Definitely looks more confident.

Howard finally starting to pitch to his potential.

Man we are going to have a deeeep stable of arms in a few years. Leiter, Rocker, Winn, White and Porter all have legit all star potential and then you add to that Howard, Otto, Burke, Hearn, Ragans, etc. Exciting stuff especially if Howard has actually turned a corner here.

Great win last night, but....the more I watch this team, the more convinced I am that Woodward won't be around very long once the front office feels like all the pieces are in place. His in-game decisions, in particular regarding pitching, are extremely suspect.

It seems like there are certain pitchers that CW will leave in a game long after they should've been pulled because they're getting lit up (Santana and Martin are a couple of recent examples). And then last night, he has a starting pitcher throwing a shutout...5 innings completed, only 76 pitches thrown, 5 Ks and no walks....and he pulls him. I read his post game explanation, which seemed pretty weak IMO, and I have to wonder how he would've defended that move if the bullpen had given up 3 runs and we lose another 1-run game.

If I'm CW, and I'm concerned about how much longer Howard can go, I let him go out in the 6th and have somebody warming up in the BP....if he gives up anything, I immediately yank him. But you have to at least give him the opportunity to give you another inning (or two).

Rant over.

I don't think I agree. He's struggled in the bigs, especially the third time through the lineup. Let him go out on a high note, especially after having just pitched out of a jam. Tonight Martin Perez is pitching who typically goes longer in his starts. Woody deserves criticism but I don't think this was the wrong decision.

The more I think about it, the more I'm willing to part with Leiter, Jung etc. to get Soto. Leiter is still a full year away at best imo, Jung might not touch the MLB roster this year, and signing guys like Rocker and Porter really helps depth and potential frontline starters. The rangers could easily go out in the offseason and sign a third pitcher to a Jon Gray type of deal, extend Perez, have Dunning be an innings eater at the back of the rotation, and have Winn, Rocker, Ragans etc. fight it out for a rotation spot or two.

I saw something earlier that suggested the Rangers go after Aaron Judge in FA instead of Soto

You're proving my point to an extent. We haven't drafted and developed a true ace/superstar level pitcher, really ever. I'm also skeptical of prospects as a whole. Sure, sometimes you end up with guys like Soto, Ronald Acuna Jr., Clayton Kershaw, and Carlos Correa, who were all signed and or drafted as top prospects and then go onto become superstars. But more times than not in the MLB, the absolute best prospects end up being JAGs or solid players.

If you look at the past five or so years of top 10 prospects in the entire sport, there's arguably no player or package of players among those top 10's that I wouldn't trade for Soto (I don't consider Ohtani because he's such a unique player and situation).

Leiter could very well become the superstar/ace that we've all wanted for over a decade, but to have a future Hall Of Famer at the age of 23 on the trading block for 4 or 5 prospects gets more appealing by the day.

The point about Trout and Ohtani is well said IMO. Success through a season and into the postseason is ALWAYS going to be attained and sustained by a good pitching rotation, even if you have a hall of famer on your squad.

It's possible that our prospects all suck, but this collection of pitching talent is the best attempt we've had at fixing our issues in a very very long time. I actually feel content with our farm system going forward and I can't say I've felt that since probably the Jurickson Profar days

rbtexan said:

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I'm glad you're not in the Rangers front office.

This team hasn't drafted/developed a top of the rotation starter in decades...DECADES...and now that we have one, you want to trade him away for an outfielder that is likely here for two seasons and then gone.

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I keep seeing people say this and you need to just stop. There is zero chance the Rangers make a trade without a longer term deal in place. If the trade happens, we'd have Soto for an extended period of time. You can't keep throwing that caveat out there and say that 'because he's a rental' he isn't worth the prospects. No one is saying that.

The expectation is that a trade also means long term deal.

Tksymm7 said:

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You're proving my point to an extent. We haven't drafted and developed a true ace/superstar level pitcher, really ever. I'm also skeptical of prospects as a whole. Sure, sometimes you end up with guys like Soto, Ronald Acuna Jr., Clayton Kershaw, and Carlos Correa, who were all signed and or drafted as top prospects and then go onto become superstars. But more times than not in the MLB, the absolute best prospects end up being JAGs or solid players.

If you look at the past five or so years of top 10 prospects in the entire sport, there's arguably no player or package of players among those top 10's that I wouldn't trade for Soto (I don't consider Ohtani because he's such a unique player and situation).

Leiter could very well become the superstar/ace that we've all wanted for over a decade, but to have a future Hall Of Famer at the age of 23 on the trading block for 4 or 5 prospects gets more appealing by the day.

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Soto is not going to be 4-5 prospects. It will be some massive haul like Leiter, White/Winn, Anthony Gutierrez, Luis Angel Acuna, Josh Jung, Leody Taveras, and Justin Foscue/Ezekiel Duran. It will take 4-5 top 100 guys just to get conversations started.

That's fair. I definitely undersold his value and what it will take to get him.

investorAg83 said:

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rbtexan said:

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I'm glad you're not in the Rangers front office.

