2008 saw the Bond-less Giants tied for the 6th worst record in baseball at 72-90, but I actually thought they had a chance of reaching 100 losses so they did better than I thought they would. They went into the year without a solid closer, which effects the rest of the bullpen, and supposed Ace of the staff, Barry Zito had another pathetic year and was even sent to the minors briefly to work on his mechanics and jar his memory on how to pitch in the big leagues. What they did well was manufacture runs and pitchers Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum both had good years with Lincecum winning the Cy Young Award. The smartest thing they did last year was to alert aging SS  Omar Vizquel that they needed to get younger as a team and were no longer going to play him. After all, he only hit .222 (more than 50 points below his career level) with an OBP of .283, but he can still field better than the average SS. Yet, it had to be done! You just can’t score enough runs when you rely on a cleanup hitter that’s an aging catcher who never hit more than 19 HRs in a season, hence the 90 losses.

Holes to Fill

I’m going to be brutally honest here. They need to upgrade at 1B, 2B, 3B and a closer, but their OF is in decent shape. They filled a hole in the rotation, bullpen and at SS with the signings of Randy Johnson, Jeremy Affeldt, Bob Howry and Edgar Renteria.

Free Agents

The Giants only have two free agents this off season in 1B Rich Aurilia (37) and SS Omar Vizquel (41). Vizquel will not be back and if he doesn’t retire, will probably only be given the chance to play in either Japan or some other Asian professional league. I would; however, bring back Aurilia as he is better than anyone else they have in the infield besides Redteria. Johnson, Renteria and Affeldt were all good pick ups for the Giants and if Zito can remember how he pitched in Oakland, their rotaion will be much improved in 2009.

The Outlook

I just don’t think that the Giants have the offensive ability to compete in even the weak NL West, let alone the rest of the NL. The BIG question is how long will they be able to keep Lincecum and Cain if they keep losing and not spending. They had the 17th highest payroll in 2008 at $76.9M which was over $30M higher than the AL pennant winning Tampa Bay Rays. Look for the Giants to regain their position in last place in 2009.

Off Season Moves Made So Far

In November, they signed free agent RHP Justin Miller and 1B Josh Phelps to Minor League contracts with invitations to Spring Training for them both and LHP Jeremy Affeldt to a two-year contract. They followed that up by signing RHP Bob Howry to a one-year contract,SS Edgar Renteria to a two-year contract and LHP Randy Johnson to a one-year contract. They also selected RHP Luis Perdomo from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Rule 5 Draft.

Related posts:

1. The Giants Road Struggles
2. The Giants pitching needs to be perfect in 2009
3. SF Giants Offseason Report Card

Like most of the NL West, the Padres had a disappointing 2008 season going 63-99, the third worst record in baseball last season! Who would have thought that the Giants would finish higher than San Diego at Spring Training last year? I for one did not even think it possible. Granted, 2008 saw injuries to SP Chris Young and C Josh Bard and SS Khalil Greene (now in St. Louis), but a 63 and 99 record goes beyond the injuries. The Giles brothers had a bad season as well as Greene (when healthy) and others. It must have been miserable to watch.

Holes to Fill

They need a starting catcher as Nick Hundley would make a fine back up and a second baseman to replace Marcus Giles and possibly a new SS to replace the recently traded Greene. But the most glaring need is for help in the rotation behind Peavy and Young (3rd/4th/5th starters) as well as a legitimate closer to replace Trevor Hoffman.

Free Agents

SP Charlie Haeger (25), SP Clay Hensley (29) who was signed by Houston to a Minor League contract, RP Trevor Hoffman (41, a type A Free Agent) and SP Mark Prior (28). It is a known fact that they will not bring back Hoffman, the closer with the most saves in the history of the stat. They will not miss Haeger, but with the current status of their pitching rotation, they should look into retaining Prior. They should look towards signing SP’s Tony Armas Jr., Paul Byrd, Josh Fogg, Tim Readding or Jon Garland (to name a few) to fill in the obvious holes in the rotation. Then maybe Paul Bako, Gregg Zaun, Paul Lo Duca or Pudge Rodriguez at catcher and either Chris Burke, Orlando Hudson or Ray Durham at 2B. Then maybe they’ll consider Orlando Cabrera, David Eckstein or Alex Cora at SS to replace Greene.

