AL West

The Texas Rangers must sign Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka for the 2014 MLB season.

It's pretty simple: Pitching wins in the playoffs.

Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels is providing reasons for fans to be excited about the upcoming 2014 season.

The team will be looking to bounce back from its disappointing 2013 campaign that ended with a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, a loss which kept the Rangers from making the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

The largest contract in MLB history stands at $275 million. What we're here to discuss is the prospect of Mike Trout one day putting that to shame with a $400 million contract.

"Ridiculous" might be the first word that comes to mind. Or maybe one of those weird hybrid words like "absurdulous."

Last week I gave out grades for all of the transactions made by the Oakland Athletics. This week, I'm going to power rank them.

What's the difference?

According to a source who has confirmed the deal to Greg Johns of MLB.com, free-agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo will be the newest Texas Ranger.

In the long run, it's hard to know how the Texas Rangers' decision to dole out over a quarter of a billion dollars to Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo will work out. In 2014, though, the team arguably boasts the best lineup in MLB.

As was reported earlier today by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, free-agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has agreed to sign a seven-year, $130 million deal with the Texas Rangers.

After already addressing their need for a big bat in the middle of the lineup by trading for Prince Fielder, the Texas Rangers got one more gift in time for Christmas by reportedly signing free agent Shin-Soo Choo. 

It doesn’t look like Nelson Cruz or Shin-Soo Choo will be playing for the Texas Rangers in 2014.

The old adage of "you win some, you lose some" sure rings true when it comes to the moves the Oakland Athletics have made so far this offseason. Assembling a bullpen of this caliber could be an A+ by itself. But the A's failed to fill crucial holes with big trade chips.

The starting rotation is young and talented.

Bartolo Colon was the lone veteran of the staff, but he became a free agent. Rather than look internally, the A's filled Colon's spot in the rotation with another free agent.