Rangers catching prospect out for the year

Rangers catching prospect Tomas Telis, who made his U.S. debut last year at the age of 17, is expected to miss all of 2010 after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

GM Jon Daniels said Telis, ranked No. 26 among the Rangers prospects by Baseball America magazine, recently had the surgery and is expected to miss the full year.

The Rangers’ backstop curse claims another victim.

Hope springs eternal for Texas Rangers

Give it a couple of weeks, and pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Surprise, Ariz. Starting right there, the Rangers’ chances for at least divisional success, and maybe beyond, can also be deemed the best in over a decade.

Yes, the Rangers remain stuck in Tom Hicks’ financial muck, and that won’t change until the new Greenberg-Ryan ownership assumes command, hopefully by Opening Day in early April.

But in an off-season of money shuffling, after a solid and surprising 87-win year, the Rangers still made additions that prompted third baseman Michael Young to say the other day:

“We’re a good team, we know we’re a good team and the people we play against know we’re a good team. We established that last year.

“And right now we’re a better team than when the season ended in 2009.”

And this time, Michael means it.

MLB.com: Admission to U.S. likely for Texas prospects

Pitching prospects Omar Beltre and Alexi Ogando could be joining the Rangers for Spring Training in Arizona after a five-year banishment from the United States because of their roles in human trafficking and visa fraud scandals in the Dominican Republic.

...Beltre and Ogando were denied admission after admitting to marrying women for money and helping them get to the United States. According to the Dallas Morning News, about 30 or so young Dominican players were offered around $3,000 by filling out paperwork and pretending to have married certain women.

The State Department, in heightened security following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, uncovered the plot and denied all players entry into the United States. The Rangers were told it would be just a one-year penalty for the 2005 season, which is why Texas selected Ogando in the Rule 5 Draft the following December.

Instead it has stretched to five years, and the Rangers were close to giving up on both players. Right now they are the only two players from the scandal who are still on their respective teams’ 40-man rosters.

Ban expected to end for Dominican hurlers Beltre, Ogando

Pitching prospects Omar Beltre and Alexi Ogando could be joining the Rangers for Spring Training in Arizona after a five-year banishment from the United States because of their roles in human trafficking and visa fraud scandals in the Dominican Republic.

The Rangers have been told that the United States State Department has removed all restraints that have kept the pitchers from leaving the Dominican Republic and has provided them with a waiver that will allow them to apply for a visa. That is the same last step that all Dominican players must take before Spring Training and is considered routine.

NBC Sports/Calcaterra: The Rangers sale is a “trainwreck”

Really nice piece of work by Craig here, expanding on this cite from Sports Business Daily:

The creditors have to sign off on the tentative agreement between Hicks and Greenberg/Ryan, and from the sound of it, they don’t have a huge incentive to do so.  According to the article:

The key issues, the sources said, are that while the sale has an announced price of $570M, there is only $390M of cash changing hands, with the difference assumed liabilities. And of that the banks would only get $250M, sources said. Before they get paid, according to the deal, Hicks would be paid for the real estate around the ballpark, MLB must be paid for loans it forwarded the team, and Rangers investment bankers, Merrill Lynch and Raine get paid too.

That’s right: Tom Hicks has helped broker a deal in which he personally gets paid before the people from whom his spendthrift ownership group had to borrow in order to make ends meet last year. And of course, Hicks himself is part of the new ownership group too. The result: an angry group of creditors is worried that they’re going to only get pennies on the dollar—“We will be better off in bankruptcy court,” a source says—and may very well tell Greenberg, Ryan and Hicks to go back to the drawing board. If that happens, you have to figure that Jim Crane and Dennis Gilbert, who were reported to have better bids than Greenberg—would come back into play.

LeBRETON: In every measure, Michael Young excels as Texas Rangers’ leader

LeBreton measure, sure. LeBesgue measure, probably not.

He will be 33 this season, and Young feels he is entering the prime of his career.

“One of my favorite players of all time is Paul Molitor,” Young said, “just because he was a great player, a great competitor, and he was respected for the way he played the game. He had his best years in the mid-to-late part of his career, and I expect I’m going to do the same thing.

“I’ve been healthy. My body feels good. Mentally, I think I feed off the grind of the season. I don’t run away from that kind of thing. I feel like I play my best baseball when guys are starting to feel the effects of it.

“I’m looking forward to this stage of my career.”

...If he continues his present pace, Young will finish his current contract with around 2,500 hits, 200 homers, 1,100 RBI and a plus-.300 batting average.