The Outlook

It doesn’t look too good if you ask me, if I were Peavy, I’d start to add more teams to the list of acceptable trade destinations. They should definately improve upon their 2008 record as they aren’t really that bad, but I’m not so sure they’ll get over .500 either. It will take them a few years at best before they get competitive again in the NL West. My condolenses go out to our good friend Geoff over at Ducksnorts.com.

Off Season Moves Made So Far

They exercised the 2009 option on OF Brian Giles in November. Then in December, they acquired RHP Mark Worrell and a player to be named later from the St. Louis Cardinals for SS Khalil Greene; then selected INF Everth Cabrera from the Colorado Rockies and RHP Ivan Nova from the New York Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft and signed OF Jody Gerut to a one-year contract.

Related posts:

1. Florida Marlins Off Season Report
2. St. Louis Cardinals off Season Report
3. Toronto Blue Jays Off Season Report

Like most of the NL West, the Rockies had a disappointing 2008 season going 74 and 88 after being in the World Series the previous October. On top of that, they lost second year SS Troy Tulowitzki to injury for a big part of the year, missing 61 games and 1B Todd Helton missed half the season. Unfortunately for Rox fans, 2009 doesn’t look much better after trading away All Star LF Matt Holliday to Oakland.

Holes to Fill

The bat of Holliday will need to be filled and it may not happen from any one player unless they sign Manny Ramirez and that hasn’t even been mentioned in the rumor mills as far as I can tell. They will also need to fill a hole in the OF after the signing of Taveras by the Reds. Both the infield and the bullpen look to be in better shape after the trade and a few new aquisitions.

Free Agents

The Rox have 8 players in free agency this off season. They are: RP Brian Fuentes (33, type A Free Agent) has just signed with the Los Angelas Angels of Anaheim for 2 years at $17,5K; RP Matt Herges (38); SP Livan Hernandez (33); 2B Jon Herrera (24); C Adam Melhuse (36); CF Scott Podsednik (32); RP Glendon Rusch (34); CF Willy Taveras (26) signed with Cincinnati for 2 years at $6,250K. Of those remaining unsigned, they should try to retain Herges, Melhuse and Podsednik. The rest they can afford to let go.

The Outlook

If healthy, they should have no problem improving upon their 74 wins last year, but they will probably fall short of the playoffs once again without the bat of a player like Holliday even with an improved bullpen from a year ago. The rotation could still use help, but it isn’t terrible either. I’m just not sure that it’s Coors field proof. It will probably take them 3/4 years before they recover from loosing Holliday and become a post-season threat once again.

Off Season Moves Made So Far
The Rox acquired RHP Huston Street, LHP Greg Smith and OF Carlos Gonzalez from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for OF Matt Holliday in November. Not enough if you ask me. Then in December, they signed LHP Alan Embree to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2010, re-signed INF Jonathan Herrera to a Minor League contract and invited him to Spring Training after previously non-tendering him earlier in the month.

Related posts:

1. Reflections on the Rockies Past, Present & Future
2. San Francisco Giants Off Season Report
3. Arizona Diamondbacks Off Season Report

After a red hot start to the 2008 season, the team in the desert cooled off come June and never really struck fear into anyone in the NL West from that point forward, but theacquisition of LF Adam Dunn must have turned a few heads though. April did show a look into the future of RF Justin Upton who looked to be on the verge of competing for the NL Rookie of the Year award, but like the rest of the team, he never fully recovered from that initial slump after such a hot start. Then came the nagging injuries to LF Eric Brynes that just about rendered his season useless. Over-the-hill starting pitcher Randy Johnson wasn’t healthy long enough to help and was hardly consistent when he was. The silver lining here was the matuing of 1B Conor Jackson (who also helped out when needed by playing some OFdue to the injuries that arose), in his first season as a full time player, proved to MLB that he can in fact play well on an everyday basis. As far as disappointments go, one of the biggest had to be the drop in numbers from CF Chris Young as 2008 saw both his HR and SB totals drop from his rookie year. He did; however, show signs of improved patience at the plate in his average and OBP.

