Back to the Cease flip I expect from San Diego. I still believe the Padres trade him once Snell signs somewhere.

Cease for Taveras, Foscue, and Bradford. 3 guys that will contribute in 2024.

Padres need to fix their CF production and don't have a DH, per se.

Taveras (24): .266, 14 HR, 14 SB, .733 OPS. Career .244. 4 more years of team control.
Grisham (26): .198, 13 HR, 15 SB, .666 OPS. Career .216. 2 more years of team control.

More and more Langford looks set to open with the Rangers and having Langford-Carter-Adolis + Jankowski seems pretty solid. Adollis is health concern and DH is an open spot... but who knows.

Bradford makes the rotation for the Rangers. I'd hate to give up a young, cheap talent, but Cease would move him to the BP.

Foscue would give them some much needed offense at the DH spot.

Didn't Grisham get traded to the Yankees? Forgot who they got in return but I think regardless CF is somewhere the padres still would have to upgrade at

bmac_aggie18 said:

---

Didn't Grisham get traded to the Yankees? Forgot who they got in return but I think regardless CF is somewhere the padres still would have to upgrade at

---

I've heard that the Padres are planning for Jackson Merrill (20 y/o infielder) to start in CF opening day. Not a good plan but he's played outfield for a lot of his career and the Padres are high on him. I don't follow the Padres but I heard the analysts discussing to on MLB Radio a few days ago.

Seems like a long shot and they may be shopping by midseason.

José Urquidy is flying back to Houston to see team doctors, Joe Espada said. Urquidy’s elbow pain had not subsided when he reported to the complex today.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 16, 2024

Looks like I missed Grisham.

Their depth chart shows Jos Azocar which is likely because Merrill is just getting promoted for the Padres series in Korea.

Merrill barely has AA experience.

I'm keeping an eye on them.,

For those interested, here is the Houston SP situation:

These two are pretty good. We'll see how they handle being the 1-2:
Valdez (20-L): 31GS, 3.45, 198.0, 200 SO
C Javier (27): 31GS, 4.56, 162.0, 159 SO <- 5.1 IP/GS

Hu Brown (25): 29GS, 5.08, 155.2, 178 SO
I think Brown will improve, but by how much?!

JPFrance (29): 23GS, 3.83, 136.1, 101 SO
Lots of questions about this SP. Made his MLB debut last year at 28.

Then a whole lotta nothing:
Blanco (30): 7GS, 4.50, 52.0, 52, 17G
Bielak (28): 13GS, 3.83, 80.0, 62, 15G
Dubin (27): 1GS Career MLB

Remember that for his career, Snell is like a 5.1 IP/GS kinda guy. That will put additional pressure on a bullpen that isn't as deep as last year.

If they have Snell and Javier as their #1 and #3 and they average 5.1 IP, they'll wear out a BP and not have the ability to get anything at the deadline.

Valdez and Hader are their only Lefties of consequence.

Hoping more and more that they get Snell.

There were a few people that were looking for the city connect hat in flex fit, and it's been out of stock forever. Just checked and Academy has them in stock online for large/extra large flex fit.

Free shipping if you just create an account.

https://www.academy.com/p/new-era-mens-texas-rangers-22-mlb-city-connect-39thirty-cap?sku=multi-large-x-large-texas-rangers&gmc_feed=t

Edit to add site says there are 2 left…

Not a great outing from Bradford today but Leiter had another solid outing.

And Langford continues to tear the cover off the ball.

Mr Gigem said:

---

Almost pulled the trigger on an Adolis Garcia bat at Spring Training today

---

They have auctions/raffles ? Will be in Surprise soon...

Yea they do

FYI: Rangers - Cubs are on MLBN right now, 2-0 Cubs in the 3rd

Might be blacked out in some areas, but it's on for me.

Does anybody else use the Bleacher Report app for scores? Wyatt Langford has not made it in to their system apparently. He does not appear in the box score on any game I have seen this year, including today.

Only reason I know when he is playing (other than when the lineup is posted here) is because it only lists 8 guys in the lineup.

shack009 said:

---

Does anybody else use the Bleacher Report app for scores? Wyatt Langford has not made it in to their system apparently. He does not appear in the box score on any game I have seen this year, including today.

Only reason I know when he is playing (other than when the lineup is posted here) is because it only lists 8 guys in the lineup.

