Rangers Notes: Offseason Needs Shift into Focus

Shin-Soo Choo could give the Rangers a left-handed power hitter in the outfield, something missing since the departure of Josh Hamilton.

Trying to move past another stumbling finish to a disappointing season (not to mention the loss of the most notable icon in franchise history), the Rangers will be in the unfamiliar position of trying to improve their offense via free agency or trades this winter.

The Texas lineup that lost Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli and Michael Young heading into this year did not fare as well as many had hoped, and Nelson Cruz’s late-season suspension highlighted multiple weaknesses in the batting order.

Cruz is going to be an unrestricted ‘Type A’ free agent for the first time in his career this offseason, and while the Rangers are expected to make him a qualifying offer of roughly $14 million, the Dominican slugger could elect to seek a more lucrative multi-year contract from another club on the open market.

Alex Rios has already supplanted Cruz as the team’s everyday right fielder, and both Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin saw regular playing time down the stretch, but Texas could look to add a left-handed power bat to the outfield mix.

Some of the top names available to that end include Shin-Soo Choo, Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson and Grady Sizemore, each of whom is 33 years old or younger and has reached double figures in home runs at least once in their career.

Barring a blockbuster trade this offseason, the Rangers appear to have most of their infield set with Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler, but they are likely to seek a utility man to replace free agent Jeff Baker.

In addition, the club could look for a more reliable power source than Mitch Moreland at first base, with Kendrys Morales, Justin Morneau and former Texas slugger Mike Napoli among the top players available at that position.

Behind the plate, both A.J. Pierzynski and Geovany Soto are eligible for free agency in a class that features a considerable gap between the most coveted name on the market — Atlanta catcher Brian McCann — and the next-best option.

The Rangers figure to be in the running for McCann’s services, and it would not be surprising if they brought back Soto because of the successful rapport he appears to have developed with starter Yu Darvish.

Aside from Darvish, left-hander Derek Holland is about the only other sure bet to begin next season in the Texas rotation, although 22-year-old Martin Perez certainly earned himself strong consideration by posting a 10-6 record across 20 starts this summer.

Matt Garza, acquired from the Cubs in a July trade, is eligible for free agency after winning just four of his 13 starts with the Rangers, but he’s thought to be one of the better pitchers on the market this offseason.

Also drawing interest this winter will be a handful of serviceable veterans who have shown the ability to surpass 200 innings pitched in a season, including Dan Haren, Ubaldo Jimenez, Ricky Nolasco, Ervin Santana and Jason Vargas.

Finally, the Texas bullpen does not figure to see a great amount of turnover next year, although some roles could be shifted if closer Joe Nathan decides to turn down his 2014 contract option and become a free agent.

Davis to Serve as Controlling Owner

With Nolan Ryan resigning from his ownership post, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said last week that Ray Davis will replace Ryan as the controlling owner of the team.

Davis, who already serves as co-chairman of the organization with Bob Simpson, is expected to be bestowed with his new title at the annual meeting of MLB owners in mid-November.

Following six years as a Rangers executive, Ryan announced two weeks ago that he will be stepping down from his front-office position at the end of this month, at which time he will sell his stake in the team to Davis and Simpson.

Leyland Retirement Could Open Door for Maddux

While he does not appear to among the finalists for the vacant Cubs’ managerial job, Texas pitching coach Mike Maddux is now being discussed as a potential candidate to replace Jim Leyland in Detroit.

Leyland announced he would not return as manager just two days after his Tigers lost to the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, and Maddux has said he would “absolutely be interested” in the Detroit opening.

“This team is built to win now,” Maddux said of the Tigers. “I would try to put my own brand on it and just try to fill Jim Leyland’s shoes — not that anyone will be able to fill his shoes.”

Rangers Notes: Free-Agent Decisions Loom for Texas

In two seasons as a starter, C.J. Wilson has won 31 games with an earned run average of 3.14 and 376 strikeouts across 427-plus innings of work.

Coming off the first two World Series appearances in franchise history, the Rangers are looking to build upon a solid foundation of core players while scanning the free-agent market for potential areas of improvement this offseason.

At the forefront of any free agent discussion in Arlington is the status of left-hander C.J. Wilson, who has posted a record of 31-15 with six complete games over 67 starts the last two years after racking up 52 saves as a late-inning reliever in his first five big-league seasons.

