*****Official Texas Rangers 2021 Season Thread*****

236,873 Views | 3491 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by DeangeloVickers
KT 90
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TV Casualty said:

Yep, there is no reason to jump into free agency when you are 2 to 3 years away from even approaching having a competitive team.

I wouldn't have a problem with signing a young first-time free agent to a long term deal under the notion that we were going to build around them. Whether that be a stud SP, SS, CF, whatever. But trying to chase a 30 year old to sign a 4 or 5 year deal? No thanks.

Maybe one more year of absolute tankage, and then following the 2022 go get a young free agent or two for a long term deal to build around.
jtstanley4621
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South Platte said:

jtstanley4621 said:

South Platte said:

hawk1689 said:

Joey Gallo was a two time all star. He was a 1st rounder.


Gallo sucked. .210 career avg.

I'm sorry, I need to stay off this thread. It's not as if I have a say in the franchise's performance, and I'm not accomplishing anything by getting into "who sucks worse" arguments with the last remaining Rangers fans in the state.
If you're coming with takes like that, agreed. Pointing to batting average alone in today's game is shortsided to say the least. Take a break my dude.
We're just simply awful. This franchise has never had 5 consecutive losing seasons, but we'll accomplish that this in a couple of months. There is no plan and no hope in sight to end the string of losing seasons for the next several years. For us to reach .500 in '22 - '26, we would have already had to make some really great baseball decisions that would play out nicely in the next few seasons. Have we?

I find it completely unacceptable for ownership and management to assemble a pile of garbage and tell us "this is your team". It also doesn't help that the boys down I-45 have enjoyed crazy success over the past 5 years despite losing major contributors to injury and free agency every year.
I completely agree with your complaints about the ownership and front office. They have failed us big time. I am encouraged by what our new GM seems to be doing, but JD should be thrown out of the building.

It does suck to see them have success but at the end of the day those guys have to look themselves in the mirror and be astros fans, which IMO is a fate worse than death. As I said before, take a break.
duck79
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I think it is a little short sighted to compare the Rangers downturn with the Astros success right now and not mention that the Astros went thru the same thing less than a decade ago. From 2011-2013 they lost 100 games each season and followed that up with a 92 loss season before finishing second in the division and starting their run. We can all agree that the Rangers held onto their "window" to long but they are basically following the Astros blueprint of building up the minor league system and hoping to build a contender with players you have control over for multiple years. Will their drafting and trades allow them to do that....tbd. The Astros had their bad picks in that timeframe as well with Appel and Aiken at the top so hopefully the Rangers don't follow the exact blueprint.
Proposition Joe
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Their drafting has been bad, but you can probably point to their decision to invest heavily in international infrastructure for the reason. They felt that was their bread and butter, and they were one of the most successful teams at bringing over international amateur talent... Pudge, JuanGon... Many of our "top top" prospects - Mateo, Profar. Guys like Odor... Hell, technically Darvish as well.

Then new rules pretty much knee-capped that investment so they probably had to scramble to catch up with the rest of baseball in stateside scouting.

All that being said, when a team is competitive over a 7 year window (2010-2016) trading away prospects for the the stretch run, and then on top of that try and extend that window a couple of years to (likely) appease a future Hall of Famer then the farm system is going to look pretty paltry.
DannyDuberstein
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It does look paltry but reality is that if you put every prospect they traded away on the current team, it would still be one of the worst in the league. I don't have an issue with them trying to compete for as long as they did because it didn't really cost them. 95 win team on 2016. If you can get to the postseason, you do it. Then you hope to get hot at the right time, which didn't happen. Also didn't help that some of those years were ****ty sellers market seasons
South Platte
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jtstanley4621 said:


As I said before, take a break.
This franchise is going to send me into therapy.
AggieEP
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wbt5845 said:

AggieEP said:

This got me going down a rabbit hole that led me to the 2020 rule 5 draft, and the Rangers could have taken Akil Baddoo who is a 22 year old in Detroit currently putting up a 2.0 WAR season. Tigers took him number 3 after the Rangers took De Geus from the Dodgers.

So I don't recall anyone griping about the Rangers passing on a Rule 5 guy who had been gone for Tommy John surgery for two years who'd never played above A ball.


I know JD and company are paid to know a steal when it presents itself, but there's a reason most guys are available in the Rule 5 draft.
Maybe it came across wrong, but taking a chance on a high upside lottery ticket is exactly what we should have done this year. I'm not saying JD is dumb for not picking Baddoo, but it stinks to watch them pick up a solid contributor basically for free when we could have done the same.

Proposition Joe
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People also forget that 2016 team because they **** the bed - that was your AL favorite to make the World Series at some sportsbooks when the regular season ended.
wbt5845
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Proposition Joe said:

People also forget that 2016 team because they **** the bed - that was your AL favorite to make the World Series at some sportsbooks when the regular season ended.
No **** - I paid top $$$ to get tickets to that first playoff game and we got drilled and I was like WTF and just got drunk as hell.
wbt5845
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So I found this Facebook post by the Rangers from today interesting.



Sam Huff was #2 at the start of the season. And he's still crushing the ball at AA. The other guys have just been lights out.
DallasAg 94
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wbt5845
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Oh, I looked at the wrong line on his 2021 stats - yeah, he hasn't been all that good at AA. He has hit some mammoth home runs though.
DallasAg 94
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jtstanley4621
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wbt5845 said:

Oh, I looked at the wrong line on his 2021 stats - yeah, he hasn't been all that good at AA. He has hit some mammoth home runs though.

He strikes me as another all power low average hitter. TBH not all that excited about him overall. Would love to be very wrong
wbt5845
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Grapesoda2525
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I wish I could watch the game tomorrow. Highly touted Phillies prospect Spencer Howard ( who is stoked to be here) is making his rangers debut.

