One free agent each MLB team needs to target this offseason
Texas Rangers: Will Smith
As they prepare to open their new stadium, the Texas Rangers should be looking to make a big splash this offseason. They need to put a good product on the field to give fans a reason to come out to the park. Regardless of having a roof and air conditioning to make it much more comfortable to watch a game in Texas in July, there won’t be a huge bump in attendance if the team is bad.
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Even with a climate-controlled environment, the Rangers are still going to live and die by the dinger and hope for just enough from their pitching staff. Mike Minor and Lance Lynn actually give them a solid one-two punch that can keep the team in the game almost every night. Minor and Lynn aren’t true aces, but the offense is good enough that they don’t have to be.
When the Rangers made surprise back-to-back trips to the playoffs in 2015 and 2016, they had an uncanny ability to win one-run games. It’s almost impossible to predict a team’s record in close games from year to year, but there’s no way the Rangers are coming close to their 36-11 record in one-run games from 2016 with a bullpen as bad as last season’s. Texas relievers had a 4.73 ERA in 2019, allowed 1.5 home runs per nine and over a hit per inning.
Their starting rotation may have been worse, but addressing three gaping holes in one winter when there is only one marquee starter on the market is a gargantuan order. The Rangers would be much better served by targeting the best reliever on the market, All-Star closer Will Smith. His presence alone may be enough to give the team five or six extra wins in close games. That alone is enough to stay in the playoff hunt and worth the investment.