Wilson, a free agent for the first time in his career, is coming off an All-Star campaign in which he set personal highs for wins (16), starts (34), strikeouts (206) and innings pitched (223⅓). Not surprisingly, the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees are among the teams to have already expressed interest in Wilson, who turns 31 on Friday.

Regardless of whether or not Wilson stays in Texas, one of the Rangers’ top priorities this offseason will likely be the addition of a starting pitcher to help anchor what is — with the exception of Colby Lewis — a relatively young staff.

While Wilson is the headliner among this year’s otherwise thin crop of free-agent starters, veterans with past success like Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Aaron Harang, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda and Roy Oswalt will draw interest from Texas and other clubs looking to solidify their rotation.

On the other end of the free-agent spectrum is first base, where Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols lead a talented class that also includes the likes of Michael Cuddyer, Casey Kotchman, Derrek Lee and Carlos Pena. Fielder and Pujols are both expected to land multi-year deals that will cost well into the hundreds of millions of dollars, leaving the others as cheaper options who may settle for shorter contracts.

In center field, where the Rangers received moderate contributions from Julio Borbon, Endy Chavez and Craig Gentry in 2011, a crop of free agents are available who may be able to contribute more to the Texas lineup, among them Carlos Beltran, Coco Crisp, Nate McLouth and Grady Sizemore.

Hamilton Undergoes Surgery for Sports Hernia

Outfielder Josh Hamilton underwent successful surgery in Philadelphia last Friday to repair a sports hernia in his left side, which limited his ability to generate lower-body power on his swing during the Rangers’ playoff run.

“The surgery went well from what we were told,” general manager Jon Daniels said to MLB.com, adding that Hamilton would return to Texas and should be fully recovered by the time Spring Training begins in late February.

A four-time All-Star, Hamilton batted just .271 (19-for-70) with one home run during the postseason while playing through the injury, though he also managed 13 RBIs and a team-high seven doubles.

“He was definitely uncomfortable in the playoffs,” Daniels said. “In all three rounds it was affecting him.”

Treanor Signs One-Year Deal with Dodgers

Veteran catcher Matt Treanor, who has been on the Rangers’ World Series roster in each of the last two seasons, was signed to a one-year contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

Treanor, 35, spent much of the 2011 season as Kansas City’s starting catcher before being re-acquired by Texas in late August as a backup to Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba.

Rangers Notes: Texas Sweeps Past Indians in Cleveland

Outfielder Endy Chavez went 11-for-21 with four runs scored and five runs batted in on the Rangers’ recent road trip to Tampa Bay and Cleveland.

The Rangers completed their first four-game road sweep in more than a decade Sunday with a 2-0 victory over the Indians at Progressive Field.

The win was the fifth in a row for Texas, which increased its lead in the A.L. West to 2.5 games over the Seattle Mariners.

In Thursday’s series opener, veteran outfielder Endy Chavez went 4-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored as the Rangers bounced back from an early deficit to beat Cleveland by a final of 7-4.

Right-hander Dave Bush, making a spot start for Texas while Matt Harrison continues to deal with a blister on his throwing hand, retired the Indians in order in the first inning but ran into trouble in the second. Carlos Santana drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on Grady Sizemore’s double, and both came around to score on singles by Travis Buck and Orlando Cabrera. Buck later scored on an infield groundout to give Cleveland a 3-0 lead.

Indians starter Carlos Carrasco retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced before Nelson Cruz led off the top of the fifth with a double. Cruz came home with the Rangers’ first run on a ground ball by Yorvit Torrealba, and Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton added RBI singles in the inning to tie the game at 3-3.

Left-hander Michael Kirkman took over for Bush and kept Cleveland off the board for two innings while Texas scored another three runs. After a sacrifice fly by Torrealba had given the Rangers a slim 4-3 lead with two outs in the sixth, Endy Chavez kept the rally going with an RBI triple into right field. Chavez then scored on an error by Carlos Santana during Ian Kinsler’s at-bat to put Texas in front, 6-3.

Cleveland added a single run in the seventh inning while the Rangers did the same in the ninth for a 7-4 final score.

After collecting a season-high 20 hits last week in Tampa Bay, Texas pounded out another 19 base hits Friday en route to an 11-2 win over the Indians. Right-hander Alexi Ogando remained undefeated in 11 starts this year, limiting Cleveland to one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts across eight innings of work.

