MLB Free Agency 2017: 5 potential teams for Rich Hill

Texas Rangers

The AL West is clearly divided into the haves and the have-nots. The Rangers, Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners aren’t separated by much at the top. Behind the top three, there’s a massive drop down to the Los Angeles Angels and the A’s. The Rangers won the division in 2016 for the second straight year, and by quite a large margin. The title didn’t come as easily as their final record would indicate, however. Texas was helped by some mind-boggling luck in one-run games, winning 36.

The Rangers will not win 36 one-run games in 2017. Baseball swings back and forth, and those 50-50 games will not always be as automatic. One of the reasons the Rangers played so many one-run games in 2016 was the up-and-down performance of the starting rotation. The staff’s collective 4.38 ERA should see a boost from a full season of Yu Darvish, but it still needs an upgrade.

Hill is a good target for the Rangers due to the short-term nature of the offers he’ll be fielding. The Rangers can play out the end of the Adrian Beltre era without locking themselves into too many long-term deals. Comparing 36-year-old pitchers, Hill is a much better No. 3 option than Colby Lewis, a Texas free agent. With very few options available, the Rangers should be all-in on Rich Hill.