Taking A Look At The Competition, Pt. 1

Despite financial limitations, the Oakland A's have been one of the busiest teams this off season. After finishing 81-81 (2nd in the AL West), Oakland set out to improve the one area where they have had a glaring weakness: their offense.

However, after missing out on the big name free agent bats of Lance Berkman (signed w/ St. Louis) and Adrian Beltre (signed w/ Texas), Oakland decided to make their areas of strength, stronger. Over the last couple of days, Oakland has added two legitimate arms, signing a pair of relievers in Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes.

Balfour, a 7-year veteran, was outstanding two of the last three years in Tampa, compiling a 1.54 ERA in 2008 and 2.28 ERA in 2010. The righty also has playoff experience, having pitched in 5 different series and registering an ERA of 3.60.

Fuentes (4-time All-Star) could be an even bigger signing for Oakland. Since 2005, the left-hander has recorded 183 saves while putting up a 3.14 ERA. While he will not be the primary closer in Oakland, he will no doubt get his chances to close out a good many of their games.

The addition of Fuentes and Balfour to a bullpen which already includes the likes of Brad Ziegler (2.51 ERA in 3 seasons), Craig Breslow (2.87 ERA in 5 seasons), Michael Wuertz (9.7 K/9 over 7 seasons), and Andrew Bailey (2-time All-Star, 51 saves, 1.70 ERA in 2 seasons) means, that at least on paper, Oakland will go into the season with the strongest bullpen in baseball.
Their starting pitching appears to be every bit as talented as the bullpen. Oakland goes into Spring Training with 4 of their 5 rotation spots all but locked up, all by pitchers 26 years old or younger. The staff will be led by Gio Gonzalez (15 wins, 3.23 ERA) and Trevor Cahill (18 wins, 2.97 ERA), followed by Brett Anderson (2.80 ERA) and Dallas Braden (3.50 ERA). The 5th spot in the rotation could go to one of two former Rangers, Brandon McCarthy or Rich Harden. McCarthy, a pitcher with tons of talent, has yet to remain healthy enough to ever realize his full potential. Harden had a couple of nice seasons with Oakland in '04 and '05, but has spent much of the last 5 years on the disabled list.

Offensively, there remains several question marks. While Oakland was able to add David DeJesus (.289 BA in 8 seasons w/ Kansas City), Josh Willingham (102 HR in 5 seasons) and Hideki Matsui (21 HR, 84 RBI in 2010 w/ L.A. Angels), they traded away Rajai Davis (50 steals in 2010) and lost Jack Cust (97 HR, 300 RBI in 4 seasons) to free agency. To me, I don't see where much of any improvement was made with these additions when you factor in what they lost. No doubt the A's are hoping young players like Shortstop Cliff Pennington (.250 BA, 29 steals) and Chris Carter (123 HR, 406 RBI in 4 Minor League seasons) take the next step in their progression. They will also need veterans like Coco Crisp (32 steals) and Kurt Suzuki (13 HR, 71 RBI) to continue to produce if they are have any chance in the AL West. As it stands, Oakland may well show slight improvement offensively but will likely be looking to add another bat at some point during the season.

Overall, Oakland should be able to best their 81 wins of 2010. Their pitching should be top notch, they have a lineup filled with guys who know how to do the little things, and the additions of Matsui and Willingham should provide the team a little more pop in the middle of the order.

Hall of Fame Votes Are In

Former Rangers pitcher Bert Blyleven, after 14 years spent on the ballot, has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Blyleven, who played parts of 2 seasons in Texas is a two-time World Champion and winner of 287 games, received 79.7% of the vote. Over the years, much has been made of Blyleven's 250 losses but one has to take into account the fact that nearly 30% of those were by one run. During the pitcher's 22 seasons, Blyleven played for the Twins, Pirates, Rangers, Indians & Angels.

Rafael Palmeiro made his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot and was greatly affected by his failing of a steroid test during his final season in 2005. Palmeiro famously pointed his finger at members of Congress during that same season and denied using steroids. The 20-year veteran retired with 569 homers and 3,020 hits, only the fourth player in history to amass more than 500 homers and 3,000 hits. The others are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Palmeiro received just 11% of the vote.

Juan Gonzalez is perhaps the hardest pill to swallow for Rangers fans with regards to the steroid era. Gonzo never failed a drug test but has long been suspected of such dealings. This is truly sad as he put up some unbelievable numbers over the course of his injury-plagued career. Gonzalez retired with 434 home runs and 1404 runs batted in, hitting a lifetime .295. His numbers are truncated by the fact he missed almost 4 full seasons during his 17 year career. Gonzalez, a 2-time MVP and 6-time Silver Slugger received just 5.2% of the vote.

Other former Rangers on the HoF ballot were DH Harold Baines and pitcher Kevin Brown. Baines, a 6-time All-star played parts of 2 seasons in Texas and retired with 2,866 hits. He received 4.8% of the vote. Kevin Brown, also a 6-time All-star, won 211 career games (78 wins in Texas) and won a World Title with Florida in 1997. Brown received 2.1% of the vote. With less than 5% of the vote, neither player will be included on future HoF ballots.

