Former Cy Young winner set to join Rangers

Cliff Lee signed with Philly, then Texas came up short in their efforts to land Zack Greinke, but it appears they have finally landed a potential ace to at least partially fill their pitching void.

Pending a physical, the Rangers have signed former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb to a 1-year contract worth a reported $3 million, with an additional $5-$7 million in performance incentives. Webb has pitched just 4 innings over the last two seasons due to reoccurring arm troubles that have resulted in him spending 372 on the disabled list.

Webb, 31, won the National League Cy Young award in 2006, when he went 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. He also finished second for the award in both 2007 and 2008.

Webb is a pronounced ground ball/strikeout pitcher, perfect for the Rangers hitter-friendly ballpark. However, the violent arm motion he uses to throw his A+ sinker is one of the reasons for his arm troubles, as it puts an immense amount of strain on his shoulder. While a return to his Cy Young-level is impossible to expect, Texas is, at the very least, banking on Webb being healthy enough to nail down a spot in what is a slightly thin starting rotation.

Texas Reaches Agreement With All-Star Reliever

Pending a physical, Texas today agreed on a one-year contract (with a vesting option) for 2010 All-Star relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes. The 41-year old pitcher had a great 2010, pitching in 69 games with the Reds, posting a 2.29 ERA, a 8.2 K/9 rate and a 2.78 K/BB ratio.

The 19-year veteran actually qualified as a Type A free agent but the Reds decided against offering him arbitration. Because of this Texas will not lose a first round draft pick and Cincinnati will receive no compensation for losing the lefty.

The signing of Rhodes should take a lot of pressure off Darren Oliver, Texas' most reliable bullpen lefty last season. Rhodes' presence could also mean Derek Holland will get another serious shot at making the rotation.

Since 2008, Rhodes has a 2.32 ERA and has been one of the most consistent relief pitchers in baseball. Rhodes, a Texas native, will be pitching for his 8th team in as many years.

Possible Options For Texas Post-Lee

Cliff Lee was clearly the jewel of free agency pitching but he was hardly the only quality starter available. With Lee now signed, sealed & delivered in Philly, Texas is no doubt reviewing some back-up plans both via trade and free agency. While everyone has heard the Zack Greinke and Matt Garza rumors, you're probably gonna have to give up the farm to get either of them. However, several mid-range starters remain available on the free agent market, most acquirable without having to give up any draft considerations.

Brandon Webb (31)

Before arm injuries robbed him of his last 2 seasons, Brandon Webb was arguably the best pitcher in the National League. From '05-'08, Webb was a ridiculous 70-37 with a 3.23 ERA, winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2006 and finishing second in the voting in '07 and '08.

Scouting Report
Webb has an elite sinkerball and a very good fastball. Before his injuries, he was a innings eaters who exhibited good control and the ability to induce ground balls in bunches. Having missed the last 2 seasons, injuries are a massive concern and his up-side is silly huge.

Jeff Francis (29)

A former 1st round pick, Francis has spent his entire career in Colorado. A durable pitcher for the first 3 full seasons of his career, the injury bug bit the lefty in 2008, when he made just 24 starts. Francis then missed all of 2009 and part of 2010 with a shoulder injury before returning to make 19 starts.

Scouting Report
Francis is a contact pitcher with good control. He's a 3-pitch pitcher with a fastball that sits around 86-88 mph, an above average change-up (78 mph), and a curveball (72 mph) that he'll throw in any count. His change-up is widely regarded as his best pitch.

Freddy Garcia (35)

Over the course of Garcia's first 7 seasons, the former 2-time all star won 116 games while averaging 205 innings pitched per season. From '07 to '09, injuries hampered Garcia, allowing him to make just 23 starts during that 3-year stretch. However, the righty returned to form in 2010, going 12-6 while making 28 starts for the Chicago White Sox.

Scouting Report
Like Francis, Garcia pitches to contact and does not walk many hitters. At the same time, he doesn't strike out very many hitters either, meaning he needs a good defense behind him. He has a smooth delivery and keeps hitter off balance with a quality change-up. Garcia also has extensive playoff experience and is a career 6-2 in the postseason.

Doug Davis (35)

Despite an injury-plagued 2010, Davis has been a fairly durable player over the last several years, averaging 33 starts and 196 innings pitched from 2004 to 2009. Davis is also a former Ranger, having played with them from '99-'03.

Scouting Report
The 35-year old lefty is tough as nails and does not get rattled, regardless of the situation. He can have issues with his control from time to time but has a very good curveball and a sneaky quick fastball. When his control is off, his reluctance to challenge hitters with his fastball really hurts him, often resulting in too many walks.

None of these guys (save for Webb if healthy) would likely crack the top 3 of the Rangers rotation but all are quality 4th starters with proven track records. Considering Texas currently has no more than three pitchers on the roster with guaranteed rotation spots, signing any of these veterans would provide a big upgrade over who they currently have under contract.

Cliff Lee Returning To Philadelphia

Various sources have said Cliff Lee is returning to Philadelphia. Lee was traded to the Phillies during the 2009 season and led them to the World Series before falling to the Yankees. Lee was then traded to Seattle as part of the deal which brought Roy Halladay to the Phillies this past season. It was widely known at the time of the trade that Lee did not want to leave Philadelphia.