Based on those numbers, Young carries a 97 score on a Hall of Fame probability scale created by stats guru Bill James. It’s not rocket science, but players who have a score of 100 are considered a “good possibility” of one day being in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

At baseball-reference.com, Young’s numbers at his age compare with Barry Larkin, Craig Biggio and Julio Franco. You could make Hall of Fame arguments for all.

BTiA: Matschulat: Tom Hicks On Alex Rodriguez

Hicks: The Amazing Charlatan.

Hicks: “I think [the Alex Rodriguez signing] was a big mistake,” Hicks said. “We had just signed a big TV contract and were really stepping up in revenues. I thought Alex was going to be a big foundation of what could be a championship team for many years. I thought he was going to be the best player in baseball. He probably will end up being the best player in baseball history statistically, but he didn’t help us win.”

Yes, you can certainly argue that the A-Rod signing—particularly at its final value, which was significantly above and beyond the value of the second-highest offer—was misguided, that it likely precipitated the onset of Hicks Sports Group’s financial woes, that A-Rod wasn’t necessarily a good influence in the clubhouse ... on and on it goes. There were problems. I get that. And I get that the Rangers during the A-Rod era were not remotely good, and that this was at least partially because he occupied so much payroll space.

But when Hicks says that A-Rod “didn’t help us win” ... well, I understand that Hicks is referencing the big picture and the Rangers’ non-competitiveness during that era, but when you take that statement literally, it’s patently false. On a seasonal basis, A-Rod was a 9-10 WAR player and inordinately valuable in every on-the-field aspect. A-Rod was good enough to take a league-average team to the doorstep of 90 wins all by himself. He was ridiculously good on his own merits.

A-Rod helped the Rangers win games; the fact that it wasn’t enough games to reach the playoffs is largely attributable to bad pitching, inefficient spending and poor organizational planning/decision-making, all three of which are intermingled to some extent and all three of which really had nothing to do with A-Rod. You can dislike the hell out of A-Rod for all that I care, but let’s not conflate the A-Rod signing with the failure of the early-00s Rangers.

Keith Law: Top 100 prospects

NO.  PLAYER
1 Jason Heyward, OF, ATL
2 Stephen Strasburg, RHP, WAS
3 Carlos Santana, C, CLE
4 Buster Posey, C, SFO
5 Mike Stanton, OF, FLA
6 Desmond Jennings, OF, TAM
7 Martin Perez, LHP, TEX
8 Dustin Ackley, CF, SEA
9 Justin Smoak, 1B, TEX
10 Jesus Montero, C, NYY
11 Brian Matusz, LHP, BAL
12 Starlin Castro, SS, CHC
13 Neftali Feliz, RHP, TEX
14 Domonic Brown, RF, PHI
15 Wade Davis, RHP, TAM
16 Aroldis Chapman, LHP, CIN
17 Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, TAM
18 Casey Kelly, RHP, BOS
19 Aaron Hicks, RHP, MIN
20 Brett Wallace, 1B, TOR
21 Logan Morrison, 1B, FLA
22 Tyler Matzek, LHP, COL
23 Jenrry Mejia, RHP, NYM
24 Michael Taylor, OF, OAK
25 Zach Britton, LHP, BAL

Scouting reports for the top 25 should be free, I think.

“Igor” Gonzalez asked to be reinstated to play Double A

Former major leaguer Juan “Igor” Gonzalez asked the Baseball Federation of Puerto Rico be reinstated to play in the upcoming season of Double A ball

Tras cuatro años en el retiro profesional, González viene de jugar en el torneo Clase A. After four years in retirement career, Gonzalez has played in the tournament Class A.

El anuncio fue hecho durante la convención de la Federación, en la que se discutió el tema de los profesionales y reinstalados en el torneo. The announcement was made during the convention of the Federation, which discussed the issue of professionals and reinstated in the tournament.

Ryan: MLB had a hand in running Rangers in 2009

Ryan said MLB officials came through Arlington in July and reviewed the club’s books and its budget. The Rangers were given an operating budget with which to work. Any exception to that budget required the approval of MLB. It’s the first time anybody connected with the Rangers ownership publicly acknowledged MLB’s role. And while Ryan said MLB tried to be accommodating to the Rangers needs, it’s clear the club could not sign draft pick Matt Purke because of the limitations.
...
MLB officials returned periodically through the fall to review the books, Ryan said. Asked if he thought he was reporting as much to Bud Selig as to Tom Hicks, Ryan said: “I always went to Tom first on any issue and we’d discuss it. If it was something we felt like we needed to do, then one of us would make a call to MLB.”

