, no question about it. The Rangers are said to be one of the favorites to land him according to Jon Heyman. There are some other big-money teams in contention. In the event the Rangers lose out or decide to go in a different direction, there are plenty of options to help them solidify their roster for a 2024 title defense.

#1 Address the starting rotation through free agency

The first thing the Rangers can do to help their chances for a title defense is make sure they bring back a few guys who were already on this World Series team. That starts with Jordan Montgomery. His market value currently sits at a six year, 110 million dollar deal to sign the big lefty. In all likelihood, there will be teams out there willing to pay him north of 20 million per year and maybe even north of 25 million per year. He will be hard to bring back, and expensive as well. But, what he provided to the Rangers this season after acquiring him at the deadline will make just about any amount you can get him to sign for, worth it. He emerged as a playoff ace and the Rangers will need that in their rotation especially with Jacob deGrom out until late in the season.

While bringing Montgomery back is the most ideal situation for the Rangers, there is a world where that doesn't happen. If the Rangers don't re-sign Montgomery, they should lock their sights on Blake Snell. Snell is another big lefty with a propensity for the big game who is coming off a stellar season with a 2.25 ERA. Many teams will be after Snell and he won't be any cheaper than bringing back Montogomery, but getting one of these two guys on the roster for next season should be a high priority. There are also some slightly cheaper, quality options out there in an Eduardo Rodriguez or Marcus Stroman in the event the Rangers are unable to get Montgomery back or sign Blake Snell. Both of those guys also had sub four ERA's for the season.

#2- Fill the DH vacancy with someone much cheaper than Ohtani

If for whatever reason the Rangers don't re-sign Mitch Garver, it would be advantageous to go get another power bat to fill that DH slot. Cody Bellinger likely isn't a realistic option given that he will be pretty expensive and will likely command a long-term deal as an outfielder- an area the Rangers are already pretty stacked in especially with Wyatt Langford waiting in the wings.

There are a few pure power bats who could fill that DH role well while commanding less money and shorter-term deals. Guys like Jorge Soler or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. stick out to fill that role. Soler had 36 homers and an .853 OPS while Gurriel Jr. had 24 home runs with a .772 OPS. Both would command similar money to Garver in the ballpark of 10-14 million per year.

#3 Get the best closer on the market and add to the bullpen depth

The next priority is pretty simple. Go get Josh Hader. Hader is newly a free agent and the biggest closer on the market this off-season. His career ERA is 2.50 which includes a staggering 1.28 on the 2023 season. He is the kind of dominant, late-game pitcher that would make this Rangers team incredibly dangerous going into the 2024 season. He is also the kind of pitcher the Rangers desperately needed in the regular season on the way to blowing 33 saves. While Josh Sborz and Jose Leclerc both emerged as quality high-leverage options during the postseason, adding a dominant arm in Josh Hader would quickly turn what was seen as a weakness for the Rangers in 2023, to a major strength in 2024.

The 2024 Texas Rangers could also benefit from adding another middle relief arm to bolster the bullpen's depth. This team struggled to find reliability in the middle innings if the starter was not able to provide a long outing. There is a less clear option to go with here for the Rangers, but there are solid names out there in Nick Martinez, Joe Kelly, or even a familiar face in Matt Moore. These guys wouldn't be huge difference makers, but they bring quality arms that could help the Rangers have more depth to eat the middle innings when needed.

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