Holes to Fill

To start from the back end on down, it is my opinion that they either need a bonafide closer or someone on that team needs to make this decision a no brainer (possibly Chad Qualls). Next, depends upon if they resign 2B Orlando Hudson; if they don’t, then they’ll need a replacement at 2B, but they coud move Reynolds to second in order to get Chad Tracy’s bat into the line up everyday by playing 3B. After that, they may need a fifth starter but they will likely do fine with Max Scherzer and Petit.

Free Agents

The D’Backs have 11 free agents currently on the market from their 2008 team. They are 2B Chris Burke (28), 1B Tony Clark (36), RP Juan Cruz (30, a type A Free Agent),LF Adam Dunn (29, a type A Free Agent), SS David Eckstein (33), C Robby Hammock (31), 2B Orlando Hudson (31, a type A Free Agent), SP Randy Johnson (45) signed a one year contract with the San Francisco Giants for $8M, RPWil Ledezma (27), RP Brandon Lyon (29), OF Jeff Salazar (28).The D’Backs can afford to loose Randy Johnson, Dunn, Hammock, Salazar and possibly Ledezma; they have already non-tendered Hammock, Salazar and Ledezma so they will probably not be back. SS David Eckstein could be resigned and turned into a second baseman, but not likely. If they don’t resign Hudson or Eckstein, then I would resign Chris Burke (who was non-tendered and this idea is unlikely for that reason) as insurance as he can also play in the OF. They only traded for Tony Clark last year due to all the injuries they were facing so it’s robably safe to say that they won’t resign him. To me, if they don’t resign Ledezma, they either need to resign Juan Cruz or replace him somehow in the bullpen as it is very likely that Brandon Lyon won’t be brought back in 2009.

The Outlook

I like how this team has been built and I think that they are a better team than their 2008 record showed them to be. They either need to see improvement from Young out of the leadoff spot in both batting average and OBP (more than 20 steals would be nice to see as well) or else they need to drop him in the line up between the third to 6th slot. If they can solidify their situation at the closer position, then that will help to solidify the rest of the bullpen and allow them to focus on other necessary improvements. If they can find answers to a few questions and do so before opening day (and stay healthy), they have a shot at giving the Dodgers a real run for their money in the NL West this coming season.

Off Season Moves Made So Far
Signed INF Felipe Lopez to a one-year contract and acquired LHP Scott Schoeneweis and cash from the New York Mets for RHP Connor Robertson. The transaction for Schoeneweis may have closed the book on them bringing back either both Cruz, Lyon and Ledezma, ut they still might be able to work out a deal with Cruz as ome reports have recently stated.

Related posts:

1. Arizona Wants Ex-Diamondbacks Back
2. February Diamondbacks Reflections
3. San Francisco Giants Off Season Report

Although the Dodgers had the worst record in the 2008 playoffs it was mainly a byproduct of their poor first half. The acquisition of Manny Ramirez from Boston in a three way deal at the deadline rejuvenated this young team, giving them the experience and the potent bat they were missing up to that point. Not a bad first year managing for Joe Torre, his experience definitely made the difference in the 2008 Dodgers.

Holes to Fill

The only holes I see that need filling would be on the pitching staff now that they’ve resigned Blake and Furcal. They still need a solid fourth and fifth starter as well as bullpen help (who doesn’t).

Free Agents

The Dodgers have absurd number of players on the open market this off season (18). They are SP Mario Alvarez (24), RP Joe Beimel (31, a type B Free Agent), C Gary Bennett (36), SS Angel Berroa (30), 3B Casey Blake (35) has already signed a 3 year deal worth $17,500K to stay with the Dodgers, RP Yhency Brazoban (28), SS Rafael Furcal (31) has already signed a 3 year deal worth $30M to stay with the Dodgers, SS Nomar Garciaparra (35), SP Jason Johnson (35), 2B Jeff Kent (40, a type B Free Agent), SP Derek Lowe (35, a type A Free Agent), SP Greg Maddux (42) has chosen to retire, RP Chan Ho Park (35) has signed a 1 year contract for $2,500K to play for Philadelphia, SP Brad Penny (30), RP Scott Proctor (31), LF Manny Ramirez (36, a type A Free Agent), RP Takashi Saito (38) and 1B Mark Sweeney (39).

Most of these players, who have not already signed, will probably not be returning with exception of possibly Joe Beimel, Scott Proctor (a Torre guy) and possibly Ramirez if they get what they want this Christmas season.

