Mitch Moreland debuts at first
Thursday morning the Rangers made a surprising statement that Kinsler was going to the DL with a strained groin and Mitch Moreland would be getting re-called from Oklahoma City. Moreland, hitting .289 with 12 homers and 69 RBI's, is a 24 year old out of Mississippi State with an advanced approach at the plate. Moreland has 47 walks and only 63 K's this year, which is in line with his previous numbers. Moreland was hitting .320 for July with 6 homers. Moreland is extremely hot right now, and the Rangers deemed him a better option at 1B offensively than Davis was. Last night, in his debut, Moreland proved why. Moreland was 2-4 with 2 singles. Moreland's most impressive hit ball though was a blast to dead center that was caught against the wall. It was the type of blast the Rangers have been waiting on Davis to have.
Moreland has a great eye at the plate, and rarely swings at bad pitches. He routinely squares up the baseball, and has good power. He played OF for all of the year until 3 weeks ago when Smoak was dealt. Moreland is a versatile player who can play multiple positions. I expect to see him in Arlington for a long time. After the game Davis was sent back AAA to create a roster spot for another 1B: newly acquired Jorge Cantu.
Cantu joins the Rangers
Thursday afternoon reports started coming in that the Rangers were closing in on the Marlins 1b/3B Jorge Cantu. The Rangers have been linked to Cantu for the last 3 or 4 weeks, so it didn't come as a surprise. News broke in the late afternoon, during the 8th inning of the Marlins-Giants game, that Cantu was going to become a Ranger. Cantu, 28, is hitting .262 this year with 10 homers and 54 RBI's. Cantu fills a massive void the Rangers have had all year- a right-hand hitting 1B. Cantu is not having nearly the year he's had the past 2 years, but he is still a good player. The only issue with Cantu is he doesn't have favorable splits vs lefties. He's only hitting .256 in 90 AB's against lefties this year, although his career numbers are better than that.
Cantu is a solid addition for the Rangers. He gives us a solid bat who can platoon with Moreland at 1B, spot MY at 3rd, and be the right-hand pinch hitter we've been searching for. Cantu didn't come at too high of a price either. The Rangers dealt Minor League pitchers Evan Reed and Omar Poveda. Reed is one of my favorite relievers in our system. He throws a mid-90's fastball with an average slider. If he can improve the slider he could be a back-end bullpen guy for the Marlins down the road. That being said, he's a 3rd tier prospect for the Rangers and dispensable. Poveda had an excellent year last year in AA as a 22 year-old, but this season ended for Poveda before it ever started. Poveda underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training, and will face an uphill battle to reach the majors. Neither are major pieces to the future puzzle for the Rangers. The fact that we were able to get a guy like Cantu for 3rd tier specs emphasizes why its great to have a deep farm system.
Guzman to fill in at 2nd
With Kinsler going on the DL Thursday, the Rangers suddenly became involved in the 2B market. This afternoon a source announced that the Rangers agreed to deal 2 pitching specs to Washington for 2B Christian Guzman. Guzman, 32, is hitting .282 with a .327 OBP in 89 games this year for the Nationals. Guzman does not have any power to speak of but he is a good contact hitter who is a legitimate starting 2B. This shows me that the Rangers are concerned about Kinsler's groin injury nagging him down the stretch. This gives the Rangers another option to start everyday at 2B so Kinsler doesn't have to rushed back onto the field. Guzman is an upgrade over either Arias or Blanco, and should make at least one of them dispensable. There is very little chance that Arias and Blanco stay on the roster when Kinsler comes back. It wouldn't surprise me if one is gone by tomorrow at 3:00 either.
Guzman cost us more in terms of prospects than Cantu. The Rangers deal 2 AA starters to Washington. Ryan Tatusko, 9-2, 2.97 era, and Tanner Roark, 10-5, 4.2 era, are both projected to back-end rotation guys or relievers. Both guys have an opportunity to make an impact in Washington in 2011 or 2012 that would be much harder to get in Texas. Again, these are 3rd tier prospects for Texas and makes them expendable with such a deep system of prospects. I have seen both Tatusko and Roark pitch in Frisco. Tatusko is a strike-throwing ground ball pitcher, while Roark is more of a strikeout/fly ball pitcher. I think both of these guys have the stuff to be average big league pitchers down the road, but this was a deal the Rangers needed to make. It would be difficult to sustain our division lead without a starting 2B for 2-3 weeks.
I believe all 3 moves improve the Rangers chances of being a championship contender. Cantu and Guzman are obvious upgrades over their replacements. It will take some time to determine how much of an upgrade Moreland really is over Davis, but it would appear that he will be better offensively. His defense is rated as average, but should be offset by his offensive production. The Ranger's front office is doing a great job of not sitting on a lead and coasting into the playoffs. Daniels is doing a great job of seeing where the weaknesses are and fixing these problems, no matter how small. The Rangers are not preparing for a September inter-division battle with Oakland and LAA. The Rangers are loading up for an October battle against the Yankees. This time it might just be enough.
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