Beltre deal is done

The great T.R. Sullivan is reporting that it's all over but the shouting in regards to the Adrian Beltre deal. The latest is that Beltre arrived in Texas late this afternoon to undergo his physical in preparation for an announcement of his signing tomorrow evening.

Beltre's agent and baseball anti-Christ, Scott Boras, also arrived in Texas and will hammer out the final details of the contract on Wednesday.

Welcome to Texas, Adrian. You've got your money, now don't go disappearing on us like you did in Seattle.

Michael Young open to change

One of the biggest hurdles facing Texas with regards to any deal concerning Adrian Beltre is, what do you do with Michael Young?

In 2004, Young was asked to move from second base to short stop to make way for Alfonso Soriano. He did so without complaint, even winning a Gold Glove at the position. However in 2009, after his range dwindled to nothing, Young was asked to move to third base to make room for Elvis Andrus. At that time, Young demanded a trade. Texas explored those possibilities at that time, determining that Young's contract was such that his trade value was virtually nonexistent. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and Young remained a Ranger.

Now, Young is again being asked to make a move, but this time there's a little more gray area involved. Young is apparently being asked to become a super-sub player, meaning he would apparently become the team's primary DH, while spelling Moreland, Kinsler, Beltre & Andrus around the infield. Honestly, this is the perfect fit for Young and something I've been begging for since the end of the 2009 season. As a super-sub, Young's deficiencies with the glove can be better hidden, allowing him to make his hay with his bat. In an earlier post I noted that Yong is a lifetime .388 hitter when hitting as the Designated Hitter.

Young, initially skeptical of the move, has apparently come around on the idea (or, is at the very least saying all the right things) and has said he'll do whatever most helps the team win.

"Obviously, I know my first preference," Young told T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. "If I have to take on a certain role to make the team better and I still get my 700 at-bats, be a productive player and play in a place I want to play, I'd be willing to do that."

Assuming this deal with Beltre gets done (rumored to be either a 5 or 6 year deal), it becomes highly likely that Vlad Guerrero's days in a Rangers uniform would end after just one season. Texas has been trying to sign the slugger but are not willing to go beyond a 1-year offer. Vlad is rumored to be seeking at least a 2-year deal.

Ramirez & Rapada Designated for Assignment

Today, Arthur Rhodes and Brandon Webb signed their one-year contracts with the Rangers, finalizing their respective deals.

To make room for Rhodes and Webb on the 40-man roster, Texas designated catcher Max Ramirez and relief pitcher Clay Rapada for assignment. The Rangers now have have 10 days to trade, release, or outright Ramirez and Rapada to the minors.

Max Ramirez is a .217 hitter over parts of two seasons in Texas but hit .286 for AAA-Oklahoma City in 2010. Once highly thought of within the Rangers Organization, Ramirez's lack on consistency at the plate and less-than-marginal arm behind the plate have dropped him below other internal catching prospects like Jose Felix and Taylor Teagarden.

Rapada, a September call-up, recorded 3 Holds over the last month of the season and showed enough to be included on the Rangers Post Season roster. However, the side-winding lefty was also unlikely to make the Rangers Opening Day roster, as Texas is lefty-heavy in their bullpen with Darren Oliver, Arthur Rhodes and possibly Derek Holland having spots essentially locked up.

Of the two, my hope is that Texas can find a way to retain Rapada. Ramirez has been given every opportunity to make a statement but has done little to impress. Rapada, on the other hand, showed flashes late in the season and has pitched very well the past two seasons in AAA.

Rangers Near Deal With Gold Glove Third Baseman?

Rumors are swirling that the Texas Rangers are near a deal with All-Star Adrian Beltre. While ESPNDeportes.com is reporting that a 5-year deal is being negotiated, the Dallas Morning News says that both sides are indeed talking, but a deal is not near completion.

Last week, Team President Nolan Ryan said of Beltre: "If you looked at the free agent market right now, he's probably the premier free agent that's still unsigned."

If Texas does move forward with a deal for Beltre, it would not only keep his bat and top-tier glove work out of Anaheim (Beltre's other supposed suitor) but would give the Rangers a huge upgrade defensively. Last season, Michael Young proved that at this stage of his career, he simply cannot be anything more than a marginal player at third. A deal with Beltre would almost certainly make Young the Rangers full-time DH as they have thus far come up short in their efforts to re-sign Vladamir Guerrero.

Personally, I'm not thrilled at the idea of giving Beltre a 5 or 6 year contract as his offensive numbers clearly spike during walk years. In my view, committing a huge multi-year deal to him is definitely a gamble.

No doubt the Boston Red Sox are hoping Texas gets the deal done as it would guarantee them Texas' unprotected first round draft pick as compensation. Were Beltre to sign with the Angels or Oakland A's, Boston would only receive a 1st round supplemental pick (given at the end of the round) and a second round selection.

Beltre hit .321 with 28 homers and 102 RBIs in 154 games last season with the Boston Red Sox.