As if there were more reason required to hate Tom Hicks…

Greenberg-Ryan group reaches deal to buy Rangers | Texas Rangers | Texas Rangers News and Vid…

A definitive agreement in the sale of the Texas Rangers was reached Saturday night as the investment group that includes Nolan Ryan has completed another step toward purchasing the club from Hicks Sports Group.

EV Tribune: Mesa unveils plan to keep Cubs; vote Monday

Mesa’s plan was developed after months of talks with the team to prevent the Cactus League’s most popular team from accepting a bid from investors near Naples, Fla.

The $84 million plan was drafted on requests that the Cubs had to develop a Wrigleyville-themed complex, Mesa City Manager Chris Brady said. The city would own the stadium and training facilities. Mesa maintains the current training facilities, but Brady said the team wanted to take that expense and gain advertising rights at the new complex.

Rehabbing Sheets works out for scouts

Is Ben in the best shape of his life?

Sheets, who had surgery on the flexor tendon in his right elbow last February, went 86-83 with a 3.72 ERA in his first eight seasons in the Major Leagues, notching double-digit wins seven times and finishing with an ERA under 4.00 in each of his past five seasons. In ‘08, he went 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 31 starts for the Brewers.

According to a report on AOL Fanhouse, Sheets first threw 20 fastballs in the workout, topping out at 91 mph. He then threw another 20 pitches, half of them curveballs. In his third session, Sheets’ fastball topped out at 88 mph and the pitcher looked “gassed,” the report said. Sheets is believed to be seeking a two-year deal.

A transformed Colby Lewis returns to Texas Rangers

Colby Lewis found in Japan the stuff the Texas Rangers were hoping to see when he was a member of the organization from 1999 to 2004.

Command of his fastball. Four other pitches he can drop in the strike zone at any time. Maturity that comes over time and by overcoming injury. Knowing how to pitch.

The result is Lewis finding his way into the Rangers’ rotation in 2010 and perhaps beyond after he signed a two-year contract worth $5 million Tuesday. The deal includes a club option for 2012 worth $3.25 million with a $250,000 buyout.

Hideki Irabu ends comeback attempt, retires

You say boffo, I say bufo.
Let’s call the whole thing off!

Former Yankees pitcher and Japan League star Hideki Irabu has ended his comeback attempt and will retire. Irabu, 40, hasn’t pitched professionally since 2004 with Hanshin Tigers, but was pitching for Golden Baseball League’s Long Beach Armada.

After Irabu posted a 5-3 record in 10 starts with the Armada, striking out 66 while walking just 19, he announced that he would try to return to the Japanese League. However, tightening budgets didn’t improve his odds of landing a contract.

Irabu’s best year in the U.S. came in 1998 when he posted 13 wins and a 4.06 ERA in 28 starts. His best year in Japan came in 1994 with Chiba Lotte Marines when he posted a 15-10 record in 27 appearances with a 3.04 ERA.

S.I.: Marchman: Hot Stove Report: Reds made a good, not great, bet on Chapman

Fiveng lifting will have to wait...Marchman is going around the league!

How much does Vlady have left?

When you can sign Vladimir Guerrero for one year and just $6.5 million in guaranteed money, as the Rangers did this week, I suppose you have to do so, for the same reason you would buy a Rolls-Royce with no engine and no wheels at the right price. Who doesn’t have some absurd and wonderful memory of Guerrero hitting a home run on a pitch that bounced off his shoe? Even on his worst days, when he can barely limp from the batter’s box to the dugout, he still has the authority of a really great hitter, and if you squint at his numbers you can still mistake him for one. He was a notably better hitter after sitting out much of July, and if he can play 120 games, hit .300 and knock 25 home runs the Rangers will doubtless be pleased with their new prize.

Still, however much presence he carries, the Guerrero of today is nothing at all like the Expo who hit every pitch on the screws and could handle center field in a pinch. He’s a designated hitter with a slowing bat who turns 35 in February and has the body of an older player. Just compare him to some similar hitters of recent vintage. These are all right-handed hitters with basically similar styles to Guerrero—good average and power, moderate walks and strikeouts—who hit about as well as he has recently going into their age-35 season. (OPS+ just indexes park- and league-adjusted on base plus slugging on a scale where 100 is average.)

...It’s interesting to note that the player Guerrero is for any number of reasons most reminiscent of, Andre Dawson, was the best of all these players at 35. As you can see, though, going by precedent, the odds are decent that Guerrero is done as anything but a decent hitter. That’s what the Rangers are paying him to be, but not quite what they need in a tough division.

ESPN: Rangers glad to have ‘feared’ hitter on their side

Wow! I wonder if Sullivan Tires is going let him out of his contract.

