I've been pretty vocal about not liking the Foscue pick when they drafted him.

His hitting is what leads his value. I see him among the many strong hitters without a position that are slotted at 2B/3B/LF/DH

Calhoun/Solak/Smith/Duran/Ibanez/Hauver

Rule V and 40 man roster become an issue. At some point Foscue needs to be given a shot.

Culberson and Calhoun need to go.

PS: I know Calhoun is gone, but he was on the list when we picked Foscue. And we had Odor.

Traded Matt Bush to Milwaukee

I've always been a stats nerd. Been studying players stats for decades, and one thing that I've found to be incredibly consistent. Players who don't hit really well in the minors almost never hit well in the majors. That's why I never understood the infatuation with guys like Eli White. He was a .260ish hitter in the minors, he wasn't ever going to hit enough to be anything other than a spare part.

To be a major league player (not starter, just a backup) you have to do at least one thing really well. Be a good base runner. Be a great defensive player. Be versatile. Or a combination of those. Guys like Foscue don't impress me because he's a below average to bad fielder, he doesn't have much speed or range, and he doesn't hit enough to carry at the big league level. Best thing the Rangers can do with him is bundle him in a trade IMO.

He had a run where he hit something like 9 HRs in 10 games in A ball. They say the biggest jump a player makes is from A to AA, and he's been very "meh" in AA.

I'll tell you a minor league infielder who may have a future with the Rangers or somebody, and that's Jonathon Ornelas. He's hitting around .300 and plays really good defense.

In his defense, he's had half a season of AA ball and it's not like it's been bad. I think it's early to call his bat a fail. But he's no MLB middle IF

Legal Custodian said:

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Traded Matt Bush to Milwaukee

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Looks like the center piece was Milwaukees 2nd rd pick in 2019. LH pitcher with excellent stuff with some command issues. Brewers 16th ranked prospect, Antoine Kelly.

DannyDuberstein said:

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In his defense, he's had half a season of AA ball and it's not like it's been bad. I think it's early to call his bat a fail. But he's no MLB middle IF

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That's the biggest issue IMO, he doesn't have a position. He's a DH, and I wouldn't worry about losing a DH to the Rule 5 draft.

somethings are better left unsaid here, the JD nutriders will be out in force to defend the Rangers the last several yrs

gigem1223 said:

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Legal Custodian said:

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Traded Matt Bush to Milwaukee

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Looks like the center piece was Milwaukees 2nd rd pick in 2019. LH pitcher with excellent stuff with some command issues. Brewers 16th ranked prospect, Antoine Kelly.

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Antoine Kelly was selected two picks before Josh Smith in the 2019 draft. R5-eligible this fall if unprotected. Ranked from 7th to 16th in Brewers system depending on where you look. Had TOS surgery *before* becoming a Ranger, which is a pleasant change of pace.

— Scott Lucas (@scottrlucas) August 2, 2022

What did we get back in the Bush trade?

rbtexan said:

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I'll tell you a minor league infielder who may have a future with the Rangers or somebody, and that's Jonathon Ornelas. He's hitting around .300 and plays really good defense.

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How about Luisangel Acuna? He hit over .300 with a .900 OPS in high A as a 20 year old and he's now going to Frisco. He needs to work on the defense a bit but he's still young and showing a ton of promise as a likely 2B or utility guy

Tksymm7 said:

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What did we get back in the Bush trade?

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The Rangers tonight announced that the club has acquired LHP Antoine Kelly and INF Mark Mathias from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for RHP Matt Bush.

— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) August 2, 2022

https://www.milb.com/player/antoine-kelly-681520

https://www.milb.com/player/mark-mathias-664029

rbtexan said:

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DannyDuberstein said:

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In his defense, he's had half a season of AA ball and it's not like it's been bad. I think it's early to call his bat a fail. But he's no MLB middle IF

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That's the biggest issue IMO, he doesn't have a position. He's a DH, and I wouldn't worry about losing a DH to the Rule 5 draft.

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Agree that the fielding options reduce his value. That said, Kole Calhoun is their DH, so at least they could use one. I do think they see him as a DH that you could occasionally put at 2nd to spell Semien or Seager for a night, which is why they continue to leave him there. Again, his OPS at AA in his first 65 games at that level is .806. Top 25ish in the 10 team Texas League. Not lighting the world on fire yet, but not a terrible start. That bat has some life to it, we'll see how much

FTAco07 said:

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rbtexan said:

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I'll tell you a minor league infielder who may have a future with the Rangers or somebody, and that's Jonathon Ornelas. He's hitting around .300 and plays really good defense.

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How about Luisangel Acuna? He hit over .300 with a .900 OPS in high A as a 20 year old and he's now going to Frisco. He needs to work on the defense a bit but he's still young and showing a ton of promise as a likely 2B or utility guy

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Great prospect but a few years away. I meant players who are close to MLB ready.

Tksymm7 said:

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Fair enough, all of this talk still makes me wonder though why some of these guys haven't or aren't getting traded. It's time for these level of guys to put up and help the major league roster or be traded for guys who will. Foscue in particular was a college guy and is 23 years old. Time is ticking.

