It was the same old story; the Rangers scored well enough in 2007, but their pitching was atrocious. GM Jon Daniels finally decided to throw in the towel, trading Mark Teixiera at the deadline for a package of prospects from the Atlanta Braves. The Rangers have a young team and are hoping that they can build their team around these building blocks; the thing is, they need to go even further with their rebuilding project if they are going to succeed.

This offseason, Daniels needs to look to shed as many bad contracts as possible, build pitching depth and plug some holes. The team salary should rest at around $70M for 2008, although the extra income from MLB.com should come in handy this year. The extra money resulting from Alex Rodriguez opting out means that the Rangers have some wiggle room to sign some free agents.

Offense

This offense put up 816 runs this season, good for 5th in the AL, but their team line of .263/.328/.426 underscored the need for higher-OBP types in this lineup (they’ve already removed the two worst perpetrators from the starting lineup in Laird and Vazquez). Playing at the Ballpark in Arlington definitely helps the bats, as evidenced by their 0.32 runs/game advantage at home versus on the road this year. A deep, young outfield gives reason to hope in the future, but Texas could use one big bat to put it all together.

C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.266/.310/.422 with 11 HR and 33 RBI in 308 AB)
Gerald Laird (.224/.278/.349 with 9 HR and 47 RBI in 407 AB)
Salty did a pretty decent job this season despite being only 22 years old. The switch-hitting catcher should be a cornerstone for Texas to build around for years. A good defensive catcher, Laird has become expendable with the Saltalamacchia, and Texas needs to spin him for as much as they can get.

1B: Nate Gold (.270/.349/.491 in 6 minor league seasons)
Gold has just manhandled pitching at double-A and triple-A the last two years (60 HR and 206 RBI), but he is past prospect status at age 27. He’s got some power, but don’t expect him to post such gaudy numbers in the bigs. There is a chance he turns out to be a Jack Cust-type of hitter, however.

2B: Ian Kinsler (.263/.355/.441 with 20 HR and 23 SB in 483 AB)
A torrid start was followed by a cold streak and injury in 2007. Still, Kinsler is extremely talented with the stick for a second baseman, and should be a solid contributor in this lineup. His athleticism could translate into much better seasons ahead.

SS: Michael Young (.315/.366/.418 with 37 2B and 94 RBI in 639 AB)
A great hitter to have in your lineup, Young is a very tough out. However, the contract extension he got is a little outrageous for aplayer with so little power. The Rangers should have either traded him or allowed him to walk after 2008.

3B: Hank Blalock (293/.358/.543 with 10 HR and 33 RBI in 208 AB)
Ramon Vazquez (.230/.300/.373 with 8 HR and 28 RBI in 300 AB)
Texas had some bad luck, with Blalock getting injured so early on and missing most of the season. He actually hit extremely well when he played, and that’s good reason to be optimistic about 2008. There’s a reason Vazquez hasn’t held a starting job with any team since 2003, and the Rangers found that out this year.

LF: Frank Catalanotto (.260/.337/.444 with 11 HR and 44 RBI in 331 AB)
I’ll admit it, I thought Cat would blossom as a starter in Texas, but I was wrong. He hit great at home (.299/.370/.573), but was putrid on the road. His career numbers indicate that he should do much better this year, but at age 34, you can’t take that for granted. I’d look for an opportunity to deal Frank, who’s signed for two more years at $4M with an option for 2010.

CF: Marlon Byrd (.307/.355/.459 with 10 HR and 70 RBI in 414 AB)
Byrd had a spectacular season, but his career .273/.334/.394 line doesn’t instill much confidence. The Rangers should have gone all the way with their decision to rebuild and gotten maximum value for Byrd. Some combination of Byrd and Murphy should hopefully approach league average in 2008.

RF: Nelson Cruz (.235/.287/.384 with 9 HR and 34 RBI in 307 AB)
Those are some bad growing pains right there. The 27-year old Cruz is too good to keep hitting like this, but he needs a mentor or somebody to help him through this. If he rebounds big in 2008, this could be a very good lineup.

