What's Next for the Rangers After Missing on Rendon?
The Rangers lost out on the Anthony Rendon sweepstakes at the Winter Meetings. It wasn't for a lack of trying, as they offered a six-year deal with an option for a seventh, but it wasn't enough to outbid the Angels' massive offer.
It also looks like the Rangers have missed on Josh Donaldson, who was always the Rangers' plan B if they missed on Rendon. Levi Weaver of The Athletic reported that the Rangers aren't comfortable with the asking price for Donaldson. While he hasn't signed anywhere yet, it's unlikely the price moves back down for Texas to make a play for him.
The only two transactions the team made at the Winter Meetings were trading Nomar Mazara to the White Six for prospect Steele Walker and signing Joely Rodriguez to a two-year, $5.5 million deal, which is yet to be official.
Those transactions both have their benefits for the Rangers. Willie Calhoun and Joey Gallo are now freed up to play left and right field respectively, and Rodriguez gives Texas a left-handed reliever to compete for the bullpen after two successful seasons in Japan.
So, what's the Rangers' next play? Starting pitching? Third base? First base? Catcher? Center field?
The answer: yes.
It looks like from here the Rangers will look to upgrade multiple positions more evenly with the money they had to spend on the likes on Rendon or Donaldson. Trading away Nomar Mazara gives the Rangers an extra $5.7 million that he was projected to make in arbitration.
The Rangers could look at adding another starting pitcher and then turn around and talk to teams about Mike Minor, who is entering the final year of his contract. While that would not be a popular move, if it meant the likes of Hyun-Jin Ryu or Dallas Keuchel for the next three or four years, that's better than letting Minor walk for nothing at the end of 2020.
Chances are that the Rangers are done adding to the rotation. They will more than likely look to upgrade catcher and maybe add a bat or two to the lineup.
The Rangers have been tied to Nicholas Castellanos, Marcell Ozuna, Robinson Chirinos, and Jason Castro. Any of those players would upgrade the Rangers lineup and adding either Chirinos or Castro would upgrade catcher altogether.
When it comes to third base, the Rangers have several avenues. It's unlikely, but they could call the Cubs about Kris Bryant or the Rockies about Nolan Arenado. They expressed interest earlier in the winter about Miguel Andujar from the Yankees. They've also been tied to the Mets of swapping Jose Leclerc for Jed Lowrie and Dominic Smith. There are also avenues of addressing third base that haven't been reported yet.
The offseason isn't won or lost at the Winter Meetings. And after all, if they don't find a long-term solution at third base this winter, it doesn't mean the Rangers have failed.
First, nobody expects the Rangers to compete for a World Series in 2020. Their intention is to get better, which they already have by upgrading their rotation and getting back a healthy Joey Gallo.
Second, the Rangers have not only one, but three third base prospects that are pretty exciting, including Josh Jung, Davis Wendzel, and Sherten Apostel, though he may make more sense as a first baseman. Jung, the Rangers number one prospect on MLB.com, may be ready for the major leagues before 2021 concludes and is already a highly-touted hitter.
The sting of missing out on Rendon will last for a while and surely would've made the Rangers more competitive a lot faster. Jon Daniels feels much like Rangers fans do about it.
It doesn't mean the offseason is lost. They can still make the overall roster better, which was their goal from the get-go.
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