Here's the latest Lincecum update from MLBTR. Look at all those clues. At this point, how can Jon Daniels NOT be the one about to sign him?

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At this point, it's been more than a half decade since Lincecum was an above-average big league contributor, when he logged a pristine 2.74 ERA in more than 200 innings for the 2011 Giants. Since that time, he's mustered just a 4.94 ERA in 654 Major League frames, battling through injuries, diminished velocity and diminished control as his home-run rate spiked.

Given those struggles and his absence from baseball entirely in 2017, it's a bit surprising that someone would offer a 40-man roster spot and the promise of a guaranteed salary. The now-33-year-old certainly isn't devoid of any upside, especially relative to the cost of acquisition, but a return as an upper-echelon pitcher is a decisive long shot.

Lincecum does have some name value with fans, though, and perhaps he could ultimately come back as a mid-rotation piece or an interesting reliever if he can sustain the low-90s velocity he reportedly displayed at last week's workout.

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Sign Lincecum and then lure Matt Cain out of retirement!

It's an even year! They gotta have some Giants even year magic left in the tank!

free_mhayden said:

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He's easily become my favorite all-time Ranger.

Though I assume going public with this is also about putting a little more pressure on the front office to do something this off-season.

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This writeup and quotes from Beltre doesn't make it sound like he is very pleased with the lack of moves being made to improve the 2018 team on the field. https://www.mlb.com/news/rangers-adrian-beltre-reports-to-spring-camp/c-266716052

free_mhayden said:

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He's easily become my favorite all-time Ranger.

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I have a serious man-crush on him.

They are in the vortex where doing the best for Beltre in the little time he has left in his career vs. doing what makes the most sense for the LT health of the franchise are somewhat at odds.

Reading the article with Beltre, I read his quotes with his voice\cadence. Sad.

He knows his time is limited and I'm sure he sees the remaining FAs and thinks, "come one, let's add."

For the remaining FAs... it will likely be that once teams determine what they have, it might be worth kicking the tires.

Danny - I don't know that they are at odd, but there is a conflict. I'm sure they want to allow Beltre as many ABs at 3rd as they can, knowing he'll establish the mark for stats by a 3B'er while playing the position (meaning exclude DH, PH, other positions). If he only goes 94 GP, like last season, then they may have to acquire a player.

I'm sure for JD he has told Beltre he'd like Beltre to be an option for 2019. If he isn't, then the Rangers need to replace him and will have $20M to do so... but if Beltre wants to be with the Rangers next year... will Beltre want $20M?

If the Rangers are competing at the ASB... we can acquire a replacement for the worse pitcher. However, we don't know which one of the 3 slugs that will be.

I would have more confidence with Arrieta, Hamels, Perez, Moore, Slug. However, we could end up with 5 slugs, be out of it in May.

DannyDuberstein said:

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They are in the vortex where doing the best for Beltre in the little time he has left in his career vs. doing what makes the most sense for the LT health of the franchise are somewhat at odds.

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I get that but they made some assurances to him as I recall that they weren't going to be rebuilding. I think he expects them to make some moves based on that and all indications are that they're not going to.

Which I guess much depends on your definition of rebuilding.

Right now this is right around a 0.500 team. A team that can contend for the playoffs if they play well.

Could they use some help? Sure. But the pieces are there. It's not like this a 100-loss team that at best can win 75 if everything falls perfectly.

Ironically what will likely make one of the bigger impacts on whether or not this team is a contender is if Beltre can stay on the field.

And I'm not saying it's a total rebuild. If they were in total rebuild mode, I'd say they were completely at odds, not "somewhat at odds". I"m mostly just saying they are choosing to make some small, short term moves that hopefully help them achieve a WC but aren't going to cost them in years 3-6. Whereas if I'm in Beltre's shoes, I'm hoping to see them do everything possible to maximize our chances in the next 1-2 years.

I don't expect they're pulling a total rebuild by any means but it seems pretty clear to me that Beltre had higher expectations based on what he was told than what has happened.

https://www.lonestarball.com/2018/2/21/17037342/carlos-gomez-to-tampa-bay-on-1-year-deal

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Free agent outfielder Carlos Gomez and the Tampa Bay Rays have reportedly agreed on a one year deal for $4 million plus incentives. Gomez was the Rangers' center fielder in 2017, and had expressed interest in returning to Texas for 2018, going so far as to charter a helicopter to visit with the Rangers' brass when they were in the Dominican Republic.

