Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers might be weighing trade options with bringing in a starting pitcher for replacing Derek Holland who is out until midseason after he suffered a knee injury on Tuesday.

Sportswriter Anthony Andro of FoxSportsSouthwest.com reported the news via Twitter.

Updates from Saturday, Jan. 11

Richard Durrett of ESPN provides Derek Holland's description of what occurred:

There is only one spot left undecided in the Texas Rangers starting rotation for 2014.

It is presumably for the fourth or fifth spot. The team has three lefties in Derek Holland, Martin Perez and Matt Harrison, and Yu Darvish is the lone righty.

On Wednesday, I projected how the Texas Rangers' revamped offense would look in 2014. Today is the second installment in the projection series: the rotation. Bullpen projections, the final piece of the series, will be coming soon.

There are some Texas Ranger fans who believe that it could be in the team's best interest to eventually trade shortstop Elvis Andrus.

Parting with Andrus, who was a core member of the 2010 and 2011 Rangers teams that made consecutive World Series appearances, would be an extremely difficult call to make.

But there are pretty fair arguments on both sides of the coin here.

The Texas Rangers have made a number of transactions this offseason, with moves affecting players on the roster both positively and negatively. In addition to players being affected by these moves, the organization as a whole will also be seeing positive and negative effects of some of their decisions this offseason.

As I said in my previous piece, it's seeming more and more as though the place for the Texas Rangers to find the final quality starter they need is the trade market rather than free agency. 

The Texas Rangers are looking to put the 2013 season completely in their rear view as they gear up for 2014.

Last year was filled with both good and bad memories, from a near-perfect game to a trade that didn’t pan out. The team also made history during a July series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Texas didn’t get a chance at a playoff run, but it was still a fun season to watch.

I am a firm believer that the Texas Rangers' 2014 offense is set for Opening Day. That means the club should turn away from making any further significant signings to upgrade the offense. 

Instead, the Rangers should be very pleased with the lineup they will field next season. There is a nice mix of high-paid star talent and value guys who outplay their contracts.

Make no mistake about it, the Texas Rangers have a top lineup for the upcoming 2014 MLB season, but they should still pursue a designated hitter in Kendrys Morales.