DH: Jason Botts (.240/.326/.335 with 2 HR and 14 RBI in 167 AB)
Another prospect that’s been on the shelf a little too long, Botts will be 27 this coming season. If they had just passed on Sammy Sosa, Botts would be another year closer to becoming a pretty decent big league hitter. As it is, he shouldn’t be too bad this year, so long as you don’t ask him to play defense.

RF/LF: Victor Diaz (.240/.259/.538 with 9 HR in 104 AB)
Prodigious power, along with prodigious strikeouts and only one walk. Yep, just one in 108 PA in 2007. Someone has got to get on his case about this, because Diaz could be an above-average hitter if he just focused a little more.

LF/CF/RF: David Murphy (.340/.382/.534 with 15 XBH in 103 AB)
Once considered a high prospect, Murphy came over from the Red Sox in the Eric Gagne trade, and has really produced. He could push his way into this crowded outfield with some solid play.

The Rangers are maybe a year away from having a rock solid, balanced lineup. If Gold doesn’t work out at first, they need to have a contingency plan; maybe they could move one of the outfielders to first base. They could use a big bopper to take it to the next level, and he could come from within. Like I said before, offense is not really the problem.

Pitching

The Rangers were the fourth-worst staff in the AL last season with a 4.75 ERA. They were dead last in strikeouts with 976, yet allowed the second most walks at 668, however, so you could argue that they got lucky. They should have been worse than that.

Rotation: Kevin Millwood, Kason Gabbard, Kameron Loe, Vicente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy, Robinson Tejeda

Not one starter thew a single complete game in 2007. The Rangers need a real ace, but they can’t afford what it would cost to acquire one, so they need to draft and develop talent better. Failing that, they should trade from their strength and acquire major league-ready pitchers. Millwood is consistent, if not anything else, and Gabbard and Loe look like they could be solid eventually. Padilla, at $11M in 2008 and $12M in 2009, is one contract I’d do whatever I could to shed. The story here is too many walks. Given the personnel here and the overall lack of defense on the team, I’d invest in the bullpen short term. Carlos Silva, who is an extreme control artist, could be a good addition if he’s not too expensive to sign.

Bullpen: Joaquin Benoit, C. J. Wilson, Frank Francisco

The Texas bullpen has not been good in many years, but they finally have some young talent that looks like it could stick in Benoit, Wilson and Francisco. John Rheinecker will also probably help fill out this pen. Bringing up a hard-throwing youngster like Franklyn German or Francisco Cruceta wouldn’t hurt, and acquiring another solid veteran could help things. Ezequiel Astacio could also see some time in a callup. The loss of Ron Mahay might not be so bad, if they can find someone to close and bump Otsuka back to a setup role.

Closer: Akinori Otsuka

Otsuka has the most experience, but at a fragile 36 years old, the Rangers need to address this position and soon. There is speculation that they could re-sign Eric Gagne, who pitched very well for them in 2007, for one year.

Defense

This year, Texas led the AL in errors committed (124), but also turned the most double plays (178), an interesting combination. Laird is an excellent defender, and Young is an above-average shortstop, but the rest of the infield is not impressive. With the loss of Teixeira at first, the defense is questionable. In the outfield, Byrd is not a good centerfielder, but Cruz appears to be pretty good. This is an area that needs improvement.

On the farm

SP: Edinson Volquez (30-21 with a 3.69 ERA and 9.20 K/9 in 5 minor league seasons)
The 24-year old Volquez is a flamethrower who walks too many hitters, but has been extremely tough on hitters in the minors. He came up for six starts in 2007, and pitched fairly well, so look for him to join the rotation if anyone struggles.

2B: German Duran (.286/.336/.467 in 3 minor league seasons)
The blossoming of th 23-year old Duran could mean that the Rangers should consider trading Kinsler sometime in 2008 or 2009. He’s got very good power for a player who’s 5′ 10″, and isn’t too terrible with the leather.

SP: Matt Harrison (24-19 with a 3.44 ERA and 6.45 K/9 in 5 minor league seasons)
Harrison is just what Texas needs, a left-handed control pitcher with some pretty good stuff. Getting him as part of the Teixeira deal was a huge plus, and though the 21-year old is clearly not ready yet, he’s got a future in this rotation for sure.