Rangers Mailbag: Is It Time to Move on From Rougned Odor?
The Texas Rangers are currently 9-9 and in second place in the American League West Division. While the team has won six of their last seven games and improved in a number of ways, there are still some questions to be answered.
Thank you, Rangers fans for submitting your questions!
Rafael Montero has been pretty amazing so far. Is there a chance that we move him to the rotation like he did with the Mets?
-Daniel F.; Starkville, MS
Not any time soon. Chris Woodward spoke pretty highly of Montero and said he has the mentality closers need to fill the role.
Let's be honest. The position has been a revolving door since the departure of Joe Nathan. If the Rangers have struck gold here with Montero in the closer's role, I think the Rangers need to keep him there as long is it works. After all, I keep going back to arguably the best closer this franchise ever had in Neftali Feliz and what happened to him after they tried to convert him into a starter.
Considering both his defensive skillset and the way the two positions can be filled within the team as it is now/could be in the near future, do you expect Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s (longer-term) main role to be at third or at shortstop?
-Steven; Leiden, the Netherlands
I wrote about this earlier in the week and I'm sticking with it. I truly believe Isiah Kiner-Falefa could be Elvis Andrus' heir at shortstop.
Don't get me wrong, if any Ranger has earned the longest leash on the team, it's Elvis. He's given the Rangers stability at the most crucial defensive position on the field for over 11 years. Elvis deserves any of the accolades he's bound to get when his time with the Rangers is over.
But, if the Rangers can ask Michael Young to change positions three times—once immediately after he won a Gold Glove—the Rangers can ask Elvis to change positions if it's for the betterment of the team. If the Rangers are to somehow land a big bat at first or third base and Kiner-Falefa needs to shift somewhere else, it should not be out of the question to ask Elvis to change positions if they feel that Kiner-Falefa is the better defensive option at shortstop.
Does that happen this year? I honestly have no idea. But in 2021 and beyond, if Kiner-Falefa maintains the success he's having, he could very well be in the discussion for the next everyday shortstop.
Is now the time to move on from Odor and potentially Elvis, too? If so, how do the Rangers work around the two contracts and who might be the best replacements on the field?
-Sean D.; Redwater, TX
My answer about Elvis is in the question above, so I will focus on Rougned Odor here. That is, after all, the biggest question on many fans' minds at this point.
The leash for Odor is shrinking. Best case scenario, the Rangers need him to produce. Trading him doesn't do any good if his stock is worth next to nothing. The Rangers would have to eat salary just to get another team to take him. Given the financial stress the Rangers have had throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (instituting pay cuts, furloughing employees), eating salary is not as viable of an option as it was before. But if he stays on the team and doesn't produce, he becomes an albatross on the roster.
This is why the Rangers are working so hard with him to get it to click for him. The Rangers need to recoup as much of their investment as they can and the ideal scenario is he figures it out at the plate. Fans may not like it, but it's the hand they've been dealt.
When someone invests money in a used car and it starts having a number of issues, some people will spend time, money, and other resources to fix the issues permanently. Some people will just cut their losses and try to get someone else to take the piece of junk off their hands, even if it means losing a good portion of their investment. The Rangers are the former. They are trying to get everything they can out of the price they paid for Odor.
If the Rangers came to a point of no return and benched Odor, Derek Dietrich or Nick Solak would likely be the first two candidates to fill the spot.
Who is one big name on the trade block (whether they’re officially or not, such as Lindor and Arenado) could you see the Rangers putting a package together and trading for?
-Scotty; Sulphur, LA
Two names that interest me are Pittsburgh's Josh Bell or Arizona's Starling Marte. The Pirates have the worst winning percentage in baseball and could very well be sellers at the deadline. The Diamondbacks are 9-11 heading into Saturday's slate of games and could be sellers if the next couple of weeks don't go well. Bell has two more years of arbitration after this year and Marte has a $12.5 million club option for 2021.
The Pirates might need to try to sell Bell now because his value is plummeting. He's off to a terrible start this year. While he was an All Star in 2019 and had a spectacular first half of the season, his second half was just as unspectacular. He's trending in the wrong direction and already won't give the Pirates the value they could have gotten in the offseason.
Marte is established enough at this point where you know you're getting a solid right-handed bat with some solid defense. There's a reason the Rangers were interested in Marte throughout the winter. He would be a very nice addition to the lineup, but who knows if Arizona would consider selling him. Maybe in a talent-for-talent swap.
Fun fact: The addition of Marte would give the Rangers three of the top-five active leaders in hit-by-pitch. Shin-Soo Choo is the active leader, Derek Dietrich is third, and Marte is fifth.
What happens to the players who were in the Rangers’ farm system? Are the players training anywhere or do they just lose the development time? Are fall and winter leagues shut down, too? thanks.
-Jim; Oklahoma City, OK
Josh Jung, Sam Huff, Leody Taveras, Anderson Tejeda, Ricky Vanasco, and Cole Winn are all on the Rangers' taxi squad and working out at the Alternate Training Site that is the de facto Minor Leagues for 2020. Everyone else is pretty much on their own. No team-organized activities. The Rangers are monitoring what their prospects are doing, but nothing can replicate game action—not even work at the Alternate Training Site.
There is some hope there will be fall and winter leagues, but COVID-19 could have something to say about that.
Any virtual sense from the players regarding the constant lineup shuffling?
-Seanathan (Twitter: @seanie_t)
There have been no complaints thus far. Guys like Nick Solak have said they are comfortable hitting anywhere in the lineup.
The players understand a 60-game season demands urgency. If the offense were performing as they should, the lineup wouldn't keep getting shifted around. They understand that. Woodward has the trust of his players
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