Locked On Rangers Podcast: How Snell could cue Monty's return, Seager and Jung close, Jack Leiter's role
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00:00 Could the Astros' pursuit of Blake Snell
00:02 be the thing that finally gets the Rangers
00:04 to up their offer to Jordan Montgomery
00:05 and bring back the World Series hero?
00:07 We're gonna talk about all that and more
00:08 on this episode of Locked on Rangers.
00:09 Let's get into it.
00:10 You are Locked on Rangers.
00:14 Your daily Texas Rangers podcast.
00:18 Part of the Locked on Podcast Network.
00:21 Your team, every day.
00:24 ♪
00:34 You are Locked on to the World Series champion
00:36 Texas Rangers.
00:37 I'm Bryce Patrick, a cripplingly addicted
00:39 Texas Rangers fan covering this team for ten seasons
00:41 including all five as the founder and host
00:43 of this podcast.
00:44 Thank you all so much for making Locked on Rangers
00:46 your first listen every single day.
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00:49 @BrycePatrick.
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01:00 Now before we get into today's episode,
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01:13 Now this weekend, some credible rumblings,
01:17 my favorite kind of rumblings,
01:19 came out that the Astros are in pursuit
01:22 of or at least kicking the tires on bringing in Blake Snell.
01:27 This was a surprising development and one that at first,
01:30 I wasn't quite sure how to feel about
01:32 and quite sure what to think about it
01:34 because it just felt very confusing.
01:38 Much like the Astros signing Josh Hader,
01:40 it didn't particularly make sense,
01:41 but it definitely made them a better team
01:43 and it definitely would make Rangers worried about,
01:45 you know, killing off their attempted dynasty,
01:50 but this is the end years of the Astros clinging on.
01:54 There's, you know, a lot of older players on their team now,
01:58 not quite as many, you know, young prospects
02:00 just flying through the pipeline of talent
02:02 that they'd had for years and years
02:04 and the Astros for once spending big.
02:06 And I think it's more important to think about this
02:09 in the context of what it means for the Rangers
02:12 and what it means for Jordan Montgomery
02:14 than thinking about what it might mean for the Astros
02:16 if they actually do sign Blake Snell.
02:19 Rumblings and rumoring has continued all through the weekend
02:22 and one of the things that came out is that Blake Snell
02:24 is seeking a deal somewhere in the two year,
02:27 $66 million range with an opt-out after one year,
02:31 which that's a lot.
02:33 $33 million is a lot,
02:35 but he is a guy coming off a second Cy Young award.
02:38 He is a guy who has pitched in the World Series.
02:41 He has been at times maddening
02:44 and other times absolutely dazzling.
02:47 And I think people have overlooked
02:50 the way they don't with the Rangers
02:51 that this Astros rotation definitely has some question marks,
02:54 especially with Jose Urquidy having some issues with his elbow.
02:59 It seems like Justin Verlander is going to start the season
03:01 on the IL.
03:02 So right now, according to Fangraphs,
03:03 their rotation is Fran Brevaldez, Christian Javier,
03:06 Hunter Brown is your number three,
03:08 Ronnel Blanco and JP France.
03:11 Honestly, at the start of this year,
03:12 I feel a little bit better about the depth
03:14 of the Rangers rotation than I would
03:16 if I was an Astros fan.
03:18 I mean, Fran Brevaldez is solid,
03:20 but Christian Javier is coming off of a mediocre year last year.
03:24 Hunter Brown is still very young.
03:26 We don't really know exactly what he is.
03:28 But if you're the Rangers owner
03:31 and you see your biggest rival about to go push the chips in
03:34 on one of the two big free agents
03:36 that somehow 10 days before opening day are still unsigned,
03:40 which absolutely boggles my mind.
03:43 I know they each have question marks,
03:44 but still, these are both two amazing left-handed pitchers
03:47 that would make a lot of teams way, way better
03:50 if they just pulled the trigger and signed with these guys.
03:55 But I feel like this might be the thing
03:57 that gets the Rangers to finally up their offer
03:59 on Jordan Montgomery and say,
04:00 "Okay, well, if the Astros are going to go
04:03 add $33 million to their payroll this year
04:06 and take a big risk on signing Snellen,
04:08 it would make them, their biggest rivals, much better."
