So are the Rangers better?
(For the sake of this post, we’re going to assume that Mike Lowell is now a Texas Ranger with Boston picking up $9 million of the tab)
A fair inquiry for any Texas Rangers fan. Do the acquisitions of Chris Ray, Ben Snyder, Mike Lowell and Rich Harden make this team better than it was three days ago?
I believe the answer is yes. Are there drawbacks to these acquisitions? Absolutely. There are drawbacks to just about all trades.
But these moves, if they all go through, make the Rangers a better team.
Find out why after the jump.MOVE #1 – Texas sends SP Kevin Millwood and $3 million to Baltimore for RP Chris Ray and SP/RP Benjamin Snyder (selected in the Rule 5 Draft)
There was about a four hour window where it looked like the Rangers were just dumping Millwood’s salary on the Orioles for Baltimore to enjoy his “veteran’s presence” at the age of 35. There was (and still is) a notable contingent of Rangers fans who don’t like this trade.
Here’s why this was a good trade: Kevin Millwood doesn’t have much more than about two seasons left in the majors. I’m not going to completely knock Millwood here. He served his purpose for the Rangers, never got into any trouble and was a good teammate by all accounts. I thank Millwood for his service to the Rangers and wish him well in Baltimore.
One year remains on his five-year contract he signed with the Rangers before the 2006 season. There is a decent chance (believe it or not) that he could be looking at one more contract. Last year’s success helped the Rangers make this deal. Lest we forget, Millwood in 2007 and 2008 had a losing record (there is still some value in wins), and had ERAs of 5.16 and 5.07. A team with limited payroll such as the Rangers cannot afford numbers like that.
To his credit, Millwood made 31 and 29 starts those seasons, and made 31 starts this past season. He was an inning and a third shy of making it to 200 IP for only the second time in four years. That’s what Millwood is right now: An average to below average pitcher who will take the ball for you every fifth day. His strikeouts/9 IP are going down. His walks/9 IP are going up. I would be shocked if his ERA was under 5.00 this year pitching in the AL East.
Perhaps I’m wrong. But the additions of Chris Ray and Benjamin Snyder (along with the $9 million saved) make this team better. Chris Ray was not good horrendous last year. ERA of 7.27 in only 43.1 IP. If those aren’t gasoline-on-a-fire numbers, I don’t know what they are.
But: Ray was coming off Tommy John surgery last year, which was performed near the end of the 2007 season. And Mike Maddux thinks he can fix him. Ray gets the benefit of the doubt. But he has to start strong. Any signs of the ’09 Ray as opposed to the ’05 and ’06 versions which had ERAs under 2.75, and the fans won’t trust him any further than they can throw him. And THAT ain’t far.
Snyder was plucked from the Giants’ system today and will compete for the lefty specialist job in the bullpen. 24 years old, posted a 2.88 ERA at AA Connecticut this past year in 97 innings. Basically his task is to be better than Eddie Guardado was last year.
MOVE #2 – Texas signs SP Rich Harden to one-year deal with a mutual option.
This is why we had to trade Kevin Millwood. To free up the money to sign Rich Harden, maybe the best signing of a pitcher this franchise has seen since Nolan Ryan. This man is in his prime. 28 years old. Last year he averaged almost 11 strikeouts per nine innings.
So why were the Rangers able to get him? Well he does have that injury-prone flag that flared up when he threw about 72 innings in 2006 and 2007. Last year, believe it or not, was a bit of an off year for him as well. Harden made 26 starts (2nd most in a season for his career) but only threw 141 innings, with a 4.09 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. His problem last year was pretty simple: he walked too many guys. He’ll miss a few starts, but we have plenty of candidates to fill in those starts. I have faith Maddux can work a little magic here too. If he makes 25 starts and puts up an ERA under 3.50, he’ll win 15 games.
The underlying issue: Why couldn’t the Texas Rangers have just signed Rich Harden and kept Kevin Millwood? Well, to put it simply, Tom Hicks is in so much debt that he couldn’t pay it off unless he struck gold and oil in his backyard. And even then, the Stars would still be screwed. But the new owner should be announced soon! (GO GREENBERG!)
MOVE #3 – Texas trades C Max Ramirez to Boston for IF Mike Lowell and $9 million.
The $9 million here will be used to pick up the rest of Lowell’s $12 million contract. Am I crazy about this move? Not as much as I am about the Harden signing. But it’s a move that could really help. Lowell mashed lefties last year, to the tune of a .301 BA and .503 slugging percentage. Here’s what Lowell should do: He should be the DH against every left-handed pitcher. Assuming health, of course.
David Murphy is a nice option against righties, plus Lowell gives Ron Washington an extra bat off the bench he can use late in games. Lowell has been hampered by hip problems (one of the primary reasons this trade is being held up at the moment), but perhaps time as the DH will be able to cut down on the number of games missed due to injury.
There is still some question as to whether this deal will get done. Frankly, if Ramirez proves himself healthy after the wrist problems, he could probably put up numbers similar to that of Lowell.
But Jon Daniels doesn’t want to want for that. These moves mean one thing: this front office believes this team can win now. There are probably still another couple of moves in the wings (Ben Sheets is still a possibility to be signed in spring training.), but for now, it’s good to see the Rangers actually trying to do something.
You know, be interesting. Be better.
Stats from baseball-reference.com and fangraphs.com
Millwood pic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Millwood
Harden pic: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/david-kaplan-chicago-sports/trades/
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