The Texas Rangers are somewhat of an enigma. They have proven veterans combined with young talent, yet they cannot simply win the past few years. This year it looks like the injury bug has bit them again with Darvish being out for the year and now Profar. Texas will have another down year again, but how should one go about rebuilding them? How long will it take?
Here are some MLB 15 The Show Franchise Tips and steps in order to make the Rangers relevant like they were a few years ago. Keep in mind these attributes are taken from OSFM opening day rosters, so these tips will be most applicable to those who use this roster! Josh Hamilton is not on the Rangers for these rosters either, so please keep that in mind when reading the article and watching the video.
Be patient with your prospects!
Texas has a fairly good farm system. The question is not if you should bring your prospects up but a matter of when should you bring them up and what should you train.
Profar is the only prospect they have with A potential, but all of the others have a B potential. Profar is probably the only prospect you want to consider if he should stay up as his service clock already has started and he is MLB ready. If you can stay in contention then I would definitely keep him. If you want to tank the season then it may be wise to keep in AAA and have another year of control over him. Personally, I like to focus on Profar’s defense and power for training. His power or defense can increase +4/5 points a year if you train one. If you plan to keep Profar at second then focus on power and if you want to move him to one of his secondary positions (SS, 3B,) then focus on defense. Profar will be hit 90 overall in about 4 years.
This is a look at Profar in the 1st season compared to three years down the road:
Joey Gallo is the most talented prospect they have with a B potential and 95+ power. He will develop into 99 power before the first season. Do no train power with him. Gallo needs training the most in either fielding, contact, or plate vision. It really depends if you plan on trying to resign Beltre or if you want to trade him! It really does not make sense to bring him up the first season either, unless you are in contention. Then he will be an obvious choice at DH.
Try to be careful and patient with Gallo. In the video I called him up right away and it slowed down his progression. He can either turn into an Adam Dunn or a Jim Thome type of player depending on how you handle his progression.
Here is Gallo in 2015 compared to 2017:
Rougned Odor can be a valuable player at second base. He has a B potential and focus on training his contact, since his fielding is already up to par for second base. He has no secondary positions, so you should only play him at 2b. In 2-3 years, Odor will be an 80+ overall 2b with 75-78 contact vs right handed pitching. He is ready to play at the MLB level, but it is not a priority to rush him! This will allow you to play Profar at SS or 3b.
Martin Perez is probably your best pitching prospect and is MLB ready as well. He actually already has 2 years of MLB service and you can delay this by holding him back in the minors for a year or two. Focus on training his per nines and he should be a solid a number 2-3 pitcher in the rotation until he hits free agency.
Texas has two good young catcher prospects in Tomas Telis and Jorge Alfaro. Telis is a switch hitter, while Alfaro bats from the right side. They are similar, defensively, however Alfaro does have a secondary position at first base. Once Chirinos is eligible for free agency, these 2 catchers should be in their prime. Make sure that you add them to your 40 man rotation within your first 3 years, because they will be eligible for the rule 5 draft. I recommend training in both in the weight room as their defense is already pretty decent and will be solid once they are MLB ready.
Chi Chi Gonzalez, Luke Jackson, and Anthony Ranaudo are all pitching prospects with B potential. I would be patient with these guys as they can be MLB ready in 3-4 years. Be sure to add them to your 40 man roster to avoid other teams snagging them via rule 5 draft and focus training on their per nine attributes (Pitching Coach Sessions).
Projects that you may want to ship off via trade
Michael Choice, Ryan Rua, Nomar Mazara, Lewis Brinson, and Nick Williams are all B potential prospects you can use to acquire more ready MLB players via trade. These guys are all in their 50’s or low 60’s and will be too old once they hit their prime. It isn’t really worth keeping them in your farm system to progress either, since they are not much of a help on your 40 man roster and they will eventually be snagged via rule 5 draft. Get value when you can out of these players and try to find deals for them immediately! For instance I was able to trade Choice, Rua and Brinson for players like Alex Guerrero, Wilsin Rosario, Jon Jay, Pedro Alvarez, Ben Revere, etc. These guys are all still fairly young and can be an impact on your 25 man roster for the next several years.