04:12 How can you not look at that and say,
04:13 "All right, we got to go get Monty.
04:15 We got to go do it. We got to go do something"?
04:18 Whether it's signing Jordan Montgomery
04:19 or whether it's making a trade
04:21 for a different top-end starting pitcher.
04:23 I talked about that on Friday's show.
04:26 So go listen to that episode if you haven't,
04:27 talking about a potential lefty, Jesus Lizardo.
04:32 A trade for him would cost a whole lot,
04:34 but I think would definitely make this team
04:35 a whole lot better for now and for the future.
04:39 But, I mean, at this point,
04:41 we are 10 days away from opening day,
04:43 and I honestly cannot believe
04:44 that neither of those guys have signed a deal.
04:47 This is an extreme rarity, an extreme rarity,
04:50 that we are seeing this off-season
04:53 of Scott Borris clients taking significantly smaller,
04:57 not as good deals as was expected.
05:00 These are guys at the top of the market.
05:02 I mean, Matt Chapman signing that deal,
05:05 Cody Bellinger signing that deal.
05:08 Bellinger's deal is not as bad as I think Chapman's is.
05:11 Chapman, I was really honestly shocked
05:14 with how many teams that were trying to be competitive
05:17 that needed a third baseman
05:18 and weren't willing to go a little bit more
05:19 that he didn't at least get, you know,
05:20 four years, $100 million.
05:22 But now we're 10 days away from opening day,
05:25 and I can't imagine that Blake Snell
05:26 is going to be ready for opening day.
05:28 Maybe Jordan Montgomery is,
05:29 but I think only if he comes back to the Rangers,
05:32 just solely because he knows that organization,
05:34 knows, you know, the catching staff,
05:36 well, at least knows Jonah Heim,
05:38 knows the pitching staff,
05:39 and kind of knows what the deal is here.
05:41 And I think at least has a home here.
05:44 I mean, it would take a lot of time
05:45 just to get all the logistics ready
05:46 of getting ready for an opening day.
05:49 But I mean, how much longer are we going to go?
05:51 Are we going to go to opening day
05:53 where neither of these guys are signed?
05:55 That feels absolutely insane.
05:57 We've seen some long drawn out free agencies
06:00 for stars in the past.
06:02 Maybe guys with a little bit higher caliber than this.
06:05 In Manny Machado's free agency lasted until March.
06:10 I know Bryce Harper's free agency lasted a long, long time.
06:13 I can't remember if it was all the way to March,
06:14 but I know it was at least into February
06:17 when he ended up signing with the Phillies
06:18 and that massive, massive deal that he's still on.
06:22 But this just feels absolutely bonkers
06:25 that these two guys are still out there.
06:27 And if this isn't the domino,
06:29 if Cease getting traded wasn't the domino,
06:32 if, you know, Garrett Cole being on the shelf
06:35 for two months with an elbow injury
06:38 isn't the domino to make these guys go and do something
06:41 and Jose Orkide's elbow looking, you know, not great.
06:44 I don't know what is going to make this happen.
06:48 I don't understand how we got to this point,
06:51 how we are still at this point,
06:54 and how Jordan Montgomery hasn't just taken an offer.
06:58 Blake Snell hasn't just taken an offer.
06:59 I mean, I can't imagine what the offers are out there
07:02 if these guys are still 10 days away
07:04 from the start of the freaking season,
07:08 are saying, "Nah, I can do better."
07:11 At this point, the leverage play of Astros versus Rangers
07:16 by Scott Bores, 'cause that's exactly what this feels like.
07:18 This feels like, you know, planting,
07:21 not that it's misinformation,
07:23 because I trust these reporters at The Athletic
07:26 and amongst other places to be accurate
07:29 in their reporting that, yeah,
07:30 the Astros are kicking the tires on Snell.
07:33 But why is this just coming out now?
07:36 There have been reports and rumblings about, you know,
07:38 more teams kicking the tires on Snell and Montgomery
07:41 since spring training started,
07:43 because it's like, "Oh, okay, these guys are still out there.
07:45 Maybe we can add these guys to our team."
07:48 And all these teams are still balking at the asking price,
07:50 and it doesn't feel like there's any progress being made.
