The worst start of Lance Lynn’s career could be his last start with the Texas Rangers
The segment of fans out there, and you know who you are, who want the Texas Rangers to finish with the worst record in baseball have been given some hope.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have won three straight games to see their hold on the worst record shrink to only one game.
The Pirates are 18-39. The Rangers are 19-38.
Finishing last results in the first overall pick in the draft.
This is doable for the Rangers, who presumably would draft Vanderbilt right-hander Kumar Rocker with the first overall pick.
Standing in their way is that the Pirates close the season with three road games against the surging Cleveland Indians, who have won five straight and are one game out in the American League Central.
The Rangers, though, have been just as terrible their past three games, and that includes what happened Thursday to open their final series of the season.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from a 12-4 loss to the Houston Astros.
Lynn’s lousy finale
The guess here is that Lance Lynn isn’t going to easily forget how his final start of the 2020 season went. He might never forget it.
“It will give me something to really piss me off this offseason,” he said.
It might also be his last start with the Rangers.
The right-hander allowed a career-worst 10 runs (nine earned) in 5 2/3 innings. The Astros connected for two three-run homers (George Springer and Jose Altuve) and a two-run shot (Alex Bregman) among their 12 hits off Lynn.
His ERA went from went from 2.53 to 3.32, which is still good but not indicative of how good Lynn pitched this season.
“It’s a bad way to end, not giving your team a chance to win, having the worst start of year career but that’s the way you end probably the best season of your career,” he said.
Lynn posted a 1.99 ERA in 10 of his 12 starts. He pitched to an 11.56 ERA in two starts against the Astros, to which he said, “We’ll figure it out.”
Lynn reached 100 pitches for the 38th consecutive start, which is something, but a case can be made that he shouldn’t have been allowed to stay in the game that long.
“It was just more of him wanting to go back out for the sixth,” manager Chris Woodward said. “Once he got a couple runners on, I wanted to give him the chance to get out of it.”
Not that the Rangers were going to come back with this offense. Leody Taveras started the game with a double, and the Rangers didn’t have another hit until Ronald Guzman singled in the bottom of the fifth.
The Rangers scored three in the sixth, but Lynn was likely either in the trainer’s room or in the shower by then.
“It leaves a sour taste in all of our mouths,” Woodward said. “But it doesn’t change the way he pitched for us all year.”
Lynn will head into the offseason with a year left on his contract but knowing that he is on the trading block after being shopped at the Aug. 31 deadline.
General manager Jon Daniels said then that discussions that didn’t reach the finish line could pick up again. New conversations could develop with teams that weren’t buyers at the deadline but that expect to contend in 2021.
Considering where the Rangers are, they should move Lynn if trading him can provide a young bat that would add power to the lackluster offense. Fixing the offense is this team’s No. 1 priority.
The Rangers might have seen Lynn make his final start for them Thursday.
Calhoun coming on
Willie Calhoun will be the first to admit that this season has stunk on a number of levels, including that it took him until the final series of the season to connect for his first home run.
A number of different factors were involved, including a hamstring strain in August that cost him around a month. He also was dealing with some lingering issues on the mental side after he was hit in the face by a 95-mph fastball in spring training.
But he erased one noticeable goose egg from his stats sheet in the sixth inning with a two-run homer. He also doubled in a run in the eighth.
“That probably was my favorite homer, just because I hadn’t hit a homer since last year,” Calhoun said. “It felt good to finally get a good game underneath my belt and be productive out there.
“It’s important to always finish on a strong note. It’s been kind of a depressing year for me. Just finishing these last three games strong is what I’m going to try to do.”
Calhoun said he is not going to go to the instructional league even though the Rangers want him to go. He said the best thing for him is to get away from baseball, not to keep pounding away.
“The biggest thing for me is just mentally detaching for a while. I feel like I’ve been in my own head this year since spring training. I haven’t gotten over it, but I’m slowly getting over it. It’s been depressing for a while.”
One more for Choo
All signs are pointing toward the Rangers not re-signing Shin-Soo Choo for another season after his seven-year, $130 million contract expires after the season.
The Rangers are going young, and Choo, 38, isn’t getting younger. The Rangers are going cheaper, and Choo, even though he has said he will play for less, won’t come all that cheap.
The Rangers have a lot of outfielders/designated hitters, and Choo is an outfielder/designated hitter. The Rangers need roster spots, and the end of Choo’s contract creates one.
You get the picture. Woodward does, too, and so does Choo.
That’s why Choo is going to attempt to play this weekend and Woodward is going to attempt to play him. Choo is on the injured list with a sprained wrist.
“Seven years in the organization, he has done a lot of amazing things,” Woodward said. “He has been a good player, off the field, on the field, in the clubhouse, his presence, what he has done for the organization. It would be meaningful. It’s setting a good example for the younger guys in his pride of wanting to play.”
Choo dealt with injuries in his first season with the Rangers in 2014 and in 2016, but was also a key to their division title run in 2015 and was an All-Star in 2018. He has a .260 average in seven seasons with the Rangers, a .363 on-base percentage and a .791 OPS.
He has also been a great teammate, playing hurt, giving professional at-bats, and grooming younger players. His latest project is Taveras, who could replace Choo as the Rangers’ leadoff hitter.
“Choo’s gone out of his way and done a lot of things as far as helping me out,” Taveras said. “Grabbing me an iPad and things that I can get to start watching videos and stuff like that to help me out.”
