Brandon Webb

Some could argue that the Texas Rangers had a devastating offseason. That wouldn’t be too far from the truth.

The loss of key personnel (Cliff Lee), as well as losing guys to injury in spring training (Tommy Hunter), and the mix-up in the outfield—Nelson Cruz dropping the first fly ball because of Julio Borbon bumping into him in the home opener—the Rangers have a long season ahead of them.

Two games into this long 162-game season, however, the Rangers have had some great things happen already.

This is part two of a three part series where I am ranking the top 30 major league players on the Texas Rangers roster. In part one I covered players 30-21, which was mainly players on the fringe of the 25 man roster and younger players who will contribute at some point during the season. The players ranked 11-20 are not quite core players, but they are more so components of the Rangers. Every team has a few stars at the top of the roster and average players that fill out the bottom of the roster, but its the middle section of a team that puts a team over the top.

Over the past two years, Brandon Webb has thrown a grand total of four innings in the major leagues.  However, in 2011 he will attempt to fill the void in the Texas Rangers’ rotation created by Cliff Lee packing his bags and heading to Philadelphia.

Prior to his injury problems, Webb was one of the elite players in the game. 

The Texas Rangers signed Brandon Webb last week, a move classified by some in the baseball world as a "smart gamble" given the veteran pitcher's Cy Young Award pedigree and outstanding goatee.

Still, others regarded the signing as a "stretch" or "risk", or to tie it in with the counterpoint, a "stupid gamble" given Webb (a) hasn't pitched in two years and (b) has a right shoulder that could trade war stories with Hideki Matsui's knees and Don Mattingly's back.

It has been reported that Brandon Webb has reached a one-year agreement with the Texas Rangers.

The contract has a $3 million base salary, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.

The Rangers were in the running for the great Cliff Lee, but he ultimately shunned them for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Rangers had a lot to offer Lee, who just missed out once again on a World Series ring.

The Rangers played fantastic throughout 2010 and should field the top team in the AL West in 2011.

Considering what ace left-hander Cliff Lee accomplished for the Texas Rangers last season, losing him to the Philadelphia Phillies had to be difficult to stomach for a franchise that reached the World Series.

It's been a relatively uneventful offseason for the Twins, albeit only on the major league side. The Twins have landed a slew of relievers for their minor league system, as well as a few promising young prospects. Most notable is 17-year-old shortstop Javier Pimentel of the Dominican Republic. 

Besides the signing of Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the Twins' major league squad remains fairly depleted. Key losses of Carl Pavano, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, Brian Fuentes, Jon Rauch and J.J. Hardy seem to overweigh the small but earnest gains.

The Cubs managed to get Carlos Pena for only $5 mil this year ($5 mil deferred until 2012) and stole Kerry Wood for $1.5 mil.  Factoring in arbitration raises though, they only have a few mil left to work with, so what are the rest of the possibilities for the Cubs offseason?  In this article I’ll look at free agent possibilities and later will look at trade possibilities:

The position players all look set and will probably break down to 13 people:

Former Cy Young Award winner and National League All-Star Game regular Brandon Webb is still looking for a new home this offseason.

Despite making only one start over the past two years due to devastating shoulder injuries, the 6'3" right-hander could prove to be quite a sleeper in the 2011 season and be one of the league's more pleasant surprises.

Before his unfortunate run of injuries, Webb was one of the league's most dominant starters.

Big name free agents are flying off the market at a rapid pace.  Almost every big name free agent has agreed to terms with a team.

The free agent class of 2010 was very top heavy.  It lacked depth, especially in the pitchers market.  After Cliff Lee signed with Philadelphia, that made Carl Pavano the new top free agent pitcher.