07:53 But these leaks are saying, "Hey, hey, Ray Davis,
07:57 I know you got a whole chunk of change
08:00 burning a hole in your pocket,
08:01 'cause you know, you got quite a bit
08:04 of a chunk of change for winning that World Series.
08:06 And usually teams will go and spend that money
08:09 on a lot of free agents,
08:11 and you've done that the last couple of years.
08:13 Hey, I'm Scott Borrest.
08:14 You paid a whole lot of my guys.
08:15 Why don't you want to pay one more in Jordan-Montgomery?
08:18 Remember how he helped you win a World Series?
08:19 Wasn't that fun?
08:20 Don't you want to do that again?
08:22 Oh, look over there.
08:23 Look at Jim Crane.
08:24 He might actually, you know,
08:26 not cry poor for the first time.
08:27 He's got the Astros at the third highest payroll
08:30 in baseball right now.
08:31 And if they did sign a $33 million a year deal
08:36 with Blake Snow, then that would still keep them in third.
08:41 They'd still be behind the Mets and the Yankees.
08:43 Yankees at $290.5 million on their payroll.
08:46 This year, the Mets at $283.8 million.
08:50 Astros down there at $237.3 million.
08:52 Still sizable payroll,
08:54 and I think the highest that the Astros have gone.
08:56 The Rangers still have plenty of room.
08:58 They're already in the luxury tax, it seems.
09:00 And, you know, if you're going to go for it,
09:02 if this is your competitive window,
09:03 and, you know, there's a guy that makes all this money,
09:06 I'm just-- I'm so exhausted.
09:07 Honestly, I'm so exhausted at this point
09:09 of talking about Jordan Montgomery this
09:11 and Jordan Montgomery that,
09:12 and, you know, maybe Blake Snow,
09:14 and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
09:15 It's been the same darn thing for months.
09:19 Months.
09:21 I feel like nothing has changed
09:23 since the beginning of the offseason.
09:27 It just boggles my mind
09:29 that so many teams with a need have, you know,
09:33 made these offers, and here we are
09:36 with Boris and Montgomery,
09:37 and Snell and Boris as well,
09:40 all saying, "No, we're good.
09:43 Someone's going to up that offer."
09:45 At this point, it feels like it's over.
09:49 You've lost the battle.
09:51 Concede defeat.
09:52 Take that smaller deal with opt-outs and whatever
09:55 for whenever teams decide to, you know,
09:58 start paying players again,
09:59 to start feeling good about the TV money situation,
10:02 then your guys can be free agents at that deal.
10:06 Just go back, sign with the range--
10:08 whatever the offer is, I'm sure it's--
10:11 at least a decently reasonable one.
10:12 Maybe it's not.
10:13 Maybe it's an absolutely, you know,
10:15 hilarious underpay that the Rangers,
10:17 you know, floated to Montgomery,
10:18 and that's why he's sitting there like,
10:19 "No, that's too embarrassing
10:21 coming off of that great year that he had
10:23 where he led the Rangers to the World Series."
10:25 Maybe that's where it is,
10:26 but at this point, if this--
10:29 if Blake Snell,
10:30 whether he actually signs with the Astros or not,
10:32 just the threat of it,
10:34 if that's not enough to get the Rangers
10:35 to up their offer and bring Jordan Montgomery home,
10:38 I honestly don't know what could possibly do it.
10:42 Coming up, we'll talk about some Rangers hitters
10:43 getting healthier and Jack Lighter
10:46 looking really darn good this spring,
10:49 right after this word from our sponsors.
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11:41 Shout out to the everydayers for making Lockdown Radio
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11:48 Later on this week, I'll be doing my final opening day
11:50 roster projection.
11:52 That might be on Thursday or that might be
11:53 on tomorrow's episode.
11:54 Still not entirely sure, but I'll let y'all know
11:57 when I know you've got to check that out.
11:59 Because finally, we have some updates
12:01 about the Rangers' healthiness and how people are progressing.
12:04 We are finally getting some concrete updates today.
12:08 Corey Seager is going to take batting practice today.
12:10 As I am recording this, I believe he is finally
12:13 facing live pitching for the first time
12:15 since the World Series.
12:17 Now, Corey Seager has always been a fast healer.