The Texas Rangers have signed free-agent slugger Vladimir Guerrero to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2011.

“We’re excited to welcome Vlad to the Rangers family,” general manager Jon Daniels said in a statement. “This is a guy we’ve both admired and feared for years from across the field. He’s been one of the most dangerous hitters in the game for over a decade. He’ll bring a presence to the middle of the order, and a winning pedigree to the club.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Rangers have scheduled a news conference at 4 p.m. ET to announce the signing.

Rangers sign Khalil Greene

Who’s running the Rangers front office at this hour with the Cowboys game on?

The Rangers have signed infielder Khalil Greene to a one-year contract to be their utility infielder. He will receive $750,000. The agreement is pending a physical. He batted .200 in 77 games and 193 at-bats for the Cardinals last year. He has had some personal issues but at one time was a front-line shortstop for the Padres.

Sources: Rangers agree to terms with Guerrero

To close out an Expos-heavy news week.

According to two sources, the Rangers have agreed to terms with outfielder/DH Vladimir Guerrero on a one-year contract believed to be worth $5 million plus performance bonuses. General manager Jon Daniels has not responded to requests for confirmation.

Guerrero, who turns 35 in February, was limited to 100 games last year by injuries after playing 143 in 2008. Guerrero would be used as the team’s primary DH, with David Murphy moving once-again into a part-time role.

Bert Blyleven staying positive on Hall of Fame prospects

Blyleven, 58, failed today for the 13th time to receive the necessary number of votes in annual balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America and thus will be on the outside looking in again — or more likely, sitting in a broadcast booth, working and circling for the Twins — when Andre Dawson is enshrined July 25 in a sunny, Sunday ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. Dawson’s name was marked on 420 of the 539 ballots, 15 more than the 75 percent (405) he needed to gain election. Blyleven, in his strongest showing yet, got 400 votes for 74.2 percent.

“I’ve got to stay positive with it,” Blyleven told me when I phoned him shortly after the results were announced. (Full disclosure: I have voted for the Hall since 1991 and have put an X next to Blyleven’s name since he became eligible in 1998.) “It’s come up a long way, so that’s very nice. … Only five votes short. There’s not much you can say.”

Then Blyleven cracked wise: “Well, you can string ‘em up so they never vote again.”

Anyone want to forward him Marriotti’s address?

Is Riley Cooper reneging on Rangers deal?

Cooper, who is projected as a fourth or fifth round selection in the NFL draft, also said he would definitely have a decision to make after combine and the Senior Bowl. The comments caught the Rangers completely unaware because they had been assured he was completely committed to beginning a baseball career as soon as the Gators season ended. He is expected in Arizona before minor league camp starts in early March.

He’s so phony, nobody believes in him.

Texas eyeing return of Lewis from Japan - MLB.com

The Rangers are exploring a possible reunion with pitcher Colby Lewis, who has spent the past two years in Japan.

186 K, 19 BB in 176 innings last year. That’s a K/BB ratio of 9.8, with a K/9 over 9.0.  Regardless of where you’re pitching, that’s pretty outstanding.  If he can be had for <$1-2 MM…

BTiA: Matschulat: The Ian Kinsler Question

If this is as tough as the Ian Svenonius “Gospel Yeh-Yeh” question...I’m outta here!

The Hardball Times’ Mitchel Lichtman recently published an in-depth study indicating that the year-to-year offensive performance of the modern-day baseball player typically crests around age 27-28, followed by gradual decline until around age 33 and then a slowly steepening decline in the seasons thereafter. Kinsler is entering an extremely pivotal year—that is, his age-28 season—in which we should logically be expecting some of his best work to date, but I’m not sure that anybody can state with utter conviction that it’s actually going to happen.

If anybody was looking for an important early-tenure litmus test for new hitting coach Clint Hurdle, his forthcoming one-on-one work with Kinsler and his ability to modify his swing for the better—to the extent that it can actually be improved, or that Kinsler will accept and incorporate his teachings—stands out in my mind as an potential leading indicator of how he’s going to be perceived by the fan base. And, hey, if Kinsler ends up remaining what he is right now (a 30-homer, 30-steal, .350-.355 wOBA second baseman with above-average defense), that’s still very, very good, because 4½-win players are extremely valuable properties.

And yet in spite of that bright side, I simply cannot shake the feeling that Kinsler could be something even bigger and better than what he is right now. It seems like it’s right there within his grasp, and yet he hasn’t managed to reach out and grab it. Being right on the cusp of superstardom is great and wonderful, but to be so close and yet so far away ... well, I can’t fathom too many things more maddening than that.