The Outlook

Whether or not they resign Ramirez, they should find themselves back in the playoffs once again due to the first year under their belt that their young guns (DeWitt, Ethier, Kemp and Kershaw) now have and the added year of youngsters like Martin, Loney, Broxton and second year pitcher Kuroda. With Joe Torre at the helm, the Dodgers well equipped to tackle the 2009 season with a firm grasp of the NL West unless the Diamondbacks or Rockies can return to form next year. The whole division underachieved in 2008 if you ask me!

Off Season Moves Made So Far

Just this month, the Dodgers have re-signed 3B Casey Blake to a three-year contract with an option for 2012, 2B Mark Loretta to a one-year contract and re-signed SS Rafael Furcal to a three-year contract with a vesting option for 2012.

Related posts:

1. Dodgers Looking Great with 2/3 of the Season to Go
2. 2009 Season Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Arizona Diamondbacks Off Season Report

One word describes the 2008 Washington Nationals record: abysmal. They lost 102 games! Granted, they had injuries to both first basemen (Johnson and Young) and most if not all of their outfielders (Wily Mo Pena, Lastings Milledge, Austin Kearns and Elijah Dukes) at one time or another and 3B Zimmerman. Then they did the unthinkable and traded star RP Jon Rauch; hence, the 102 losses.

Holes to Fill

There aren’t many positions that are already spoken for on a team that loses 102 games, but they should be fine if healthy in the OF and the left side of the infield (SS and 3B). They will need help at catcher, 2B and in relief (especially at the closer role). If Nick Johnson isn’t healthy once again, then you can also add 1B to that mix, too.

Free Agents

The National go into this off season with only 3 free agents: 1B Aaron Boone (35), SP Odalis Perez (31) and SP Tim Redding whom they non-tendered (30). They are one of the few teams that are in the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes along with the Angels, Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees. This would be a huge signing and add much needed skills to this team on both offense and defense. Aaron Boone signed a one year contract with the Astros back on the 18th, so he won’t be playing in D.C. next year.

The Outlook

Unfortunately, it will take a few years for them to truely be competitive in the NL East, but with the aquisitions of Olsen, Willingham and if they sign Teixeira, then they might excelerate expectations. Either way, they are moving in the right direction and with their new stadium in it’s second year of hosting the Nationals, they are poised to imrove upon their abysmal record of 102 losses from a season ago.

Off Season Moves Made So Far
This month they selected RHP Terrell Young from the Cincinnati Reds in the Rule 5 Draft and released RHP Jesus Colome who is still young enough and could have the type of year that could finally match the potential he has shown over the past few years. This release, like that of Tim Redding may come back to bite them.

In November, they acquired LHP Scott Olsen and OF Josh Willingham from the Marlins in exchange for INF Emilio Bonifacio, RHP P.J. Dean and INF Jake Smolinski. This is probably their best move they have made since the move to D.C. I expect Willingham to have a big year in D.C. especially if they land Teixeira and Olsen will be a huge factor in rebuilding a poor pitching staff and add some experience as well. If they can hit as a team and stay healthy, Olsen should win 15 games as their Ace.

Related posts:

1. Stadium Review: Nationals Stadium, Home of the Washington Nationals
2. Florida Marlins Off Season Report
3. Philadelphia Phillies Off Season Report

Although the Marlins finished 7.5 games out in the NL East in 2008, they didn’t have a bad season. After trading away Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers last off season, no one expected a lot from them in 2008. For starters, second baseman Dan Uggla had a monster first half of baseball! His average was way up and his power numbers were looking to be ncreasing as one wou expect after a few years under his belt. But just as Uggla started to come down to earth, the pitching staff was beginnig to draw attention to itself from the names of players like Rickey Nolasco and Scott Olsen. 1B/3B Jorge Cantu also had an unusually good year given his previous accomplishments.

Holes to Fill

They will need to fill the holes left after the recent trades of closer Kevin Gregg, SP Scott Olsen and OF Josh Willingham. It looks as if Cameron Maybin will get his chance right from the start in CF and they probably will fill in the holes in the pitching from within, but they still need a catcher and it won’t be Matt Treanor (see the reson below). They may bring back Pudge Rodriguez as a stop gap at that position.