12:20 And so the Rangers aren't super worried.
12:22 They're a little more encouraged,
12:24 especially with him starting to face off
12:26 against live pitching.
12:27 He's not been a guy who typically
12:30 needs long rehab outings.
12:32 I mean, last year we saw him.
12:33 And the second time he hit the IL with that broken--
12:36 I believe it was a broken thumb, definitely a hand injury
12:40 back in August.
12:41 He did not need any reps down.
12:42 And the Miners just came right back up.
12:45 The first time he hit the IL with that hamstring injury,
12:47 he took, I believe it was 10 at-bats in the minor leagues
12:50 before coming back up.
12:52 So this is a guy who heals pretty quickly.
12:54 And once he's on the field, he does not
12:56 take pretty much any time to get back
12:59 to the normal, amazing Corey Seager-ness
13:01 that he is at the plate.
13:02 I mean, once he got back from both those injuries,
13:05 it really didn't take him any time to--
13:07 once he was fully back, he was fully back.
13:10 There was no, OK, he's still getting
13:12 adjusted to hitting major league pitching,
13:15 the speed of the game, yada, yada, yada.
13:16 No, it didn't matter.
13:17 When Corey Seager was in the box
13:19 last year, he was absolutely transcendent offensively.
13:22 And I'm hoping that continues on this year.
13:25 And I have very little doubt that it will definitely
13:29 carry over yet again.
13:31 The Rangers also got some good news
13:32 about the other player who's been hurt on the left side
13:35 of their infield.
13:36 Josh Young is DH-ing in a minor league game today.
13:40 He could DH in an A game this week,
13:43 which is progress from where we thought he would be,
13:46 as recently as last week.
13:49 Last week, it seemed like the news
13:50 was he's going to DH and start playing every day in the games
13:55 in Globe Life Field against Boston,
13:57 the week of opening day.
13:59 And then we would kind of see where he was there.
14:02 But this is progress.
14:03 This is good news for the Rangers.
14:05 He had been taking at-bats in minor league games
14:07 before, doing some light jogging.
14:10 And so it's good news on the calf strain for Josh Young.
14:14 Looking like he's going to be ready for opening day.
14:17 It is looking like Corey Seager is probably going
14:19 to be ready for opening day.
14:21 Now, as for Nathaniel Lowe, we still have not
14:23 heard many updates on that.
14:25 I think it is pretty reasonable to assume that he
14:28 is going to miss opening day.
14:30 Players can be put on the IL retroactive to March 25.
14:33 So if that is the case with Nathaniel Lowe,
14:36 with that oblique injury, then he
14:39 is going to miss the first five games, I believe,
14:42 of the season, the first week of the Rangers regular season.
14:45 So it won't be ideal, but won't be missing the full 15--
14:51 I believe it's 10-day IL.
14:52 So it would just be one week as opposed
14:55 to basically two weeks worth of games for Nathaniel Lowe.
14:57 And as for who's going to take that spot,
14:59 well, it seems like it's down to Justin Foscue and Jared Walsh.
15:04 Both those guys having fantastic springs.
15:06 Justin Foscue just hit an absolute tater
15:08 in Sunday's game.
15:09 He's been hitting pretty darn well this spring
15:11 and playing more first base than he really ever has before.
15:15 Walsh has been also very, very impressive this spring.
15:18 So that has been good news for him,
15:20 who had his career sidetracked with neurological issues
15:24 and all kinds of other health and injury
15:26 issues the last couple of years.
15:28 And he was an all-star not that long ago.
15:30 And if the Rangers can get anywhere
15:32 near the all-star level version of him
15:34 and the Angels just let him walk,
15:36 that is really not going to feel good for those Angels.
15:40 Some other injury news, not as good injury news
15:44 on this front, but Josh Bores has
15:46 been dealing with knee soreness the last couple of weeks.
15:49 He will throw a live bullpen today.
15:51 He has not pitched in the last 12 days,
15:53 but the Rangers are still very confident
15:55 he is going to be ready for opening day, which is good.
15:59 I've been a little concerned that I
16:00 hadn't seen Josh Bores in a little while,
16:02 outside of re-watching strike three called for game five
16:07 a billion times.
16:08 But I hadn't seen him in Arizona in those A games.