---

That's weird. I don't normally use that to follow games, but just pulled it up and you are right.. only 8 guys in the lineup in the boxscore. But if you go to the "Plays", it has Lankford driving in the run earlier this inning for the Rangers.

I used to use bleacher report a lot, but I feel like the app in general just went way down hill about 5 years ago or so

MrCoachEricTaylor said:

---

I used to use bleacher report a lot, but I feel like the app in general just went way down hill about 5 years ago or so

---

What do you use now? I'm not a huge fan of the ESPN app, tbh. I mostly check basketball box scores, and the BR app basically exists for basketball. It's functional for everything else, just a weird quirk to not have Langford in the lineups. I wonder if they will have that figured out for opening day.

I really I my use TexAgs and the MLB AtBat app. I only really follow Aggie stuff and the Rangers. For Mavs stuff I'll check both BR and ESPN out but that's only a handful of times a year. For Cowboys stuff I'll look at bleacher report and the Cowboys app

I really like the CBS Sports App for Rangers, Stars, Mavs and Aggie FB & BK.

TexAgs is the only way to go for Aggie BSB.

You might try an app called The Score. It's real-time and pretty accurate, I use it a lot.


Here's a screenshot

My wife uses the score. It works pretty well and I think it's one of the good ones.

To go with home runs, Langford now leads the Cactus and Grape fruit league in RBIs.

Not sure if everyone here knows about this or not, but it's free and a nice watch. The behind the scenes content is good and I don't care for watching preseason of pretty much any sport.

Interesting notes from Evan Grant's latest piece on the Rangers: 1) because of injuries to three out of four of the starting infield (sans catcher), there's real questions about who is going to play first base, 2) there's probably two or three long reliever spots that are up for grabs (more of this in a moment), and 3) where do you hit Wyatt Langford, especially with the injuries that we have currently and then when everyone is back?

On the reliever front, there is apparently a real thought and conversation around Jack Leiter occupying one of the long reliever roles in the bullpen. The thought here is two fold; on one hand we really need long relievers, especially with Bradford joining the starting rotation and the other candidates being Jose Urena and Matt Duffy, and on the other hand there's a real belief that Leiter could benefit more from being with the big club and their staff every day than with the AAA club and staff.

The more I think about it the more I would be on board with Leiter making the roster and being a long reliever for a bit. If his dad is truly a problem, playing with the big club could shelter him more from his dads opinions while getting better help from the Rangers staff, and top of that I think the long reliever role could fit him well. Long relievers often come into games when they are already more or less decided, so there would be very little pressure on him in big spots, and he does have the raw stuff to be successful out of the pen. Ultimately I don't think this happens, but after thinking about it more I do think it makes some level of sense.

Tksymm7 said:

---

Interesting notes from Evan Grant's latest piece on the Rangers: 1) because of injuries to three out of four of the starting infield (sans catcher), there's real questions about who is going to play first base, 2) there's probably two or three long reliever spots that are up for grabs (more of this in a moment), and 3) where do you hit Wyatt Langford, especially with the injuries that we have currently and then when everyone is back?

On the reliever front, there is apparently a real thought and conversation around Jack Leiter occupying one of the long reliever roles in the bullpen. The thought here is two fold; on one hand we really need long relievers, especially with Bradford joining the starting rotation and the other candidates being Jose Urena and Matt Duffy, and on the other hand there's a real belief that Leiter could benefit more from being with the big club and their staff every day than with the AAA club and staff.

The more I think about it the more I would be on board with Leiter making the roster and being a long reliever for a bit. If his dad is truly a problem, playing with the big club could shelter him more from his dads opinions while getting better help from the Rangers staff, and top of that I think the long reliever role could fit him well. Long relievers often come into games when they are already more or less decided, so there would be very little pressure on him in big spots, and he does have the raw stuff to be successful out of the pen. Ultimately I don't think this happens, but after thinking about it more I do think it makes some level of sense.

---

Two great questions.
Langford... foregone is the idea he will be there on Opening Day. Where will he bat? I think many have toyed with the idea. That will be interesting to see. I see him more as a #3 or #5.

Semien and Seager are likely the 2 I build around. I think they are a 1-2, but Seager in the 3 doesn't upset me.

Bochy committed to Jung at the #5 last year. I like him there, but I don't think Bochy is committed in '24, and certainly not if he is on the IL.