Free Agents

The Marlins have 6 free agents this off season and they are: LF Luis Gonzalez (41) Type B Free Agent, SP Mark Hendrickson (34), LF Jacque Jones (33), C Paul Lo Duca (36) Type B Free Agent, RP Joe Nelson (34), RP Arthur Rhodes (39) recently signed with  Cincinnati for 2 years and $4M.

The Outlook

Now that the Braves have lost out on both former Marlin SP A.J. Burnett and former Brave SS Rafael Furcal, the Marlins have a chance to stay in third place in the East in 2009 as things stand right now, but it will be difficult due to who they’ve already traded away. Maybe ownership will rethink their philosophy once they get a new stadium.

Off Season Moves Made So Far

In November, they acquired RHP Jose Ceda from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for RHP Kevin Gregg and then acquired INF Emilio Bonifacio, RHP P.J. Dean and INF Jake Smolinski from the Washington Nationals in exchange for LHP Scott Olsen and OF Josh Willingham. Before then, they claimed LHP Dan Meyer off waivers from the Oakland Athletics. Then more recently, they selected LHP Zachary Kroenke from the New York Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft and released C Matt Treanor (husband of beach volleyball star Misty May-Treanor).

Related posts:

1. Can the Florida Marlins Win the NL East
2. Marlins Must Prove That Talent Trumps Experience
3. Washington Nationals Off Season Report

The Angels no doubt have the blue print for making the playoffs memorized. The only problem is that in the past few seasons, when they get there, they are unable to get out of the Divisional round where they were the victim of the Boston Red Sox this season in just four games. General manager Tony Reagins has to be frustrated with the recent lack of success in the post season because it seems like he has all of the pieces for a deep October run during the season. With the Angels leading the major leagues with 100 wins in 2008, it seemed like they were at least destined for the ALCS, but the Sox had too much October experience for them to take down. The team received the most nation-wide press during the season for the record breaking performance of closer Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod, who is currently a free agent, broke the major league record with 62 saves. Obviously, to win 100 games, the team was doing things right in all aspects of the game. The interesting thing will be to see how they decide to fine tune an already deep team this off season.

Holes to Fill

Depending on what the team decides to do with their own free agent outfielders, they will probably have to look for some talent in that area. There doesn’t seem to be any talent at the AAA level that would be ready to come up to compete for an outfield position just yet, so that probably means they will have to bring in at least one player for a corner outfield position (probably left field) that wasn’t on the team last season. The Angels may have an upper hand in this area because many teams are going to be looking for corner outfielders this off season (perhaps the biggest position besides pitchers), but the Halos have shown that they are willing to spend money to get talent, evidenced by their sixth ranked $119.2 million payroll last season. Adding another arm to the starting rotation wouldn’t hurt either. While their pitching was one of the best in the majors last season, some depth at this spot has never hurt anyone. It currently looks like they are probably not going to resign K-Rod unless he is willing to take some sort of home town discount. This would mean that the Angels will have the position of closer open. Spending on closers (and other relievers) on the open market is always risky business as they often have one good year and one off year due to their usage. Due to this fact, the team may try to fill the closer roll internally as they have a few arms they believe may be able to take the spot.

Free Agents

At the beginning of the off season, the Angels had eight players who could have entered free agency including outfielders Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson and Jaun Rivera, pitchers Rodriguez, John Lackey and Jon Garland and first baseman Mark Teixeira. The Angels have already made the decisions on some of these players as they have picked up the 2009 club options for Guerrero and Lackey, while also declining the option on Anderson. Due to this fact, it is almost a lock that Anderson will not be back for this Los Angeles team next season (leaving the hole in left field mentioned earlier). Teixeira is no doubt their number one in house priority this off season. A lot of what they do during the rest of the off season will depend on whether or not they are able to work out a deal with the first baseman who they acquired at the trade deadline. The team has made some serious bids to free agent pitcher CC Sabathia and since he seems to want to play on the west coast, they have a serious shot of landing him (written pre-signing with the Yankees).

The Outlook

It is very realistic to see the Angels repeating as division winners once again, especially if they are able to land Teixeira and Sabathia in the off season. Whether these two players would give them the push that they have recently been lacking in the post season is yet to be seen (especially due to the fact that Sabathia has been less than stellar during the past two post seasons with the Indians and Brewers). Manager Mike Scioscia is probably one of the more respectable managers in the game at this point and has shown that he knows how to handle having a lot of big egos on his team during the 162 game season.