16:12 So good to know that he is on track for healthy--
16:16 to be healthy on opening day.
16:18 Hopefully this year he can be a little bit healthier,
16:20 a little bit more consistent throughout the year.
16:22 The Rangers have some more options
16:23 in the back end of their bullpen.
16:25 I'll talk about that later on in the show.
16:26 And some roles already being carved out and dished out
16:29 by Bruce Bochy, including naming a closer.
16:32 Talk about that in the third segment.
16:34 But there's something about this weekend's games,
16:37 about Wyatt Langford, that I noticed
16:39 that I hadn't noticed before.
16:41 And once I noticed it, I couldn't stop noticing it.
16:44 And that's Wyatt Langford's smile.
16:46 Wyatt Langford is a great smile, a very, very smiley, very happy
16:51 guy.
16:52 And when he's putting up the spring training stats that he
16:54 is, how could you beat anything but beaming from ear to ear
16:59 in those 15 games of 16--
17:02 excuse me-- RBIs, which lead all of Major League Baseball
17:06 in spring training.
17:07 Those five home runs are tied for the Major League
17:09 lead for the most of anybody in spring training
17:11 and baseball.
17:12 He's hitting 381 with an on-base,
17:13 just one point shy of 450, and slugging 786.
17:17 But something that I noticed on a 3-1 pitch
17:20 before he absolutely demolished it into the left field
17:22 corner for an RBI double was that once that pitcher
17:27 threw that 3-1 pitch, Wyatt Langford just started beaming.
17:32 Straight-faced when the pitcher was in his wind-up,
17:35 in his delivery.
17:36 But once he saw that pitch, once he
17:37 could tell, oh, I'm about to crush this thing,
17:40 he just starts beaming from ear to ear.
17:43 That happened a lot.
17:44 The more I noticed it, the more often it happened.
17:47 I guess it wasn't correlation or causation,
17:48 but once you notice something like that,
17:50 it's like that is just--
17:51 that is diabolical and delightful.
17:54 And one of my new favorite things about Wyatt Langford--
17:58 Emily Jones is out there in surprising.
18:00 She talked with him about it, and he said, yeah, yeah,
18:03 I kind of have been smiling.
18:04 You know, whenever I see a pitch to hit,
18:06 I just-- I can't help myself but, you know,
18:08 grin from ear to ear.
18:10 And that is an absolutely delightful little note
18:14 about Wyatt Langford.
18:15 If you're an opposing pitcher and you
18:16 see that guy start smiling, you've got to just--
18:20 you've got to, like, might as well turn around and watch
18:23 that ball sail.
18:24 Because once it's left your hand,
18:26 you see that grin, that glorious grin of just,
18:30 like, I'm about to destroy this pitcher's day,
18:33 and it's going to be so fun for me,
18:35 and I wonder how fast I'm going to run around the bases when
18:37 I absolutely demolish this thing over the fence
18:39 or in the corner or what have you.
18:41 I mean, gosh, what a delightful way
18:45 to approach the game of baseball.
18:46 And how can you not have a great, delightful approach
18:49 when his approach to the plate--
18:51 you know, smiling, not smiling, whatever his face is doing,
18:54 whatever he's doing is working.
18:56 And I'm still kind of annoyed that the Rangers are not
19:01 definitively saying that this guy is going to be
19:03 on the opening day roster.
19:05 I talked about it on last week's--
19:06 I believe it was Monday's show.
19:07 Maybe it was Tuesday's show.
19:08 But I would be downright irresponsible at this point
19:11 to keep him down.
19:12 But the Rangers are still hemming and hawing
19:14 and hedging their bets.
19:15 And they've said, well, there's nothing more this kid can do
19:18 in spring training to earn a job.
19:21 But then just say he's earned the job.
19:23 He's going to be your primary DH.
19:25 If he is up, the Rangers have said
19:28 he is not just going to play DH.
19:29 He is going to play the field, which by play the field,
19:33 I think they just mean left field.
19:34 I don't think they're going to worry about teaching him
19:37 to play left field, center, and right all at the same time.
19:39 Just work on one outfield position,
19:40 which seems to be left.
19:42 He's played exclusively left field in spring training
19:45 so far.
