Carter is interesting. Played well in 23 but small sample size. Hardly played last year. Is Carter supposed to start spring training healthy?

Carter is 100% healthy as I type this. How he shows up next week is TBD.

Sborz will start the season on IL. Everyone else is full go going into Spring Training.

I'm excited to see Carter get back to it. I was watching him get some work in on the field Friday and he seemed to be moving really well.

It'll be interesting to see how much of Carter's offensive problems last year was related to the back injury. Expecting they're going to want to see him get a crap ton of ABs against left handers in spring training.

I mentioned OPS+

Let's go around the field:

Heim (29): 131G, .220, 13 HR, 72 OPS+ // Career 86 OPS+
- We never properly provided him relief in '24. He should have a bounce back even if he is an 86 OPS+

Semien (33): 159G, .237, 23 HR, 100 OPS+ // Career 110 OPS+
- At a minimum, he'll be "average." His age says he is on the decline.

Jung (26): 46G, .264, 7 HR, 104 OPS+ // 107
- Extrapolate him to 125-130G.

Seager (30): 123G, .278, 30 HR, 145 OPS+ // 135
- Even when he sucks... he is awesome

Taveras (25): 151G, .229, 12HR, 84 OPS+ // 86
- Need more out of him. He is about to reach his prime years. Nice if he is "average."

Garcia (31): 154G, .224, 25 HR, 94 OPS+ //107
- I've said I think his poor performance was Arb related. He is up for Arb again. Let's see big numbers.

Langford (22): 134G, .253, 16HR, 111 OPS+
- No history. He got jobbed on so many calls. He should get more respect and see better calls.

Carter (21): 45G, .188, 5 HR, 80 OPS+
- No real history. I think he has the most room to be the bounce-back kid.

Duran went from 110 to 75. Was the drop because he didn't see regular playing time or did the league figure him out?!

Pederson (32) is a career 119 and was 151 in '24.
Burger (28) career 111 and was 103 in '24

DallasAg 94 said:

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Garcia (31): 154G, .224, 25 HR, 94 OPS+ //107
- I've said I think his poor performance was Arb related. He is up for Arb again. Let's see big numbers.

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I felt there just wasn't enough around him last year to force people to pitch to him. With Pederson and Burger in the lineup, people won't be able to just pitch around him this year.

The problem is people weren't pitching around doli. He just couldn't hit fastballs. I'm worried he's just cooked but I hope not because he's so fun. If Semien doesn't the every other year thing and is back to getting MCP votes, that's my answer. Or if Wyatt puts together a whole season. There are so many answers.

I think a better way to describe it is... pitchers just didn't give into him.

With Late Lowe and with Jung injured, the deep threat behind him wasn't there. But, he had a chip on his shoulder, IMO, because of how Arb went. As a result, he went up there like a lumberjack determined to prove he deserved more. Instead, he validated the team.

IIRC, the team was offering like $5M and he wanted like $7M. They landed on $4.7 for '24 and $9.2M in '25. He recorded the most RBIs in a postseason in '23 and I think he thought/felt the Rangers were going to show up with bags of money. Instead, they sign him for less than they offered in Arb. Now, he didn't have to go through that this off-season, but for a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeve, that 1st check that is double what he was getting is going to excite him.

Having Burger/Pederson/Langford/Jung hitting behind him should loosen him up, as well.

Still can't wait to see what kind of lineup Bochy puts out there.

Semien - 2B
Seager (L) - SS
Adolis - RF
Pederson (L) - DH
Langford - LF
Jung - 3B
Heim (S) - C
Burger - 1B
Taveras (S) - CF

L: Carter, Smith
R: Duran, +1

Quote:

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I'm worried he's just cooked

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Ditto

That's a World Series caliber lineup. What a luxury to have guys like Carter, Duran, and a silver slugger in Smith on the bench.

Semien - 2b
Seager - SS
Langford - LF
Garcia - RF
Pederson - DH
Jung - 3b
Heim - C
Burger - 1b
Carter - CF

I like Langford at the three hole a lot.

I think the league figured out that Garcia can't hold off on chasing high fastballs or sliders low and away. Take your pick on how you want to get that third strike on him.

But I hope I'm wrong because I would love to see him have a great year. He's a whole lot of fun to watch when he has it going.

He grows through streaks where he stays disciplined on those pitches and that's when he goes off. He just doesn't ever seem to be able to maintain that discipline long term.

Joc can only be in the order against RHPs and he should be hitting 3rd. He mashed last year against righties. Diamondbacks didn't even bother playing him against lefty starters.

Get him his 2 or 3 ABs against the starter then get him out of there when they bring in the lefty for Seager and him later in the game.

And the "+1" right handed bat is Higashioka right?

To me Adolis will have a good year mainly because of the protection this lineup will provide.

shack009 said:

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And the "+1" right handed bat is Higashioka right?

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Yes... not sure in my mind when I think of him as the BU C... that it doesn't equate to a bench spot. BU C is like a diff role in my mind.

Apparently there is an unwritten rule that prevent us from putting Gray in a relief role due to his salary.

You have $13M to spend on Pitching.

Would you go out and spend $13M for a former SP to come in and be your closer having never closed?

I could probably line up 15-20 SPs who have never Closed... that you could bring in for $5M.

IMO Gray has the most value as a SP. Whether with the Rangers or as a trade. Once you commit him to the BP, you aren't going to stretch him back out.

IMO, there is a slim chance... if he goes 30GS, 165 IP, and a 3.50 +/- ERA, that we could make a QO and he leaves for a draft pick.

My dream season would include Mahle and Gray solidifying the #3 & #4 spots, Rangers win the WS and both decline QOs and we get 2 picks.

I think it's much ado about nothing for now. Get into camp, get to the start of the season, then see how things are shaping up with him and the staff and react from there. A season takes a lot of arms

In the situation you described I would rather spend less money. If we had just signed Gray this offseason then yes I agree that he should be a starter. Also I don't think Gray should be a closer. Ideally he would be a relief option that can give you 2-3 innings. I'm in favor of putting Gray in a position that helps us win the most ball games.

No doubt. Let everyone earn their spot and see what happens during the season. If Gray doesn't earn a starter role I'm sure he'll get plenty of starts once guys get injured. You can never have too many arms.

Listening to Lance Lynn on the Foul Territory podcast. He said he's open to being a closer. I wonder how much money he's wanting. Could never use enough arms.

Everyone's favorite almost Ranger

I really want the Seager, Bochy and Langford bobble heads. I hope the audio on the Seager bobblehead is the "I guess we'll never know" from the parade.

Flounder Dorfman said:

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Appropriate rant, imo.

I've never listened, but I've never listened to any podcasts for some reason. I listen to lots of audiobooks, so maybe that's why.

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I don't listen to podcasts, but the DLLS podcasts are on YouTube and I love them. I can't do just audio, but for some reason, I can watch a 1.5 hour one with no problem.

No Travis Jankowski Catch bobblehead?

Rangers A&M jersey night is Friday, May 16 vs the Astros. Must buy your tickets via the theme nights link.

And so it begins...