The Halos will probably look for takers for outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. during the off season, which would open up yet another spot in the outfield. Even though Matthews is a quality player and has three years left on his current deal, he has not been able to get along with the team’s management since coming to Anaheim as a free agent two seasons ago and all of this makes him expandable at the right price. If they are able to pick-up some extra offense this off season, they could realistically improve on their runs scored ranking which was tenth in 2008 at 765. With all of the fire power the team has, it’s some what surprising that it was not higher than that, although it did receive a jump at mid-season when Teixeira was acquired from the Braves. Part of that low scoring total could have been the fact that they really didn’t need to score a whole lot because their starting pitching was so stellar throughout the season with Lackey and youngster Ervin Santana both making bids for the Cy Young Award. Winning 100 games is a tough thing to do, and even tougher to repeat, but if the Angels are willing to spend the money to land the free agents they seem to be eying this off season, having a goal of exceeding 100 regular season wins would not seem out of the ordinary.

Bill Jordan is a contributing writer to BaseballReflections.com and can be reached by e-mail at billjordaniv@yahoo.com.

Related posts:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers Off Season Report
2. Washington Nationals Off Season Report
3. Texas Rangers off Season Report

Another year without postseason play after all of those consecutive years in it makes for unhappy Braves fans. But this time, I would have to say that a lot of the problem was caused by the myriad of injuries sustained, but especially those to their pitching staff, both starters and relievers alike. Beyond that, there was their lack of power and the disappointing season of their RF Jeff Francoeur.

Holes to Fill

I see the holes that need to be filled being primarily in the OF. They need more production from all three OF positions, but especially out of the corners (Francoeur included). They need another starter and possibly a battle tested closer as well if they want to compete for the division.

Free Agents

They have 8 free agents in this off season. They are: SP Elmer Dessens (37), SP Tom Glavine (42), SP Mike Hampton (36) who has already signed with the Houston Astros for 1 year and $2M, RP Jorge Julio (29) who has already signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for 1 year and $950K, LF Greg Norton (36), RP Will Ohman (31), SP John Smoltz (41) a type B free agent and RP Julian Tavarez (35). The two players I would resign if I were them would be Smoltz and Ohman, then they need to get a power hitting outfielder after that. Glavine will likely retire as Greg Maddux recently did.

This month they have signed C David Ross to a two-year contract. The question that still remains, will they resign long time Braves pitcher, 41 year old John Smoltz or not?

The Outlook

With the aquisition of Vazquez, the Braves are on their way to improving upon their dissapointing 2008 campaign, but with the recent moves by the Mets, they still have a way to go if they want to challenge for the NL East in 2009. The realization is that they are probably 2 or more years away from contending in the division unless injuries plague the teams ahead of them. They should finish a solid third above the Marlins and Washington.

Off Season Moves Made So Far
They got help for thier rotation in the trade with the White Sox. They aquired SP Javier Vazquez and RP Boone Logan from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for C Tyler Flowers, INF’s Jonathan Gilmore and Brent Lillibridge and LHP Santos Rodriguez.

Related posts:

1. Atlanta Braves Looking for Rebound Season in 2009
2. Florida Marlins Off Season Report
3. Chicago White Sox off Season Report

Despite finishing under .500, the Rangers still finished second in the American League West, although they were about a mile behind the Angels at the top of the division. Their 79-83 record was not by any means impressive, but with the expectations that were in place for the Rangers before the season, it’s not too out of line. Texas was picked by many to finish lower in the division, although it’s unclear whether anyone thought that the second place team would come up short of 80 wins. One thing is for sure though, no one expected the Rangers to have the offense that they did. Led by former nobody Josh Hamilton, the Rangers placed first in the AL in both runs scored (901) and OPS (.816). While Hamilton no doubt led the charge with his amazing year, other bats were in the parade as well such as Milton Bradley and Hank Blalock. Knowing that they had all of this offense and still somehow managed to finish with less than 80 wins points to their main problem: pitching. During 2008, the Rangers ranked last in the AL in both runs allowed (967) and team ERA (5.37). While their pitching was not great, they did not receive a lot of help either as the Rangers also ranked last in the AL in fielding percentage at .978.