19:46 But that will get other guys time to get off their feet,
19:51 get Leo Tavares a DH day, get Adoles Garcia some DH days,
19:54 get Evan Carter some DH days.
19:56 And I think that's a great way to use the DH role.
20:00 Now having an actual regular DH that is just your DH,
20:04 sometimes that's effective.
20:06 If the Rangers went out and signed JD Martinez,
20:07 that would have been a decently effective way to go out
20:11 and utilize that DH role.
20:12 Or if they'd wanted to sign Shohei Otani,
20:14 that would have been very fun and a good use of a DH role.
20:18 But not having a guy who is your veteran DH
20:21 is the guy who is going to be DH-ing pretty much every day,
20:24 like they did with Mitch Garver when he was the Rangers.
20:28 Pretty much every day DH throughout that playoff run.
20:31 I think this is an effective way to use it.
20:33 Wyatt Langford is going to get some time out there
20:34 in the outfield.
20:35 He's a good DH.
20:37 And you are not-- if he is up, which it seems like there's
20:42 maybe a 10%, 20% chance.
20:45 It feels like it's got to be lower at this point,
20:47 that he does start the season in the minors.
20:48 But I think that this will be a good use of Wyatt Langford
20:52 and his beaming smile that will hopefully be in there
20:54 as the Rangers' DH, maybe even hitting third on opening day.
20:58 I have been delighted by everything
21:00 I see from Langford.
21:01 And him having just that little bit more personality,
21:04 you know, exuberance on the field.
21:06 Not anything showy, not anything crazy,
21:08 but just that little bit more of showing
21:10 a little bit of personality on the field, which
21:13 this Rangers team doesn't always do.
21:15 It just makes my heart so incredibly warm
21:17 watching him smile from ear to ear
21:19 right before he ruins a pitcher's day.
21:21 Coming up, we're talking about some roles that have been
21:23 dished out, including a rotation that seems like it might just
21:26 be set at this point, and a question mark
21:28 role for Jack Leiter, right after this word
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22:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]
22:27 It seems like at this point, the Rangers rotation
22:31 is finally set.
22:32 And it is-- well, it's about exactly what
22:35 we thought it would be at the start of spring training.
22:37 It seems like Nathan Evaldi is going
22:39 to be the opening day starter, followed by John Gray,
22:42 Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, and yes, Cody Bradford.
22:48 Bradford has made the starting rotation.
22:50 Much to the chagrin of all the haters and the people who
22:53 are not believing in Cody Bradford as being good enough
22:55 to be a member of a starting rotation on a playoff caliber
22:59 team, that is what is happening here right now.
23:03 I've really liked what I've seen from Bradford this spring.
23:06 A few more strikeouts than I honestly
23:07 anticipated from Bradford.
23:09 But he's mostly been really solid.
23:11 16 innings, a .394 ERA so far this spring,
23:15 with 10 strikeouts, which again, is a little bit more
23:17 than I was expecting, four walks,
23:19 and just a couple of home runs, which again, is going to happen.
23:23 With Bradford, he is a lefty who is averaging 90,
23:27 91 with the fastball.
23:28 And he lives and dies on that control and command.
23:31 And for the most part, it's mainly
23:33 the command is what he is living and dying on,
23:36 because just a couple of inches off with his fastball
23:38 and it's over the fence.
23:41 This guy has exceptional control of that fastball
23:45 and a very darn good change to keep hitters off
23:48 of that fastball and decent enough other stuff
23:51 that he can survive as the Rangers number
23:53 five in their rotation.
23:55 And I feel like a lot of people get very bent up
23:58 about the number five starter.
23:59 Oh my gosh, how can we not have a more amazing number five
24:01 starter?
24:03 And for the most part, teams are just asking for number five
24:05 starters to be serviceable, to be fine,
24:09 to get you through five innings most times out,
24:13 and to not be terrible.
24:15 There was a bunch of moaning and complaining and hating
24:19 on Martin Perez last year as the Rangers number five starter,
24:23 because the expectations that came from the season
24:25 before where he was an all-star and he really fell back down
24:27 to earth.
24:28 But he was a fine number five starter.
24:31 A 4 and 1/2 ERA in 142-ish innings,
24:35 that's fine for the guy coming out of the rotation
24:39 every fifth day at the end of your rotation.
