休賽季Rangers概況-打者篇 - 美國職棒

接著是打者篇~~
剛好有空就翻完吧~
取自MLB TRADERUMOR網站 (文章 offseason outlook : Texas Rangers)

Turning to the lineup, the Rangers seem likely to let Robinson Chirinos
shoulder the bulk of the load behind the dish. If they wish to push him back
into a backup role, Welington Castillo and Alex Avila are options to serve as
the primary receiver in Arlington next year. Both should command multi-year
deals. Chris Iannetta and Nick Hundley are among the veteran backups if
Chirinos is the first choice.

打線首先從捕手看起，主戰捕手目前似乎規劃是Chirinos，如果要讓他擔任二號捕手，可
找Castillo或是Avila擔任主戰先發，但他們應該都需要開出複數年合約。如果想找資深
捕手的話，可以選擇Ianneta或是Hundley。


Most, if not all of the infield is set. Andrus performed so well in 2017 that
the notion of him opting out of his contract after the 2018 season is now
perfectly plausible — if not likely. Future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre will
be back at the hot corner, and for better or worse, second base will go to
Odor as he looks to rebound from that aforementioned .252 OBP. First base
looks likely to go to Joey Gallo, though the team could also elect to play
Gallo in an outfield corner or at DH if the decision is made to pursue a
free-agent first baseman. Eric Hosmer is almost certainly going to be out of
the Rangers’ comfort zone, but Logan Morrison, Carlos Santana and Yonder
Alonso are all conceivable possibilities on the market.

游擊手的話有著2017表現很好的Andrus，表現很好的他有可能在2018結束後選擇跳脫合約
(他可以在2018或2019跳脫合約)；三壘手的話有未來HOF的Beltre鎮守；二壘的話會由
Odor負責，而他會試著從.252的上壘率反彈。一壘可能會由Gallo負責，不過如果球隊想
要補進一個FA的一壘手，他可能會負責外野或DH；遊騎兵不大可能簽下Hosmer，但包括
Morrison、Santana或是Alonso都是可能的選擇。



In the outfield, there’s less certainty. Willie Calhoun, the centerpiece
from the Darvish trade with the Dodgers, could split his time between left
field and DH if the Rangers want to go with an intriguing, bat-first option.
He lacks experience, but Calhoun obliterated upper minors pitching in 2017
and is a consensus top 100 prospect. Otherwise, the Rangers have Nomar
Mazara, Delino Deshields and Choo as options in the outfield (and, in Choo’s
case, at designated hitter).

外野目前陣容較多不確定性。Calhoun，達比修有交易得到的重要新秀可能會在LF跟DH獲
得出場，如果想要以攻擊為優先的話；他目前缺乏經驗，但他在2017年對高階小聯盟投手
表現出色，而且無疑是百大新秀。其他人方面，遊騎兵外野有Mazara、Deshields、Choo
，而Choo應該主要會在DH。


That’s not a very inspiring unit, unless Mazara bounces back and makes good
on his longtime elite prospect status. Given that he won’t turn 23 until
April and nonetheless has two full big league years under his belt, that
shouldn’t come as a shock if it happens. But, that’s a lot to bank on, and
the Rangers could be well served by at least adding a veteran outfielder that
can handle center field or a corner. A reunion with Carlos Gomez certainly
makes sense, with Jon Jay and Jarrod Dyson also representing viable
free-agent alternatives.

但目前這樣的外野陣容並不是令人振奮，除非Mazara能打擊反彈，以及發揮他頂級新秀
的狀態。但他還不到23歲，而且才兩個mlb完整賽季，是可以期待他的潛力發揮的。不過
遊騎兵至少還應該補進一個資深外野手，找回Gomez是其中一個選擇，而FA中Jay跟
Dyson都是可能的選擇。


The elephant in the room for the Rangers is Jurickson Profar. The former No.
1 overall prospect missed two seasons with shoulder injuries and was
reportedly unhappy that he wasn’t traded prior to the non-waiver deadline.
Texas simply doesn’t have at-bats to give him, having inked Andrus and Odor
to long-term commitments at the middle infield positions. Profar didn’t hit
much in a limited opportunity as a utilityman, but he did hit .287/.383/.428
in 383 Triple-A plate appearances this year.