Holes to Fill

As mentioned above, the glaring hole from 2008 was the lack of pitching across the board. While their 2008 payroll of $68.2 million (21^st in MLB) was probably a little less than expected, it gives them some, but probably not much, room to grow this off season while general manager Jon Daniels goes out to crack some deals for a few arms. It’s not as if there are just a few spots that need to be filled. The Rangers need pitching in the starting rotation and at every level in the bullpen. It does not seem likely that they will go after any of the big name free agents in the off season, but there should be some starters and relievers available for mid-range deals that would be perfect for the Rangers. With the offense they have, they don’t need to have a stellar staff to start to compete for a playoff spot, but they do need a staff that can at least rank somewhere in the middle of the AL in the major team categories. Texas does have a few young arms who saw some action last season that seem promising, but they are lacking any sort of veteran leadership in the form of a consistent pitcher and if manager Ron Washington wants his pitchers to continue to improve, he is going to need one in their clubhouse. Holes in their everyday line-up may be decided by what they decide to do with a few of their free agents. If Bradley does not come back, a hole in the outfield would be created, as well as a hole in the line-up with some big shoes to fill. If infielder Ramon Vazquez is not resigned, the Rangers may be looking to do some reworking of their infield, but this hole would not be nearly as significant as the one left by Bradley.

Free Agents

At the beginning of the off season, the Rangers had five players who could have become free agents in first baseman Hank Blalock, infielder Ramon Vazquez, outfielder Milton Bradley and pitchers Jamey Wright and Jason Jennings. Bradley is no doubt the team’s number one priority. The question is just whether owner Tom Hicks is going to be willing to put up the money to keep Bradley, who missed 30 games last year due to injury, in a Rangers’ uniform. Bradley has been listed as high as the fifth rated free agent on the market this off season and teams in need of an extra bat in their line-up are no doubt going to be intrigued by his league leading .999 OPS. This interest is just going to drive the price up on Bradley and will probably put him out of Texas’ range. The Rangers have already made their decision on Blalock as they picked up his 2009 club option which guarantees him $6.2 million next season. Along with Hamilton, Blalock was one of the more productive players on the Rangers’ roster last season. It is unclear what the team is going to do about Vazquez at this point. They are probably going to play the waiting game and see what kinds of offers other teams are willing to give him before they decide to get in on the game.

The Outlook

It really shouldn’t be hard for the Rangers to move up the scale in terms of winning percentage if they are just able to acquire any type of consistent pitching talent during the off season. If their offense comes close to producing the numbers it did in 2008, and the pitching improves to a middle of the road staff, it would not be unrealistic for the Rangers to win at least 85 games. Well known team president Nolan Ryan is still perhaps the last great pitcher that the Rangers have had, so it has been some time since the team has really had success in that area. With Hicks’ pockets probably going to be even more dingy than normal during the economic crisis, Daniels is going to have to work the phones throughout the off season to work some trades for his team. While the team does not have a lot of pitching, they do have a good number of pieces that would be able to be moved to be able to get some young pitching talent, or even some middle of the road veterans to fill in spots in the rotation and bullpen. With three viable catchers, it is conceivable that the Rangers will try their hardest to move one of them first as there are a good number of teams who are going to be at least looking for a catcher to fill the backup spot in their lineup. There are a few other everyday players that could be moved as well. Now that Blalock is in his definite last year of this contract, he could be a useful piece during the off season, or at the trade deadline for someone looking for an extra bat to carry them into the post season. Although this is a long way away, Daniels will probably try to swing a deal involving Blalock at the deadline if the Rangers are already out of contention by that point. The Rangers are by no means stocked with young talent ready to burst onto the scene at the big league level, but they do have a few players who may be able to contribute in the coming season. The player who may help the most to fill a need is pitcher Neftali Feliz, who was acquired from the Braves in 2007 in exchange for Mark Teixeira. With the team’s great need for pitching help though, Feliz may be pushed through the system too quickly in order to see what he really has in the bigs.

Bill Jordan is a contributing writer to BaseballReflections.com and can be reached by e-mail at billjordaniv@yahoo.com.

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