24:42 He was solid, serviceable.
24:45 Not spectacular, but fine enough to get you some innings,
24:49 get to the bullpen and not completely tax him,
24:50 and keep your team in at most games.
24:52 And that's what Cody Bradford is right now.
24:55 And that's a win for the Rangers.
24:57 That is a big old win for the Rangers,
25:01 is getting Cody Bradford to be a solid, serviceable number five
25:05 starting pitcher in the rotation.
25:07 It has been so long since the Rangers have had even solid,
25:11 serviceable, homegrown starting pitcher.
25:14 He's a six-round pick out of Baylor,
25:15 and there was not a whole lot of prospect hype on him
25:18 coming up.
25:19 And for him to step up like he did,
25:21 he was very important for the Rangers last season,
25:24 even in the playoffs.
25:25 He had that outing in Baltimore where Jordan Montgomery had
25:29 faltered, and Cody Bradford was solid.
25:32 While those Orioles were clawing and fighting back
25:34 at the Rangers, staked Jordan Montgomery out to a big lead.
25:37 He was very important and pitched
25:39 in a key moment in the playoffs.
25:41 Cody Bradford can be your number five in your rotation.
25:44 And I feel like the moaning, complaining
25:47 about whether he's good enough-- he's not
25:49 going to win a Cy Young, probably,
25:51 unless he has a Cole Reagans-type offseason,
25:55 where he randomly goes and finds another, like,
25:57 five miles an hour on his fastball, which, again,
26:00 even for Cole Reagans, that really came out of nowhere.
26:03 By the way, congratulations to Cole Reagans,
26:04 who was named the opening day starter for the Kansas City
26:07 Royals.
26:08 Much deserved for that young kid,
26:09 and very happy to see him over there and thriving.
26:12 But hey, Cody Bradford is a member of this rotation,
26:15 and Nate Evalde threw once again--
26:18 this was not in the Rangers' major league game on Sunday,
26:20 because the Rangers didn't want him to face off
26:22 against the Cubs--
26:23 just 10 days before he would be facing off
26:25 against the Cubs in a game that actually counts.
26:27 So he went to minor league camp and faced off
26:30 against the Mariners in a minor league spring training game,
26:33 pitched six in a third inning, six hits, two earned runs,
26:36 just one walk, 11 strikeouts, 87 pitches, and 66 of those
26:41 were for strikes.
26:42 That is a classic Nate Evalde game,
26:46 looking like his Nate Evalde self, the peak version
26:49 that the Rangers desperately need in the first half
26:52 to be their ace, to carry them till reinforcements arrive
26:56 in June with Scherzer, in July with Malley,
26:59 and hopefully in August with DeGrom.
27:02 Nate Evalde is going to be relied on very heavily.
27:04 And so him looking like the best version of himself
27:07 from opening day is going to be huge for the Rangers.
27:10 Because the first month of last season, Nate Evalde,
27:12 it took him some time, for sure, to find that role.
27:16 And it really wasn't until Jacob DeGrom went down
27:18 that Nate Evalde really became big game Nate for the Rangers.
27:24 I mean, literally the game after DeGrom
27:27 left for the final time was that big, big game
27:30 against the Yankees, where he pitched a complete game,
27:32 just allowed, I believe, that was one earned run.
27:34 Maybe it wasn't even complete.
27:36 It was just a dominant performance against the Yankees.
27:37 Maybe that was a complete game shutout.
27:38 I think that was it.
27:40 I'm trying to remember both of those.
27:42 No, yeah, that was a complete game shutout against the Yankees.
27:44 And then later on in the month of May,
27:47 when the Rangers' bullpen was just absolutely in shambles,
27:49 he went down to Pittsburgh and pitched nine complete innings
27:52 with just one run and saved the Rangers
27:54 from having to use their bullpen when it was at its worst
27:57 point of the season.
27:59 The Rangers are going to need those big games from Nate
28:02 Evalde from day one.
28:04 Hopefully he can hold up and be healthy
28:06 for the majority of the season, or at least
28:09 through the first half, because that's when the Rangers need
28:11 him the most.