Players to consider for trade bait
Adrian Beltre is the obvious fit here. He is 36 years old with a 1 year left on his contract and he is owed 21 million. Eventually, Gallo can take over or you can move Profar to 3b if you prefer to have Gallo at 1b/DH. Again, you should definitely trade him unless you are in contention. Put him on the trade block and see what your options are in trade finder. Focus on getting pitching prospects in return that will be ready in 2-3 years! If you happen to keep Beltre the entire year then you will have the option to tender him a qualifying offer for 10.5 million. If he declines then Texas will be granted a compensation pick (additional pick after the 1st round and before the 2nd round). This could be an alternative to trading him as you will allow Gallo to work on his fielding for another year before moving him to 3b for Texas or you can get an additional draft pick!
Beltre will still be very productive for the next few years, despite his degression, and he usually wants a 2-3 year deal in Free Agency. One interesting trade I found was Adam Jones and Darren O’ Day for Beltre. This would free up 15.2 million and add a lot more youth to Texas. These are all things to consider and is, arguably, the most important decision you will make your first year with Texas.
Shin-Soo Choo is another obvious fit. At 32 years of age, you are looking about 3 more years of productivity out of him and Texas has him signed through 2020. in 2020, Choo will be 37 and not be as productive. You can expect his individual attributes to lower 5-7 points a year from 2018-2020 and his overall will be around a 74-75 overall. He will be useless vs left handed pitching, but he can still be an above average hitter vs right handed pitching and an asset in the field. Ultimately, the goal would be to use him for 2-3 years then try to trade him. The trade logic is a bit smarter, however, so you may have to trade him before you like. I think it would be a wise move to ship him off as quickly as you can to clear up budget and get more prospects. Again, this depends on if you plan on completing your first two years with Texas. Otherwise, do not hesitate to ship Choo off!
Prince Fielder is not a declining Veteran but you can also see what’s available out there for him. Personally, I would keep him as he is very productive and the Rangers have him locked him up through 2020! You can also consider having Gallo as your first basemen for the future and this will allow you to have more flexibility in trading Fielder. If you trade Beltre then I would definitely keep Fielder since Gallo cannot play both positions! If you plan on resigning Beltre then this could be a smart move.
Elvis Andrus is great trade bait. He is 26 years old, makes too much money, and an 87 overall and most of his attributes are not that high. He obtains his high overall rating by attributes like clutch, plate vision, and durability. These are three attributes I consider to be very overrated. You can move Profar to SS (whom is a 76 overall starting out) and he can easily be just as good as Andrus. Consider trading him for pitching, whether it is relievers or starters. If traded, Profar can move over to SS and Odor can become the starter at 2b and your team will not miss a beat, offensively.
Do not trade Darvish! He is still only 27 years old with A potential and a 91 overall. He can be an ace for 6-7 more years and Texas still has control over his contract for 3 years until he hits Free Agency! He will always be one of the leaders in ERA and K’s and is truly the only great thing Texas has going for them on the mound!
Scouting
Make sure you hire good scouts. Texas is locked up at the catcher and Infield positions. Focus on outfielders and pitching with ETA’s around 2017-2019. Favor raw talent and look for attributes like velocity and break when scouting. You can always train their H/9, HR/9, K/9, and BB/9 attributes, but you cannot increase pitchers’ velocity/break by very much.
Look for Free Agents
Texas starts off around 140 million in budget and it will fluctuate each year depending on how successful you are with them. If you can manage to get rid of Beltre, Andrus, Choo, or Fielders’ contracts (or at least one of them) then you can free up a little more room to get a decent free agent in the offseason.
I would also look into acquiring platoon free agents right away. Ryan Ludwick, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Quentin, and Kevin Frandsen can all impact your MLB roster right away. They are pretty cheap too and if you plan on contending the first year then supplemental assets you acquire via free agency can help leverage your team even more to a serious contender.
Play Minor League Games and experiment with player lock
If you decide to keep some of your talented guys in the minors then it is not only fun, but player locking or playing minor leagues can help give you a feel and scouting reports for individual players. This is an awesome feature and I can almost bet that most people do not ever think to experiment with it!
This also applies to your draft picks. Player lock some of your draft picks to see if you like how they feel or if you want to see good their stuff is if they are a pitcher.
Time to turn Texas into a winning club again!
I am sure Rangers’ fans hope to see their team this competitive in a few years. It is a challenging and fun team to rebuild, so let me know if you guys had any other suggestions when rebuilding the Rangers. Otherwise, good luck on the Diamond and lets see if Texas can turning to their winning ways once again down in Arlington!