The 2020 Rangers were clearly the worst team the franchise has had in organizational history. The bright spots were few and as Ben Dieter has pointed out along with every other media outlet, including Rangers management there are no safe positions on the team.
It is time the organization takes a large reality pill. A good farm system is important for the future, but that does not necessarily translate into a great major league baseball team. The team must have players who can play at the top level. The good news is that baseball has free agents and some of those are top tier talent, but they want big dollars. With an organizations with arguably 9 holes to fill with every day players, plus 5-starting pitcher, and a bullpen there is no way to fill up an entire roster without spending $300 million in one year. However, Rangers management has said they are willing to spend money.
Just for fun, how about I play Rangers GM with a budget of an additional $100 million, after all next season the team only has $28 million of payroll. Why not go big or go home and see what $128 million will buy.
GM Charles Parker’s free agent signings:
• Starling Marte: (A’s) CF estimated $15 million cost (5-years); career batting average of .289 and he has less career strikeouts than Joey Gallo had this season.
• Brandon Belt: (Giants) 1B estimated $15 million cost (5-years); Freddie Freeman is also a free agent but he is going to cost $27 million and 8-10 years. This was a breakout season in 2021, but he averages 20 HR, and a .264 lifetime avg. He is from Nacogdoches and everyone wants to play closer to home.
• Alternatively, Trevor Story: (Rockies) SS estimated $29 million and 8-10 year contract. Superior defense, a career .272 hitter who has some pop to his bat
• JD Martinez: (Red Sox) DH estimated $22 million cost, and this is only a 2-3 year deal; at 34 his career .290 average and a big right-handed bat would overcome the worst DH hitting in MLB from the Rangers in 2021.
• Marcos Stroman: (Mets) SP estimated $21 million, and a long-term commitment (5-years), a career 3.63 ERA looks very attractive
• Wade Miley: (Reds) $12 million on a 3-year deal (2-3 years); Career ERA is over 4 but a good veteran who can be consistent
• Trevor Bauer: (Dodgers) yes this comes with his womanizing baggage, but he is not going to get the $30 million he was getting so he can come to Texas for 2-year at $15 million per season. This is my fixer up project but he is an elite Ace pitcher who like Elon Musk is no longer welcome in California. That 83-69 record with a career 3.79 ERA is outstanding.
The total for three every day players with big bats and three starting pitchers is $100 million. That still leaves many holes in the team, but consider the upside. This represents one-third of the batting order, and gives three proven starting pitchers who can actually pitch.
Many people think the Rangers want either Carlos Correa with the Astros or Trevor Story from Colorado. If you want, either of those guys that is another $29-30 million. If you want to bump payroll to $158 million then you can sign all those guys, but for $128 million, this plan puts a competitive team on the field. However, if you would rather have Story at SS, and not sign Brandon Belt then the total would go from $100 million to $115 million. That would depend greatly if you think Nathanial Lowe is going to be equal to Brandon Belt though. If you sign Belt, that makes Lowe expendable in a trade. It gives plenty of room for the depth of the organization to benefit from it, and only a few contracts are long-term deals, which would allow further development of the farm system.
Signing Trevor Story would force Isiah Kiner-Falefa to move back to 3B where he was better, and give Josh Jung more time to develop. That means Andy Ibanez or Nick Solak at 2B. The outfield would include current candidates of Adolis Garcia, Eli White, DJ Peters, Leody Taveras, Willie (can’t stay healthy) Calhoun, and others. Catchers would be Jonah Heim, Sam Huff, or Jose Trevino. The bullpen has plenty of candidates and they are much easier to find for now.
Looking at the Rangers payroll history, they spent $122 million in 2011, $154 million in 2012, and $164 million in 2014. Therefore, spending $128 million is not out of line for the organization.
This plan will solve one huge issue for management. The new stadium is no longer new, and without a good product, and better food, attendance will drop. This lineup will draw 2.5 million fans to the ballpark. This might produce one of the best outfields in all of baseball considering what the team has now in depth. Adding Trevor Story would make the team contenders but spending that much money might terrify the owners. If I were the owners, I would spend the money because I think this is a winning lineup. This also gives the minors even more time to grow and develop. The top farm club and a competitive lineup would be my goal because I want to win or be highly competitive every year. There is more money to be made over the long haul in doing that. The other good news is that unlike the old ballpark the new one is not terrible for pitchers, so attracting them to Texas should help that.
This lineup would scare everyone in the AL West, and I almost guarantee 81 wins. If an organization going into a season can know they can win 80, then it is possible that things come together and something special can happen. As temporary GM this is what I would do, feel free to play your own game with it!