I've got to say, if the Rangers weren't interested in Gomez at $4 million, then I have to assume they aren't interested in adding a center fielder, and the plan is to let Delino DeShields sink or swim with the center field job, with some combination of Willie Calhoun, Ryan Rua and Drew Robinson handling left field. I'm not terribly enthused about that decision, but hopefully, DeShields & Co. will prove me wrong in 2018.

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Got another one... Jesse Freaking Chavez. For the low low price of $1Large

Feel sorry for Beltre. This team will be lucky to win 70 games.

Just awful...I hope we trade Beltre to a contender

Beltre

Jesse Chavez: 2017 - 21 GS, 5.35 ERA, 1.399 ERA, 138 IP. 119Ks (7.8K/9IP)

$1M

This has to be a setup to trade Hamels and Perez... no?

Here's a good way of looking where we are at:

If you spend a lot of money and add a big name starter, it still doesn't make you a division contender. I think most realize this -- Houston could win 100+ games this year, Texas even with a Darvish would top out at 92-93 if things fell really well.

So because of the position Houston has put themselves in with having 3 or so roster spots held by stud draft picks that don't require to be paid like studs (yet), the best Texas could realistically compete for this season is the wildcard.

Where they are right now is probably that of an 83 win team or so. You go spend a ton of money and add a 5-win player and it gets you to 88 wins which is likely wildcard territory. But if the young core (Odor/Mazara/Gallo) then you're not going anywhere and you've wasted the first year of an expensive pitcher contract (who likely isn't super young and the years you are paying big money for are the early ones anyway).

Why not instead wait it out until July and see what that young core has done? If they haven't taken the next step -- well good job not throwing a lot of money at an arm in a wasted season. If they have? Well since the inception of WC2, almost every team in baseball is "still in the hunt" for the Wildcard come mid/late July.

So with how little we saw it took to nab some high profile players last year at the deadline, why not wait it out until July and see if you're just missing a piece from being a WC contender before going out and spending a lot of money?

I don't like it, but when you've got a clear division favorite it's foolish to spend a lot of money just to try and get a wildcard spot when you can wait 3 months and see if there's even a reason to go for it.

I'd agree if this was a long term thing like it was in the early 2000's.

This team went to the playoffs 2 out of the last 3 years though -- and last year certainly wasn't a "sell" year as they expected to compete but a couple of players under-performed (Odor, Darvish) making that difficult.

I don't mind 1 year of "lets keep the powder dry and see what we've got in July" if none of the guys out there are truly difference makers. Giving Arrieta a large contract doesn't help this team a ton this year and hinders them quite a bit down the road.

Everything else? 1B is covered. 2B is covered. SS is covered. 3B is covered.

Choo can't be moved and you want to see what Calhoun has. DeShields put up a 2+ WAR last year so it's silly to discard him already.

Not spending money on multi-year deals to add 1.5 wins here and there and block young talent doesn't make sense.

Cuban OF prospect on the free agent market: LINK

Can sign as soon as March 6th. Rangers, Yankees, Marlins supposedly the favorites to sign him, with the Rangers having the most international money available.

Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

Ag2012 said:

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Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

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What I wouldn't give for an up and coming right handed hitting outfield prospect who hits for average and doesn't strike out a ton....

Ag2012 said:

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Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

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At some point the Rangers are going to have to just eat the majority of Choo's contract and give him away to someone. Too many LH hitters and we obviously aren't trying to win this year anyway, might as well find out what the younger guys can do. Calhoun in particular.

jtstanley4621 said:

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Ag2012 said:

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Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

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What I wouldn't give for an up and coming right handed hitting outfield prospect who hits for average and doesn't strike out a ton....

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He's coming...

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=665750

KT 90 said:

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Ag2012 said:

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Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

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At some point the Rangers are going to have to just eat the majority of Choo's contract and give him away to someone. Too many LH hitters and we obviously aren't trying to win this year anyway, might as well find out what the younger guys can do. Calhoun in particular.

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This is the paradox of Choo.

What do you pay to have a DH that hits .261, 22 HRs, 12 SB, .357 OBP in 149 GP, last season?

That isn't a terrible season and to get that out of a DH like say Napoli did in 2017... last season, Napoli went .193, 29 HRs, .285 OBP @ $6M.