Either way, you likely end up with either Carter or Langford batting 6th or 7th.

Heim and Taveras at your 8 and 9.


Leiter... not just sheltered from his dad, but you'd have Eovaldi, Scherzer, deGrom, and Maddux in his ear. He'd be watching those SPs going through their routines and watching guys do what he wants to do. Some guys rise to the level they are around... some don't. Not sure which Leiter is.

My biggest issue with Leiter making the team is that we would likely lose Urena and/or Duffy. Those 2 could be added depth to start the season knowing Leiter would be an option as well. However, if we can get Urena and Duffy to start the season at AAA, it could keep them available.... AND give RoundRock the added veteran SPs to influence White and Winn... and maybe Porter if he is there.

DallasAg 94 said:

---

Tksymm7 said:

---

Interesting notes from Evan Grant's latest piece on the Rangers: 1) because of injuries to three out of four of the starting infield (sans catcher), there's real questions about who is going to play first base, 2) there's probably two or three long reliever spots that are up for grabs (more of this in a moment), and 3) where do you hit Wyatt Langford, especially with the injuries that we have currently and then when everyone is back?

On the reliever front, there is apparently a real thought and conversation around Jack Leiter occupying one of the long reliever roles in the bullpen. The thought here is two fold; on one hand we really need long relievers, especially with Bradford joining the starting rotation and the other candidates being Jose Urena and Matt Duffy, and on the other hand there's a real belief that Leiter could benefit more from being with the big club and their staff every day than with the AAA club and staff.

The more I think about it the more I would be on board with Leiter making the roster and being a long reliever for a bit. If his dad is truly a problem, playing with the big club could shelter him more from his dads opinions while getting better help from the Rangers staff, and top of that I think the long reliever role could fit him well. Long relievers often come into games when they are already more or less decided, so there would be very little pressure on him in big spots, and he does have the raw stuff to be successful out of the pen. Ultimately I don't think this happens, but after thinking about it more I do think it makes some level of sense.

---

Two great questions.
Langford... foregone is the idea he will be there on Opening Day. Where will he bat? I think many have toyed with the idea. That will be interesting to see. I see him more as a #3 or #5.

Semien and Seager are likely the 2 I build around. I think they are a 1-2, but Seager in the 3 doesn't upset me.

Bochy committed to Jung at the #5 last year. I like him there, but I don't think Bochy is committed in '24, and certainly not if he is on the IL.

Either way, you likely end up with either Carter or Langford batting 6th or 7th.

Heim and Taveras at your 8 and 9.


Leiter... not just sheltered from his dad, but you'd have Eovaldi, Scherzer, deGrom, and Maddux in his ear. He'd be watching those SPs going through their routines and watching guys do what he wants to do. Some guys rise to the level they are around... some don't. Not sure which Leiter is.

My biggest issue with Leiter making the team is that we would likely lose Urena and/or Duffy. Those 2 could be added depth to start the season knowing Leiter would be an option as well. However, if we can get Urena and Duffy to start the season at AAA, it could keep them available.... AND give RoundRock the added veteran SPs to influence White and Winn... and maybe Porter if he is there.

---

On the bullpen, there was a note on Hernandez recently that he may not be able to get enough innings/buildup to be ready for opening day. Based on his last outing, he won't be ready. So that may open an additional bullpen spot for Urena/Duffy.

For Langford, if Seager/Jung aren't ready for opening day (although signs are looking better that they will be ready), you will be forced to put Langford in the middle of the lineup somewhere. But being that he has zero MLB ab's, I'd prefer to push him back a ways to 6th or 7th and take some of the pressure off of him. Let him earn his way up to a middle of the lineup spot. But injuries may force the issue.

Another thing Evan Grant mentioned in regards to Langford was that if Corey Seager is healthy enough to hit but not healthy enough to field, where do you put him in that situation? Seager WILL be in the lineup, which would take at-bats away from Langford. I'm not saying it's bad or an issue, but I almost wish we didn't have so many options because I think someone or multiple people are going to have their at-bats seriously cut. I just hope some of these guys can perform while likely getting less play time.

Edit to add: this also brings up what rbtexan continues to say, which is that we shouldn't be giving roster spots to guys out of charity, circumstance etc. They need to earn their way onto the roster, but in this instance I think it would be something to seriously consider.