While this hurts the Yankees, it may well be a death blow for the Rangers. As presently constituted, Texas would enter the season with C.J. Wilson as its number one starter, followed by Colby Lewis. Both pitched very well for the Rangers last season but neither have much of a proven track record.

After Wilson and Lewis, the waters get even murkier. Tommy Hunter would presumably take over the 3rd spot in the rotation, with Derek Holland, Scott Feldman, Matt Harrison and possibly Michael Kirkman fighting it out for the final two spots. Needless to say, this is NOT what the Rangers had in mind.

I have a feeling Kansas City's price for ace Zack Greinke just went up.

Questions Remain Unanswered With Regards To Roster Depth

Yesterday, Texas sent several high-ranking officials to meet with Cliff Lee at his home in Arkansas. They apparently threw out several possible contract options, even going so far as to include several "perks" for Lee's family. What that means is pure speculation but if it's anywhere close to what the Dodgers offered Kevin Brown back in '99, "perks" could mean, among other things, the use of a private jet several times a year for Lee's family. Many believe Texas is really pushing the pace with Lee, trying to get a commitment from him one way or another, as they still have several other areas to address.

Should Lee sign with someone other than Texas, the Rangers would certainly turn their attention back to Kansas City's Zack Greinke and/or Tampa's Matt Garza. Greinke will undoubtedly take two top tier prospects plus a couple of second tier players, Garza could well command almost as much as whomever he ends up with will control his rights for 3 more seasons. Were Texas unable to acquire either pitcher, they might look to rely on C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis to carry the rotation early on while hoping for continued improvement from Tommy Hunter and a return to form for Scott Feldman. This is truly frightening.

Jon Daniels and company have made contact with DH Vlad Guerrero, who continues to push for a 2-year contract. Oakland is rumored to have interest in the slugger after failing to land Lance Berkman however, their failure to sign Berkman was due to their lack of interests in signing him to a multi-year deal. As it stands, Vlad may be looking at another 1-year contract with an option year, similar to what he signed last season with Texas. His inability to play even sparingly in the field (the World Series proved as much) drops his asking price dramatically.

If Texas is unable to sign a Vlad (or someone of comparable talent like Magglio Ordonez or Jim Thome) I would have to think they'd at least consider moving Michael Young to DH and making a run at someone like Adrian Beltre. Another possibility would be to platoon Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz at DH and hope Julio Borbon is ready to finally take over in CF.

Texas also must address their bullpen. While Ogando, O'Day, Francisco, Oliver & Feliz (unless he's moved into the rotation should Texas fail to sign Lee or trade for another stud pitcher) the other two bullpen spots are open to competition. Currently Texas would look to Michael Kirkman, Mark Lowe, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Omar Beltre, Clay Rapada & newly acquired Yoshinori Tateyama to battle it out for those spots.

Make no mistake about it, Cliff Lee is the Big Bad Wolf of free agency this season and Texas is rightly doing everything they can to hang on to him. However, the Lee sweepstakes needs to come to an end so the Rangers can move on and throw their full attention towards other areas of importance.

Massive Changes Out At Rangers Ballpark

So long and farewell to the hideously out of date video boards at Rangers Ballpark. No longer will we have to squint to view the starting lineup. No longer will our beautiful ballpark be sullied with a half-assed, 1989-lookin' graphics package. Gear up Rangers fans because Texas is spending some money.

$13 million might not get Cliff Lee back in Ranger red but it'll damn sure buy you a couple of state of the art, HD video boards, with every last bell and whistle you can imagine. Starting lineup? Of course. Pitch tracker? Check. Fantasy stats? Yep. Wait, what? That's right, kids, Texas is going above and beyond with this thing and I cannot wait to check this thing out.

The formerly pathetic 24 x 36 ft. board which sat atop the home run porch in right field is currently being replaced with a 42 x 120 ft. HD board. That ain't all, folks. That obscene Coca-Cola matrix board out in center field will be replaced by a 25 x 29 HD board. Both the Home Run Porch and centerfield video boards will employ the use of Daktronics newest 15 millimeter LED technology. A press release from the the teams states, "The video boards can operate as single giant displays or be divided into multiple zones (windows) to show a wide variety of statistics, information, graphics, animation, and live and recorded video."

In addition to the massive overhaul with the video boards, the sound system in the ballpark is being upgraded as well.

The project is expected to be ready by Opening Day 2011.

Treanor Set To Return To Texas

If Jon Daniels is to be believed, Matt Treanor is on the verge of returning to Texas for another season.

"I don't know if it will happen in the next day but we're pretty confident Matt is coming back," general manager Jon Daniels said Friday.

Treanor will presumably be the primary back-up catcher behind free agent acquisition Yorvit Torrealba, in addition to likely serving as C.J. Wilson's personal catcher.

The 7-year veteran compiled a batting line of just .211/.287/.308 but delivered several hits in clutch situations and is a quality defensive catcher with quick feet.