So dump Choo and then pay $6M to replace him doesn't make sense.

You own Choo for 3 more years (until he is 37). The money is spent.

He is a lefty and a lefty heavy lineup makes him less attractive.
He is a defensive liability, so DH is the best position for him, which is a position you could have had a cheaper option for same Offensive production.

But you can't dump him, just to fill him back in. The .357 OBP along with 12 SBs, effectively gives you a guy on base in scoring position 36% of the time he gets up.

Ag2012 said:

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jtstanley4621 said:

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Ag2012 said:

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Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

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What I wouldn't give for an up and coming right handed hitting outfield prospect who hits for average and doesn't strike out a ton....

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He's coming...

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=665750

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We'll have won 2 World Series rings by his arrival in 2020-2021.

Ag2012 said:

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jtstanley4621 said:

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Ag2012 said:

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Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

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What I wouldn't give for an up and coming right handed hitting outfield prospect who hits for average and doesn't strike out a ton....

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He's coming...

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=665750

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He's a switch hitter, do not want!

DallasAg 94 said:

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KT 90 said:

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Ag2012 said:

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Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

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At some point the Rangers are going to have to just eat the majority of Choo's contract and give him away to someone. Too many LH hitters and we obviously aren't trying to win this year anyway, might as well find out what the younger guys can do. Calhoun in particular.

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This is the paradox of Choo.

What do you pay to have a DH that hits .261, 22 HRs, 12 SB, .357 OBP in 149 GP, last season?

That isn't a terrible season and to get that out of a DH like say Napoli did in 2017... last season, Napoli went .193, 29 HRs, .285 OBP @ $6M.

So dump Choo and then pay $6M to replace him doesn't make sense.

You own Choo for 3 more years (until he is 37). The money is spent.

He is a lefty and a lefty heavy lineup makes him less attractive.
He is a defensive liability, so DH is the best position for him, which is a position you could have had a cheaper option for same Offensive production.

But you can't dump him, just to fill him back in. The .357 OBP along with 12 SBs, effectively gives you a guy on base in scoring position 36% of the time he gets up.

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I was getting at that Calhoun's ideal spot is DH. His infamous answer to what position do you play is "three hole". Choo is blocking him, or forcing Calhoun to play OF. Maybe Calhoun will be servicable in LF with some work. We were at the game in Round Rock last year where the ball bounced off his glove for a HR . Wasn't that hard of a catch.

Choo would be less of a concern if 1) he doesn't continue to regress, 2) they committed to playing him at DH, 3) his playing DH doesn't block other guys in the organization or cheaper free agents that need to be DH/could contribute well at DH.

KT 90 said:

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DallasAg 94 said:

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KT 90 said:

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Ag2012 said:

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Yep, looks like he's all ours if he wants to make the jump this year, or the Yanks or Marlins if he holds off a year. Also looks like he's a lefty, of course... We may have the first ever all-lefty baseball team.

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At some point the Rangers are going to have to just eat the majority of Choo's contract and give him away to someone. Too many LH hitters and we obviously aren't trying to win this year anyway, might as well find out what the younger guys can do. Calhoun in particular.

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This is the paradox of Choo.

What do you pay to have a DH that hits .261, 22 HRs, 12 SB, .357 OBP in 149 GP, last season?

That isn't a terrible season and to get that out of a DH like say Napoli did in 2017... last season, Napoli went .193, 29 HRs, .285 OBP @ $6M.

So dump Choo and then pay $6M to replace him doesn't make sense.

You own Choo for 3 more years (until he is 37). The money is spent.

He is a lefty and a lefty heavy lineup makes him less attractive.
He is a defensive liability, so DH is the best position for him, which is a position you could have had a cheaper option for same Offensive production.

But you can't dump him, just to fill him back in. The .357 OBP along with 12 SBs, effectively gives you a guy on base in scoring position 36% of the time he gets up.

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I was getting at that Calhoun's ideal spot is DH. His infamous answer to what position do you play is "three hole". Choo is blocking him, or forcing Calhoun to play OF. Maybe Calhoun will be servicable in LF with some work. We were at the game in Round Rock last year where the ball bounced off his glove for a HR . Wasn't that hard of a catch.

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I mean, it's something.

https://instagr.am/p/Bfiy_urgMhN