We continue our series in which we look at how each 2015 playoff team can go about the offseason in order to chase a ring in 2016. For more of an introduction, see the first piece in the series about the Yankees. Here, we will be looking at a team that surprised many by reaching the playoffs before getting knocked out in the divisional round, the Texas Rangers.
Previous Teams:
Yankees
Pirates
Astros
Dodgers
Just as a reminder, here are the cutoffs that we are looking at:
Last year’s recap:
Lost in American League Division Series to Toronto Blue Jays in 5 games.
Total WAR: 37.1
Top 12 WAR: 33.5
Top 16 WAR: 29.4
2016 Offseason
According to WAR, the Rangers were not one of the five best American League teams last year. It actually comes as quite a shock that this team did better than the Astros throughout the regular season. That doesn’t always have to be a problem because there might be a young, improving team that managed to make it to the playoffs and wasn’t quite ready but might be in a couple of years. Unfortunately for the Rangers, I think last year’s division title only gives them false hope. Aside from Delino Deshields Jr. and Rougned Odor, the rest of last year’s returning starters leave almost no room for growth. Sure, they’ll have Cole Hamels for the whole year, but there aren’t any other improvements that can be made with just a little tweaking. The right move for this team would be to retool, which would entail trading Hamels and probably Adrian Beltre for younger players that will help them much more in a couple of years. However, this series is called World Series push, so I will try to find a way to turn this team into a World Series contender. Not all of the moves that I make for this team will be logical and some will seem downright stupid, but I’m arguing that if this team’s only goal is to win a championship in 2016 and ignore everything else, then these are moves that need to at least be considered.