The Rangers put together a two-out rally against Indians starter Justin Masterson in the top of the second, as Mitch Moreland and Mike Napoli connected for back-to-back singles before Endy Chavez laced an RBI double into right field. Michael Young added a run-scoring groundout in the third to give Texas a 2-0 lead.

Ogando retired the side in order in three of the first five innings before Cleveland got to him for a run in the sixth. Michael Brantley led off with a single and advanced to third on a hit by Asdrubal Cabrera, then came home when Shin-Soo Choo grounded into a double play to make it a 2-1 game.

In the top of the seventh, however, Masterson allowed a walk and a single before Josh Hamilton lined a three-run home run over the wall in right. Adrian Beltre reached on a fly ball that Brantley and Choo lost in the sun, and Nelson Cruz followed with a two-run homer to extend the Rangers’ lead to 7-1.

Texas added three more runs on a bases-clearing double by Elvis Andrus in the eighth inning and another in the ninth, while Cabrera provided the Indians’ second run with a leadoff homer against Yoshinori Tateyama in the bottom of the ninth.

On Saturday, left-hander Derek Holland tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout over Cleveland as the Rangers rolled to a 4-0 win. Making his first career start in his home state of Ohio, Holland limited the Indians to five hits and just one walk over nine innings, striking out five while recording 10 ground ball outs.

Texas provided an early lead for him to work with after Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer off Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona in the top of the first. From there, Holland retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced while only once allowing a runner to get past third base.

Carmona settled down following Hamilton’s first-inning home run, keeping the Rangers off the board over the next five frames before surrendering a two-run homer to Nelson Cruz in the top of the seventh.

Holland wrapped up his shutout with a perfect ninth inning, which included a swinging strikeout of Austin Kearns to end the ballgame.

Sparked by early home runs from Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus, the Rangers completed their four-game sweep with a 2-0 victory over the Indians on Sunday afternoon.

Cleveland starter Mitch Talbot worked a scoreless top of the first before yielding a solo home run to Moreland with one out in the second, and Andrus greeted him with a leadoff homer in the third inning to give Texas a 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile, left-hander C.J. Wilson provided 7 and 2/3 shutout innings of work for the Rangers, recording seven strikeouts while allowing just three hits to earn his sixth win of the year.

The last time Texas had swept a four-game series on the road was April 22-25, 1999, against the Minnesota Twins at the old Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Rangers’ four winning pitchers in that series were starters Aaron Sele, Mark Clark, Mike Morgan and Rick Helling.

Matthews Taken in First Round of Draft

With the 33^rd overall pick in this year’s amateur draft, Texas selected left-handed pitcher Kevin Matthews from Richmond Hill High School in Georgia.

Matthews, 18, is considered small at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, but his fastball has been clocked in the low-90s and is said to be offset by a good slider and decent changeup. He went 4-2 with an earned run average of 1.68 in his senior year at Richmond Hill, racking up 94 strikeouts in 42 innings of work over 10 appearances.

Signability may become an issue as Matthews has committed to the University of Virginia, though the Rangers feel confident they can work out a deal with him.

Texas used its second-round pick (No. 37 overall) to select outfielder Zach Cone out of the University of Georgia, where he led the Bulldogs with a .317 batting average, 10 home runs and 53 RBIs as a sophomore in 2010.

Delcarmen Inked to Minor-League Deal

The club made a pair of roster moves at the Triple-A level last Thursday, granting right-hander Yhency Brazoban his unconditional release and signing veteran reliever Manny Delcarmen to a minor-league deal.

Brazoban was signed by Texas in mid-December and had a clause in his contract which allowed him to be released if not promoted to the majors by June 1.

Delcarmen, who had spent the first two months of the season with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, possessed a similar out clause as Brazoban and was given his release by Seattle on Wednesday. The 29-year-old was assigned to Triple-A Round Rock by the Rangers.

Across 28 innings pitched for the Tacoma Rainiers this season, Delcarmen posted a record of 2-2 with a 5.14 earned run average in 16 appearances. In parts of six big-league seasons with the Boston Red Sox and, briefly, the Colorado Rockies, Delcarmen has an 11-8 record with a career ERA of 3.97 and three saves.