Texas Rangers Aggressively Gambling during Baseball's Winter Meetings

The Texas Rangers missed out on the playoffs this past season, but they improved drastically. They finished a distant second place to the Anaheim Angels in the American League West, yet had an eight-win improvement over their 2008 campaign. Their offense hit 224 home runs, a stellar amount, but their success lied in the pitching staff.

Prior to last season, their pitching had been awful for many years. 2008 was particularly dreadful, as their team ERA was 5.37, ranking dead last in baseball. In one season that positioning decreased to 18th, as their ERA dropped a full point to 4.38, better than two playoff teams. This offseason, a front office anchored by young general manager Jon Daniels has continued their commitment to pitching.

They traded 34-year-old workhorse Kevin Millwood to the Baltimore Orioles for 27-year-old reliever Chris Ray . Millwood, who has one year remaining on his contract, has always been a dependable pitcher, having been groomed years ago by Leo Mazzone, the longtime Atlanta Braves pitching coach. He was part of one of the best pitching rotations ever.

He will serve as a mentor, and a mighty fine one at that. The Orioles' rotation is filled with young pitchers, including one, the heralded Brian Matusz , who grew up watching Millwood play for the Braves . Millwood has 155 wins to 121 losses over the course of his 12-year career, with a respectable 4.03 ERA. After a few years with a sub-.500 record and a five-plus ERA, he had an excellent 2009 season, winning 13 games with a 3.67 ERA. The Orioles would love for him to duplicate this production, but his veteran leadership as a mentor will mean more than his record.

The 27-year-old Ray is looking to become his 2006 self. That year, he was the Orioles closer—a promising 24-year-old with sky-high talent. He collected 33 saves and had a 2.36 ERA, and Baltimore had reason to believe he would be their closer of the future.

Then injuries hit.

In 2007, he underwent Tommy John's surgery, and didn’t pitch for the Orioles in 2008. He struggled this past season in his return to the bullpen, allowing 64 hits, 36 runs, and eight homers in just 43 innings, translating to a 7.27 ERA. Ray has little positive to go from, but he’s been given a chance to regain his form in Texas.

Daniels made this trade for financial reasons, but he clearly doesn’t see Ray as damaged goods. If he did, he wouldn’t have traded Millwood for him. Ray is a low-risk/high-reward player. If he can stay healthy, their bullpen can only benefit.

Daniels took a chance on another injury-plagued pitcher, signing free agent Rich Harden to a one-year contract worth $7 million. He was just one of many talented pitchers to excel with the Oakland Athletics franchise during his tenure with the Billy Beane -run team, but he couldn’t stay healthy enough to live up to his ace-like ability.

During his five seasons in Oakland, he made a total of 89 starts, which means he missed an average of 17 starts per season. In that time, he had an oblique injury, a ligament strain in his pitching elbow, and a rotator cuff strain, and made five trips to the disabled list due to these various injuries.

Even though he made a trip to the disabled list during his one-and-a-half year tenure with the Chicago Cubs, he was relatively injury-free. He made 12 starts with the club after being dealt from Oakland midseason, and went 5-1 with a 1.78 ERA. Over those three months, he struck out 89 in 71 innings, while allowing an extremely low 39 hits and 14 earned runs. This success carried over to this past season, during which he compiled a 9-9 record and continued his high strikeout rate, striking out 171 in 141 innings.

Though he has an injury-riddled history, this was a brilliant signing on so many fronts.

First, it’s a one-year deal, so if he doesn’t pan out, there won’t be any longterm ramifications expense-wise.

Second, they signed him for a cheap sum of $7 million; if injuries hadn’t shortened his first five seasons, he would be worth at least $16 million annually on the open market.

Third, he is only 28 years old, and if he makes a satisfactory amount of starts and lives up to his career 3.39 ERA, he will be in line for a very lucrative multi-year deal come next offseason, and the Rangers would have a chance to dole out the cash.

The Boston Red Sox are closer to doling out the cash so the Rangers can make a move for another injury-prone player.

Their third baseman, Mike Lowell , has been hampered by a hip injury over the past two seasons, limiting his mobility on defense. But the 35-year-old has been a solid hitter throughout his current 11-year career. He can be counted on to hit at least .280, club 17-25 homers, drive in over 80 runs, strikeout less than 65 times (he has never struck out more than 92 times in a season), and hit 25-35 doubles.

Why would the Red Sox trade such a dependable hitter? His deteriorating health and hefty contract are irksome to their higher-ups. The hip is still bugging him, he’s nursing a thumb injury, and he’s set to make $12 million next season.

The injury history doesn’t matter to the Rangers, as their previous moves indicate. The possibility of trading 25-year-old catcher Max Ramirez to Boston for Lowell increased when the Red Sox said they would pay $9 million of next year’s salary.

In one day, Texas acquired a reliever ready to resurrect his career, signed a starting pitcher with 20-win ability, and reached an agreement with a dependable veteran that they will use at third base, first base, and as their designated hitter. All are gambles, but risks worth taking. In all, a solid haul at the winter meetings by baseball’s youngest general manager.