This team hasn't drafted/developed a top of the rotation starter in decades...DECADES...and now that we have one, you want to trade him away for an outfielder that is likely here for two seasons and then gone.

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I keep seeing people say this and you need to just stop. There is zero chance the Rangers make a trade without a longer term deal in place. If the trade happens, we'd have Soto for an extended period of time. You can't keep throwing that caveat out there and say that 'because he's a rental' he isn't worth the prospects. No one is saying that.

The expectation is that a trade also means long term deal.

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OK, I'll play. I keep seeing people say THIS and YOU need to just stop.

Zero chance? No sir. There's absolutely a chance that happens, and not just by the Rangers. It bears repeating, again and again, his agent is Scott Boras. The same Scott Boras who turned down a long term contract just last season for Joey Gallo (and for the Rangers' sake, thank goodness he did). His history, his MO, is to take his clients to free agency. Look at his track record, the exceptions are very rare.

I've also said, if by some miracle he CAN be extended, then maybe it makes sense depending on the package. I just happen to believe neither Soto or Boras are interested in doing that.

As another poster just mentioned, this isn't going to be a 4 or 5 prospect trade. It will probably be 6 or 7 of our very top prospect, plus a couple of major leaguers (Calhoun, maybe Lowe). The Nationals know what they have, and they aren't going to just roll over and take any old deal that's thrown out there.

I personally think he winds up with the Cardinals, because I think they can put together the most attract package of MLB players and prospects.

Bats can be bought easier than pitching. I keep my prospects, and if I still think I need another bat in the next 1-2 years, I buy it. That may even be Soto himself

Culberson is at 2nd tonight, Solak DH'ing and Hernandez in left.

Mr Gigem said:

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I saw something earlier that suggested the Rangers go after Aaron Judge in FA instead of Soto

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I haven't seen this yet, but I'd be good with this. While it would require a boatload of money, it wouldn't require most of our top farm prospects. And if it's Soto we are after, why not just buy him when he is a free agent and save the prospects? Most of our young pitchers look like they won't be ready in 2023 anyway, at least not at the start of the season. No need to go all in on a Soto trade in 2022.

Seager will probably be day-to-day after fouling that ball off of his shin last night.

"If he [Mike Rizzo] continues to stick to the ask that he's put out to teams up until this point, I'm not sure Juan Soto is going anywhere. He's been asking for 125% of Juan Soto's value."

-@JeffPassan discusses the likelihood of Juan Soto getting movedhttps://t.co/A7PJZRSpqn pic.twitter.com/Iym4QKfjBD

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 29, 2022

Wow the Reds got a haul for Castillo from the M's. Granted, Castillo has another year of control. All aboard trading Perez if that's what the market is looking like for SPs.

gigem1223 said:

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Wow the Reds got a haul for Castillo from the M's. Granted, Castillo has another year of control. All aboard trading Perez if that's what the market is looking like for SPs.

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No

Mr Gigem said:

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gigem1223 said:

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Wow the Reds got a haul for Castillo from the M's. Granted, Castillo has another year of control. All aboard trading Perez if that's what the market is looking like for SPs.

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No

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Why? We're not making the playoffs. Why would you not bolster the farm system even more? Gives us more ammo for trades in the off-season or in future years for when we're actually competing.

Perez spent a decade as a 1.5 whip, 4.5 ERA guy. The entire league is waiting for him to return to the mean in H2, and especially if you change his scenery.

According to Rosenthal we were in the mix for Castillo. Drove that price up even more. Love that the front office is legitimately looking at all ways to get better now.

DannyDuberstein said:

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Perez spent a decade as a 1.5 whip, 4.5 ERA guy. The entire league is waiting for him to return to the mean in H2

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I'm not saying trade him for peanuts. If you get a sucker that buys in then you have to.

Danny Vermin said:

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Hell No. Very rarely do you get a player, in any sport, who wants to stay on a team because he just loves them and the city. Almost all of them are only about money. Perez should be Ranger until his career is done .

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Literally every player says they want to stay on the team they're on. Do you know what his contract will be next season? It's all lip service at this point until an extension or contract is signed.

Exactly, somehow the marriage just seems to be working. His best value to this organization is as a part of it if they can work out a value extension

gigem1223 said:

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DannyDuberstein said:

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Perez spent a decade as a 1.5 whip, 4.5 ERA guy. The entire league is waiting for him to return to the mean in H2

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I'm not saying trade him for peanuts. If you get a sucker that buys in then you have to.

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Too bad the suckers in your fantasy league team don't happen to run MLB teams

I disagree. The only other player that has said he wanted to stay in this town as often and as loud as Perez is Dirk. He literally says it damn near everyday. I want players like that on my teams . CY needs to resign him immediately.

And other teams are hearing that too.

Also not sure I would consider that a "haul" for the Reds

Noelvi Marte - A+
Levi Stoudt - AA
Andrew Moore - A
Edwin Arroyo - A

None of those guys will probably see the majors within 5 years

Nice way to get the first run lol