CowtownAg06 said:

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Those guys are pretty hard to find all around baseball. Most teams use the DH as a way to get guys off their feet and don't have a locked in guy. Garver was the other option to fill that hole and he's off to a very rough start in Seattle.

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right, I feel like it's a dying position whereas for the longest time, every AL team coveted their DH and the DH could make or break a lineup, especially in the playoffs.

Maybe since the whole league uses DHs now, the talent necessary for that type of role has diminished.

Or the rash of injuries to clubs and teams really need to focus on depth - not just 1 guy that can swing a bat on the 40man.

Remember when Lance Berkman was our DH? lol

I did a pretty superficial search, but Willson Contreras and Ryan McMahon are both having good seasons on poor teams and would be an INSTANT boost to this offense. However, they are both under contract until 2027, and while McMahon's is very doable (11.667/year), Contreras's would be much harder to swing (17.5/year). The other issue is that they both play positions that we currently have tried and true starters at, albeit Jung quite literally cannot stay on the field. This is one of the reasons that I think finding a corner outfielder would be the ideal position. I could get on board with getting another catcher, but another catcher at Contreras's AAV would be a hard pill to swallow if all he's going to do is DH and back up Heim.

Yeah I think that now that the whole league has the DH, it has changed the position. It used to be a good place to have a guy with an MLB bat that had lost a step in the field. Instead of retiring, he could DH for a few extra years.

That's still an option, but it seems like managers covet flexibility with their rosters now and use the DH role in a rotation to get players more "off days". If you want to be DH only, you better have a really, really good bat because more managers are using it to get their regulars some days off without taking their bat out of the lineup. It's why guys like Smith and Duran are so valuable or an outfielder like Jankowski that can play all three outfield positions.

Tksymm7 said:

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I did a pretty superficial search, but Willson Contreras and Ryan McMahon are both having good seasons on poor teams and would be an INSTANT boost to this offense. However, they are both under contract until 2027, and while McMahon's is very doable (11.667/year), Contreras's would be much harder to swing (17.5/year). The other issue is that they both play positions that we currently have tried and true starters at, albeit Jung quite literally cannot stay on the field. This is one of the reasons that I think finding a corner outfielder would be the ideal position. I could get on board with getting another catcher, but another catcher at Contreras's AAV would be a hard pill to swallow if all he's going to do is DH and back up Heim.

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What outfielder are you sending down?

Sounds like a good spot for Foscue when he heals up

Hey better than knizer like we've rolled out a couple of times lol

I'm trading Leody for whatever I can get for him. That leaves you with Langford, Carter and Garcia as your starters, whoever you get to DH and back up your starters, and Jankowski to play whenever you need him to, which is already what he's doing.

I would need to get a really good corner outfielder/DH to trade away Taveras. I probably place a higher value on him than others on here (or so it seems) but trading him right now versus the offseason doesn't make much sense to me.

A healthy Seager and Jung changes this whole lineup dramatically. CY let Garver walk, which tells me they had other ideas for the DH spot. They re-signed Jankowski instead of going after a corner outfield/DH type player. They even signed Knizner instead of someone that could DH consistently when Heim catches.

I could see Taveras being in a package for a starting pitcher in the offseason, but would be really surprised if he is moved this season. That goes against what CY has signaled that he wants with this roster construction.

I don't see the comparison with those guys. They move around position wise. Taveras is an every day guy.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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CowtownAg06 said:

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Those guys are pretty hard to find all around baseball. Most teams use the DH as a way to get guys off their feet and don't have a locked in guy. Garver was the other option to fill that hole and he's off to a very rough start in Seattle.

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right, I feel like it's a dying position whereas for the longest time, every AL team coveted their DH and the DH could make or break a lineup, especially in the playoffs.

Maybe since the whole league uses DHs now, the talent necessary for that type of role has diminished.

Or the rash of injuries to clubs and teams really need to focus on depth - not just 1 guy that can swing a bat on the 40man.

Remember when Lance Berkman was our DH? lol

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Their names are Foscue and Huff. Foscue is hurt and we keep trying to make Huff better at defense instead of letting him hit at the MLB level. Maybe he can't be trusted to call a game - not sure - but I'd definitely take his pop over whatever Knizner gives us and it would at least let you mess with the idea of slotting him at DH every so often.

For what Knizner brings, I would so much rather have Hedges as the second catcher.

Just some points:
DH: With all the game changes over the past few years (Adoption of DH, transition to small ball/pitch clock, juiced/dead balls, expanded rosters, 3hitter min for RP, ghost runner) I don't think the DH role has yet been defined. Jose Canseco was one of the 1st to be a pure DH. Last few years it has been used to give regulars a day off. I like the use of the DH for development (Langford) and giving guys a rotational break. Garver was a risk because it meant if Heim came out, you lost your DH to use Garver. Was that bad? Maybe not. Will the role be used differently in the playoffs?! I'm just not sure about the future profile of a DH.

Just some points:
Jankowski is a "4th OF" That is his role and he embraces. If you listen to him speak, he comes to the park everyday. Looks at the lineup and when he isn't in there, he does his work that he has to do, in the event he is called to PH, PR, Defensive replacement, whatever. He does it well.

Taveras was told to focus on his switch hitting in ST, so I think he will improve during the season and it will pay off. I don't think anyone has an issue with Taveras, IMO, it is about maximizing assets. Adolis isn't going anywhere, so I'm not including him.

OF:
LTaveras (25): 32G, .234, 1 HR, 2 SB, .293 OBP, 82 OPS+ (for the advocates) 2 CS
E Carter (21): 32G, .227, 5 HR, 2 SB, .317 OBP, 118 OPS+, 0 CS
Langford (20): 31G, .224, 1 HR, 1 SB, .295 OBP, 69 OPS+, 1 CS

How I project them:
Taveras: .275, .320 OBP, 10 HR, 20 SB
Carter: .290, .375 OBP, 20 HR, 20 SB
Langford: .280, .340 OBP, 30 HR, 20 SB

Yes, Taveras has 3 more years of team control. He is a career .243 with 27 career HRs and his 14 HRs in '23 his high mark. I think he still has some upside as he enters his peak years and could return a nice player or two. At some point, Langford will take root and be an everyday OF'er and Taveras will have more value to the Rangers as a trade, than on the bench, IMO.

Quincey P. Morris said:

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I don't see the comparison with those guys. They move around position wise. Taveras is an every day guy.

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They are all every day guys. We're just lucky to have 2 of them on our roster.

Ornelas called up

I really thought they'd give Huff some run.

just checked CBS Sports app, and it is showing upcoming starters as:
Mon: Heaney
Tue: Leiter
Wed (DH): Lorenzen and O. White

If those are the starters then what I said earlier about a split is even more true. If we were able to somehow win the series on the road against a hot team with those starters then that's a very very good sign. Let's see if we can do it!

BTW - All Star tickets showed up in the Ballpark App today. I got game tickets listed now.

If anyone wants to pull an end run on StubHub and make me an offer, I'm open to it. Tickets on Section 118, aisle seats. Email me at my username AT yahoo DOT com

Just remembered we have yet to win a series vs a divisional opponent. We cannot lose this series. Need a split at the very least. That will be tough considering who we have pitching this series.

Rangers lineup for May 6, 2024 at Oakland. pic.twitter.com/EgAJQjjOGS

— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) May 6, 2024

****ing already with the terrible calls

And Adolis's 9 pitch AB ends on a strikeout looking at ball 4.

Yep, it sucks striking out on call four.

It's out of control at this point. How can seemingly every umpire this season be so consistently bad???

Good first inning for Heaney