Josh Donaldson? Trade? Texas Rangers exploring options after Anthony Rendon gets away
General manager Jon Daniels was at his most candid Thursday on the final day of the winter meetings, around 15 hours after the Texas Rangers’ were broadsided onto a new off-season course.
Anthony Rendon wasn’t just the Rangers’ Plan A this off-season. The third baseman might have had half the alphabet covered.
The Rangers coveted him. They wanted him for a long time, though apparently not as long as the Los Angeles Angels were willing to guarantee.
So, Rendon, a native Texan, agreed to a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Rangers’ division rival after the Rangers reportedly offered only six and an option year.
Daniels didn’t get into specifics about how the Rangers swung and missed, or why enough money wasn’t there for the player they built their off-season around.
They didn’t swing hard enough, and now will be free-swinging as they look for ways to make the club better with Rendon no longer on the board.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it: It sucks,” Daniels said.
Not necessarily Donaldson
All possibilities for improving the offense are on the table, Daniels said. The Rangers are going to acquire a third baseman, though not necessarily the biggest remaining free agent at the position, Josh Donaldson.
Daniels didn’t mention the 2015 American League MVP by name, but cast doubt on the reporting in the aftermath of the Rendon signing.
“I wouldn’t assume that we necessarily view the options exactly as they are portrayed publicly,” Daniels said. “I don’t want to sit here and pretend we have options on the table that would have been as attractive as Rendon would have been.”
That doesn’t mean the Rangers won’t sign a free-agent third baseman, Daniels said, but he also talked about the potential for a robust trade market. He said trading for a star player with only a year or two of control remaining likely isn’t in the Rangers’ best interests.
Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant might have been in the cross hairs of that quote, along with Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor and Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts.
The Colorado Rockies are exploring if they should trade Nolan Arenado, arguably the game’s top third baseman, and the remaining seven years and $234 million on his deal. That contact, though, allows Arenado to opt out after the 2021 season.
“I think the trade market really hasn’t picked up yet,” Daniels said. “We will address third base, but we’re focused on overall opportunities to improve the team.”
Others areas to upgrade
The Rangers are considering upgrades at catcher and first base. They needed a right-handed hitter for the middle of the lineup. A high-profile starting pitcher is not a priority.
Daniels said the Rangers are not considering another year of rebuilding, though the idea has been batted around. They have enough money to put together a competitive team after the Rendon miss.
“I’m not going to get into who the alternatives are or what else we might do,” Daniels said. “In the event we had been successful in signing him, it would have been a meaningful outlay. Now, we have quite a bit of flexibility. Our focus is right now, but we’re also mindful that a lot of great free agents could be available next year.”
These winter meetings will be deemed another Rangers loss because of their inability to land Rendon, though they freed up roster flexibility by trading outfielder Nomar Mazara and agreed to a deal with left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez.
That deal and the pre-meetings agreement with right-handed starter Jordan Lyles are expected to be announced Friday after both pass their physicals.
The budget-friendly deals for Lyles and Kyle Gibson seemed to be part of the Rangers’ plan to sign Rendon.
They swung and missed.
“At the end of the day we made a big offer, but he got a bigger offer and made a decision to go somewhere he preferred to be,” Daniels said. “That was our preferred path, but it is what it is. He made a call, and we’re going to continue to look at alternatives.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 1:14 PM.
