In this day and age of high-priced free agents and long-term contracts for players that have one or two good years left, it is comforting to see my beloved Rangers continue to make good decisions.
Signing Lee would have been an awesome signing, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed, but at least he didn’t go to the Yankees.
I honestly can’t say that I blame either side for the actions they took. Philadelphia is a good place for Lee to go, and the Rangers refused to do something that made them uncomfortable and didn’t fit in their long term plan.
The common action after losing a major free agent would be to go right out and sign somebody else to fill the hole, but this year there was no such signing out there, so rather than making a rash decision the Rangers took a deep breath and looked what other options might be out there.
Zach Greinke was being actively shopped, so the Rangers took a look, as any wise team would. Once again, the demands being made didn’t fit into the Rangers long-term plans, and ultimately didn’t appear to be worth the price to be paid.
So the Rangers said thanks for considering us, but we’ll pass.
They did make a few signings that could prove to be great for the team, or just be low-risk signings that we forget about by this time next year.
Brandon Webb was once an elite pitcher, but has struggled with some injuries in recent years. If he can return to only half his previous form it will be worth it, because we really haven’t invested that much.
Every Rangers fan had legitimate hope that Lee would come back to Texas, or that we would make some other big signing, but that just isn’t how it played out. And not much else has really taken place since then.
It would be easy to get frustrated that the team isn’t doing a whole lot, but that is exactly why I am thrilled with the management right now. It has a plan and is sticking to it. It is obviously working, or else the Rangers wouldn’t have made it to the World Series last year.
There has been some talk of moving Michael Young around to accommodate the signing of Adrian Beltre, and if they are do, they are just plain stupid.
Michael Young has been the pillar of consistency for this team, and ultimately the glue that holds it together. He is the consummate team player that every team needs.
Beltre, on the other hand, is inconsistent, and at this point extremely overpriced. I have all the faith in the world that management will make the right choice based on how they have acted thus far, but stranger things have happened.
So as the new year passes, I would personally like to say thank you to the Rangers management for doing nothing. The opportunity will come to make a big move, but for now, just hold tight.
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