If I was Woodward and JD, I'd try to straddle that fine line between having players for the future play well but still losing a ton of games. If we don't end up with a top 5 and dare I say top 3 draft pick at the end of the season then something went horribly wrong.
wbt5845
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I am thankfully working from home today so I'll be "working" this afternoon.
investorAg83
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Finally making my first game at the GiLF todayexcited to learn it's also Howard's first.
DallasAg 94
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DannyDuberstein
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Rendon was solid last year, but yeah, he's been a mess this year. Will see what kind of player he is in 2022, but definitely looks like it could be another disastrous Angels contract
_lefraud_
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As bad as the last few years have been for the Rangers, I'm not sure I could stomach being an Angels fan. They draft a generational talent, sign FA after FA, and then win the Ohtani sweepstakes...all for absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, Oakland just goes about business, and now Seattle too.
KT 90
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DallasAg 94 said:

Some musings...

I'm going to declare the greatest FA signing by JD was NOT signing Rendon. That has been a disaster and likely an anchor on the Angels. They just announced he is having season-ending surgery on his hip. At 31, he has had knee, groin, hamstring, and now hip issues this season. Only 5 more years at $36M+. They hope he is back for ST next year.

Howard has the makings of a feel-good story. Turned 25 just before the deadline, change-of-scenery guy who genuinely sounds excited to be leaving a playoff contender, to a team tanking. IIRC, he has a blister issue and JD indicated they'd let him determine when he was ready. If this is the player I recall, JD seemed like he was fine with him not pitching again this season. Much like Leiter. The fact Howard is pitching would seem a testimony to him being excited to be here. I would expect maybe 3IP, enough to get excited about and letting him walk off the mound with a positive outing. His IP have been low... I think a high of 121 in 2018. He will be another one in the mix that won't go deep in 2022, but can be in the stable for 2023.

I do hope the Rangers are Top3 in picks. I still think they should compete in 2022, but it is likely another tank season. More important than getting a Top3 pick, IMO, is finding out if guys like Howard, Ibanez (28-2B), Terry (24-1B), White (27-OF), Peters (25-OF), Martin (25-OF), et al, can actually lock down a position.

Maybe JD knew what he was doing with his (rumored) low-ball offer to Rendon. He was closer to Rendon's true value than the other GM's out there


But yeah, another potential money draining contract for the Angels to deal with.... you just hate to see it . They are still paying for Pujols to play for the Dodgers right now.
wbt5845
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I really do not understand the 5-7 year deals to guys north of 30. Just seems like those rarely work out.
KT 90
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Rangers trade DeShields to Boston for cash considerations. He had been in Round Rock.
DallasAg 94
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wbt5845
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KT 90 said:

Rangers trade DeShields to Boston for cash considerations. He had been in Round Rock.
He deserves a chance. Good for him.
Mr Gigem
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wbt5845 said:

I really do not understand the 5-7 year deals to guys north of 30. Just seems like those rarely work out.
Sometimes that just the demand of the market.

I have an idea. What if the max contract length was only two years, and if at the end of the two years that player HAD to be signed by a different team.

You could even make it a tiered system where certain positions could be signed longer term than others. Something like 2, 4, and 6 years

Edit: **** it, let's throw in a salary cap too while we're at it
KT 90
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Howard making his Ranger debut today. Scoreless first inning for him. Four pitch walk to start if off, then two K's and a ground out.

wbt5845
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Walks first man on 4 pitches

Strikes out the next two men, including Ohtani, and induces and easy 6-3 ground out.

Dude does have good stuff. That 12-6 curve is hard and tight - borderline violent. His cutter tails WAY away from right handed hitters.
DannyDuberstein
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Have we talked about Sarah Merrifield and her attempt to broadcast in man sports voice? I kind of feel like on the field isn't the only place they decided to tank
Mr Gigem
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DannyDuberstein said:

Have we talked about Sarah Merrifield and her attempt to broadcast in man sports voice? I kind of feel like on the field isn't the only place they decided to tank
I think she does a fine job
Mr Gigem
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For those needing context, here she is reporting on Spencer Howard prior to today's game


alvtimes
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how many runs have Rangers given up this yr when catcher sets up with a knee on the ground and allows pass ball with runner on third?
alvtimes
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DallasAg 94 said:

Some musings...

I'm going to declare the greatest FA signing by JD was NOT signing Rendon. That has been a disaster and likely an anchor on the Angels. They just announced he is having season-ending surgery on his hip. At 31, he has had knee, groin, hamstring, and now hip issues this season. Only 5 more years at $36M+. They hope he is back for ST next year.

Howard has the makings of a feel-good story. Turned 25 just before the deadline, change-of-scenery guy who genuinely sounds excited to be leaving a playoff contender, to a team tanking. IIRC, he has a blister issue and JD indicated they'd let him determine when he was ready. If this is the player I recall, JD seemed like he was fine with him not pitching again this season. Much like Leiter. The fact Howard is pitching would seem a testimony to him being excited to be here. I would expect maybe 3IP, enough to get excited about and letting him walk off the mound with a positive outing. His IP have been low... I think a high of 121 in 2018. He will be another one in the mix that won't go deep in 2022, but can be in the stable for 2023.

I do hope the Rangers are Top3 in picks. I still think they should compete in 2022, but it is likely another tank season. More important than getting a Top3 pick, IMO, is finding out if guys like Howard, Ibanez (28-2B), Terry (24-1B), White (27-OF), Peters (25-OF), Martin (25-OF), et al, can actually lock down a position.


in regards to Rendon....Angels get $130 + million per yr in TV deal..... they can afford to swing for the fence and miss. Having said that.... Im glad Rangers didnt do that deal.
DallasAg 94
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