28:12 And then hopefully, you know, get healthy again,
28:15 be fully right, fully at his best peak self
28:18 come playoff time, assuming the Rangers are in the playoffs,
28:20 which if Nate Evalde pitches like he
28:22 did the month of May for the first half of 2024,
28:26 the Rangers are going to be not only in it, but maybe even
28:29 leading the division, because Nate Evalde
28:31 is absolutely fantastic.
28:33 Now there are some other roles that have been handed out.
28:36 As I suspected from the beginning of this offseason,
28:40 Jose LeClerc is going to be the Rangers' closer.
28:42 Shocker, the guy who was closing out basically
28:44 every single game of that playoff run
28:47 is going to be put back into that closer's role.
28:50 The Rangers wanted to see what they had in Kirby Yates
28:52 and David Robertson and how Josh Spors looked
28:54 and how Jose LeClerc looked this offseason--
28:56 this spring training.
28:58 And, you know, Shocker, the guy who was--
29:00 absolutely lights out for basically every single outing
29:04 in October, is going to go back as the Rangers' closer.
29:07 I think that is a great choice for the Rangers.
29:09 And I think it's good that there was
29:11 some kind of a competition.
29:12 It wasn't just, you know, all right,
29:14 well, you won us the World Series,
29:16 and you were great in October for a month-long stretch,
29:19 so here you go.
29:21 No, the Rangers brought in some competition.
29:23 They have four guys who they feel pretty darn good
29:26 about coming in in those late close situations
29:29 that the Rangers had at points zero to negative three guys
29:35 they felt good about coming in in games that were close late
29:39 for the vast majority of the regular season.
29:43 Now, it was very nice they got all their good bullpen luck
29:46 in October when the Rangers won the World Series,
29:48 and Spors and Chapman and LeClerc
29:51 all pitched basically every single game
29:52 and were, you know, mostly fantastic every single game.
29:56 That's not something you can count on.
29:57 But having four guys to take in those roles
30:01 and, you know, sub in, sub out for, you know,
30:04 not everybody's gonna have to pitch basically every game.
30:05 I mean, part of the reason that Josh Spors
30:07 was so inconsistent last year
30:09 is because he was hurt so often
30:10 because he was pitching so often.
30:13 But now that Kirby Yates is in here,
30:15 and he's looked fantastic this spring training.
30:17 Haven't seen David Robertson as much,
30:19 but I feel very, very confident
30:21 that he's going to be at least a solid,
30:23 serviceable back-end reliever.
30:25 Not gonna be a Rangers closer.
30:26 That's gonna be LeClerc,
30:27 and I feel very good about LeClerc
30:28 coming in and being dominant.
30:30 Maybe not the, you know, absolutely world-beating version
30:34 of himself that we saw in October,
30:36 but I'm not ruling that out.
30:38 I'm a big believer in Jose LeClerc's stuff
30:39 and Jose LeClerc the person,
30:41 and having him coming in,
30:42 riding that confidence of dominating the World Series
30:45 is the same with Josh Spors as well.
30:47 Both those guys riding the confidence they got
30:50 from that World Series run.
30:52 How can you not feel good about the back of this bullpen?
30:54 Well, you can probably just answer that by saying,
30:56 "I've seen the Rangers' bullpens four years past,
30:58 so that's how I can not feel confident."
31:00 But hey, Rangers are coming off a World Series.
31:02 Things feel different.
31:03 Those two guys feel different,
31:05 and adding those veteran arms that I have been very impressed
31:07 with Kirby Yates so far this spring,
31:09 and same with Mark Church,
31:10 who might end up with some of those
31:12 late high-leverage innings
31:14 because he has looked so incredibly good
31:15 this spring as well.
31:16 Feeling really good about the state of this bullpen.
31:18 Feeling fine about the state of this rotation.
31:21 Feeling amazing about the state of this offense.
31:24 I am so, so ready for opening day.
31:26 Hopefully we can see Corey Seager and Josh Young
31:28 in that lineup on opening day,
31:30 but even if not,
31:31 this team is slated to go the distance this year yet again.
31:36 That's going to do it for today's show.
31:37 Thank you all so much for listening and subscribing,
31:39 and until next time,
31:40 don't forget to enjoy World Series champion
31:42 Texas Rangers baseball.
31:44 [basketball dribbling]
31:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]