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Most college guys are still 2-3 years away when drafted. He is likely a 2024 guy. Converting from aluminum to wood take some time.

Covid messed a bunch of stuff up. Scouting was pretty difficult. I didn't like the Rangers 2020 draft. I thought it was a waste, but in fairness, everything got shut down and you pretty much were guessing.

Evan Carter (19-OF) was their 2nd Rd pick. He was a real head scratcher. Was he a diamond in the rough or a throw away?!

He is currently .270, 9 HR, 17 SB in 79 G @ A+.

So, looks like they could have found a real hidden gem.

I actually hit better with a wood bat than I do aluminum. Weird.

Mr Gigem said:

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I actually hit better with a wood bat than I do aluminum. Weird.

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I hit better when I'm drunk.

Among pitchers with 50+ innings, Kelly had best K rate in Mil system (30.7%) and third-best swinging strike rate (13.7%). Those figures are 3rd and 12th in the Texas system, respectively. Also a high BB/HBP rate (16.2%), had good control before surgery, hopefully can get it back.

— Scott Lucas (@scottrlucas) August 2, 2022

I think the Bush trade looks good. Antoine Kelley is a bit of a wild thing - 91 IP this year, 52 BB, 119 Ks.

Over a K per inning.

They are calling the initial injury for Jon Gray "side discomfort," which likely means some sort of strain or tweak. I feel like a stint on the 10-day IL is coming, hopefully that's it. No clue what they'll do to replace his starts.

Tksymm7 said:

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They are calling the initial injury for Jon Gray "side discomfort," which likely means some sort of strain or tweak. I feel like a stint on the 10-day IL is coming, hopefully that's it. No clue what they'll do to replace his starts.

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Maybe that is the opportunity for Ragans to get a start or two while Gray is out. Also, somebody said the innings for Ragans are getting high, so the timing might even work out for him to get a couple more starts while Gray is out, and then shut it down.

The Rangers bullpen was already been gassed since just prior to the all-star break, so doing bullpen games for Gray's turn in the rotation may not be the best idea.

No reason to push Gray to return. We'll want his innings up to build for next year, but that's it. He is at 103.

Ragans looks to be at 94.2 and went 80.2, last year.

If they keep Matt Moore, it will be interesting to see what they do with him.

The rest of the way?

Rule V pitchers:
AAA: Cole Ragans (24)
AAA: Winn (22)
AA: Owen White (22)
A+: Englerts (22)

I would expect some of those to be Sept call-ups (is that still a thing?)

DallasAg 94 said:

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No reason to push Gray to return. We'll want his innings up to build for next year, but that's it. He is at 103.

Ragans looks to be at 94.2 and went 80.2, last year.

If they keep Matt Moore, it will be interesting to see what they do with him.

The rest of the way?

Rule V pitchers:
AAA: Cole Ragans (24)
AAA: Winn (22)
AA: Owen White (22)
A+: Englerts (22)

I would expect some of those to be Sept call-ups (is that still a thing?)

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Winn is likely to get a call-up eventually this season, and Ragans may as well.

White and Englerts aren't going to be in Arlington this season, they aren't ready. Plus they had to shut White down recently because of "forearm fatigue".

Also, I think teams are only allowed 2 additional players in September. It's not like the old days when they could bring up a couple of handfuls of guys.

I seem to recall someone had forearm fatigue. Forgot it was White.

I knew there were changes, but was uncertain. Thanks for the info.

If Gray goes on the DL, I'm betting they'll call up Keuchel.

That's right, only two additional players are allowed during the September call-up window. Winn just had his best start at AAA, but he's got to stack consecutive good outings. I could see a world where the Rangers call up Ragans or Winn, and Jung. I just get the sense that they want to see Jung at the big league level already (not saying that's a great move though given his injury history and lack of at-bats this season).

Absolutely agree, I think Jung gets a look in September.

Wow Padres getting Soto and Bell

Padres are getting Soto and Bell…and tbh it's cheap what they are giving up. If that's the price for Soto I am disappointed the Rangers weren't right there with a similar offer.

Update: jumped the gun, seems like there is more included like Gore, etc. my fault!

CJ Abrams + #1, 3 and 14 prospect in SD's farm system. Asking price was obviously not near what reports were saying.

Edit*** looks like Gore may be involved too plus another MLB player. If that's the case, that makes memories sense.

Padres gong all in...

Yeah if the Rangers made a similar offer, it would have been the equivalent of Leiter, Duran, Josh Smith, and Anthony Gutierrez.

Wow, thank sounds like a truly terrible deal on the Nats side. You get three prospects for the best hitter in the game and a guy who is an all-star? That asking price was a whole lot less than I thought.

***sounds like a few more guys are being added such as Mackenzie Gore and maybe two more players.

Having said that... I'd rather save the Farm and let him go play for the Padres for 2 years, and then sign him as FA when he's 25

Gore was also included, another minor leaguer and an un-named MLB player.