球隊的麻煩，(這裡用elephant in the room，表示一個問題雖然明顯，但是太過於麻煩
，而沒有人想去碰之意)是Profar身上。這位曾經的頭號新秀，經歷了兩年的肩傷問題，
並且在交易大限前發表了不開心的言論。但遊騎兵中線內野手已有長約的Andrus和Odor
，Profar只能擔任工具人的角色。而他在三A有0.287/0.383/0.428的成績。


That the Rangers elected not to give Profar a September call-up was notable
for two reasons. First and foremost, it served as an even stronger indicator
that his time with the organization is quite likely running out. A second,
less obvious benefit to casual onlookers is that it prevented Profar from
reaching four full years of MLB service time. Because he stayed in the
minors, the Rangers will be able to market three years of Profar’s
arbitration eligibility rather than two when shopping him this winter. Any
team with regular middle-infield bats could plausibly be considered a suitor.
The Padres, Royals, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays and Brewers all strike me as
speculative landing spots.

遊騎兵這兩年九月明顯不給Profar擴編的機會，這也暗示著他在球隊的日子已經結束了。
而且遊騎兵似乎想避免給他完整一年的時間，這也讓他還保有三年的仲裁年份而不是兩年
，任何球隊有中線內野手需求的都是可能的賣家，像是SD、KC、LAA、NYM、TOR或MIL。


Profar’s trade value will be a fraction of what it was at its apex, though
one can hardly fault the Rangers for not moving him when he was the game’s
top-rated prospect. The team got extremely unlucky when it came to Profar’s
health, but that doesn’t mean it can’t salvage some decent value here.
While Profar won’t command a massive return, the Rangers could get a similar
reclamation project for the rotation or possibly an MLB-caliber bullpen arm,
among other lesser pieces.

Profar的交易價值將會只有他巔峰時的一部份，而現在已經錯過換取高潛力新秀的時間
，但球隊在Profar的健康上其實是非常unlucky的。但即使不能換到很大的包裹，球隊仍
會試著換到相似潛力的新秀在輪值或是牛棚等方面。


If a payroll in the $155MM range is indeed the target, the Rangers may only
have $35-40MM worth of open payroll capacity in 2018, depending on non-tender
and trade scenarios. While that’s certainly enough space to fill multiple
needs, it’s a fairly modest amount for a club that needs multiple starters,
at least one reliever (likely more) and some outfield and/or first base help.
Texas can always try to dump some of the remaining three years and $62MM of
Choo’s contract on another American League club with DH at-bats open (e.g.
the White Sox), but doing so would require paying down some of the commitment
and providing prospect value to the acquiring team. Alternatively, they could
try to facilitate some kind of bad contract exchange, taking on a similarly
undesirable contract that at least filled a team need (e.g. Ian Kennedy).

如果明年的預算是155milliom，那遊騎兵大概休季只有35-40 million可以運用。儘管這
個數字應該是可以滿足一個需要數個先發，一個以上的後援及外野或一壘需求的球隊，
但球隊也許可以試著交易Choo到需要DH的球隊，例如:白襪，不過吃下一些薪水或是提供
潛力新秀以幫助清出薪資可能是必須的。或者球隊可以跟別人做爛合約的交換，例如:
皇家的Kennedy。


Regardless of which route the Rangers actually take, they’ll need to add
several pieces with a relatively limited cache of resources if the team truly
does not intend to embark on any kind of significant rebuild this offseason.
With a stacked Astros roster looming over the AL West, the Rangers face an
uphill battle in returning to contention for a division title. But, it’s
also difficult to fault any AL team for eschewing a full rebuild when only
five American League clubs finished with a .500 record this season.

不管遊騎兵最後如何選擇，他們需要補進一定的球員，如果球隊不想要進入重建模式；
而太空人的完整陣容將會讓球隊要重返美西王座格外不易。不過在只有5隻勝率超過5成
的美聯中，我們明年還是有機會的啦^^(這句是自己的想法~~)

希望能給Beltre一個冠軍呀~~~
JD今年真的要比往年更有作為啊



--