WEEI: Lowell: ‘I don’t have a problem’

“‘Tis but a scratch!”

Speaking by phone from Orlando, Mike Lowell touched on the history of his injured right thumb — which is due to get surgery shortly after Christmas, as well as his thoughts on returning to the Red Sox after the team had agreed in principle to a trade that would have sent him to the Rangers along with $9 million in exchange for minor league first baseman/catcher Max Ramirez.

“I don’t have a problem. Absolutely,” Lowell said regarding whether or not he could return to the Red Sox. “I think everything is getting lost with all the other pieces of who they want. But I think I’m going to do much better than last year. I feel like there were close to 20 games I felt I should have been in the last two months of the season, which would have given me about three more homers and would have put me at 20 (homers) and 90 (RBI), which is about what I am.”

As for what he thinks is going to happen in regard to his future with the Red Sox, Lowell said, “I have no idea. I have absolutely no idea. That’s not my department.”

Rangers will not deal for Mike Lowell

As ephemeral as Pluto in the solar system…

After an exam in Arizona and another in Texas, it was determined that Mike Lowell has a torn ligament in his thumb and will have surgery shortly after Christmas. He will need about six to eight weeks of recovery.

According to a Rangers source, this kills the proposed trade with the Red Sox.

EV Tribune: Mesa puts Cubs batting cages on hold

Mesa is refusing to upgrade a ballpark used by the Chicago Cubs unless the team enters more serious negotiations to keep spring training here.

The city was about to sign off on roughly $684,000 for semi-enclosed batting cages but on Thursday decided to hold off until top Mesa officials meet the Cubs in Chicago on Friday.

The city had expected the Cubs would welcome improvements that the team requested, Mayor Scott Smith said. But he noted that when a Chicago sports columnist asked Cubs manager (sic - he’s team president) Crane Kenney about the batting cages, no comment was given.

“The silence that came out of Chicago and the Cubs was deafening,” Smith said.

Heyman: Big teams still have moves to make

Just for BBC:

The Astros are telling teams Lance Berkman is unavailable. The Red Sox are one team to have inquired.

And for the Met fans:

Of Igarashi, the Japanese reliever who’s about to go to the Mets, one Japanese scout said, “I’ve seen him great but he wasn’t great last year.’’

Here’s hoping that Nolan Ryan’s honesty doesn’t hurt him

As he gave himself the first official shove out the boss of bosses door this week, Tom Hicks said something (in a media-release statement) that goes deep into Home Run Porch, or high on Greene’s Hill, or even way-way-way up there in the center-field baseball offices of the Texas Rangers.

“Nolan Ryan is the personification of the word trust.”

If there are any concerns about this new ownership deal working out, one might be just that.

I’m about half-serious in saying Ryan is probably too honest to be an owner of a major sports franchise.

Biz of Baseball: Source: Greenberg Group Selected by Hicks for Texas Rangers

An unconfirmed source to The Biz of Baseball has reported that Tom Hicks has selected Chuck Greenberg’s bid over Jim Crane and Dennis Gilbert for the rights to enter an exclusive negotiating window to complete the purchase of the Texas Rangers. The selection of Greenberg does not mean that he will own the club, but does pave the way to reach a sales agreement with Hicks. If that sales agreement is met, it would then have to meet the muster of MLB’s Executive and Ownership Committees before needing approval from 75 percent of the league’s 30 owners to finalize the deal.

With Greenberg having Rangers president Nolan Ryan as a key member of his ownership group, with a solid core of local investors, approval for ownership transfer should be smooth sailing.

I really don’t think Hicks had much choice. If he’d selected either of the other groups, Ryan was gone, and I doubt the Rangers could have afforded that hit.

MLB: Rangers considering Buck at backstop

You can add John Buck, now a free agent, to the list of catchers the Rangers are considering this offseason.

Buck became a free agent on Saturday night, when the Royals elected not to tender him a contract for 2010. The Rangers were monitoring both Buck and Dioner Navarro, the former All-Star catcher for the Rays, who will remain in Tampa Bay after agreeing to a one-year contract in the final hours before the on-tender deadline.

Buck was the Royals’ No. 1 catcher for 4 1/2 years before losing his job to Miguel Olivo last season. Both Buck and Olivo are now free agents, as the Royals have signed Jason Kendall to a two-year contract to be their regular catcher.

“Usually, when the non-tender list comes out, there are some catchers, some bullpen options and guys who might be utility infielders,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. “We’ll go over the list and see who we might be interested in.”

Thanks to EddieO.