Rangers Aim to Add More Big Bats

After losing slugger Josh Hamilton to the AL West rival Angels and Mike Napoli to the Boston Red Sox this offseason, the Texas Rangers are in need of some new bats to fill the power void that has been leftover by their absence. This week, Rangers GM Jon Daniels expressed the organization’s desire to add some hitters to the roster as soon as possible.

“We’re looking at that now,” Daniels said Wednesday during a conference call with the media via ESPNDallas.com. “There’s a decent chance we’ll look to add somebody.”

The Rangers have expressed interest in Upton

Texas has taken an interest in outfielder Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks, but even after engaging in talks with the Dbacks, there has been no progress toward any sort of deal. Since acquiring Cody Ross, Arizona has plenty of outfielders, including Upton and Jason Kubel and may be looking to shop one of them, but it might be Kubel, who hit .253 last season with 30 homeruns, instead of Upton.

Daniels may look to upgrade his outfield in the form of a trade or a free agent signing, but overall, he is happy with his current group at the position.

“We’ve got [David] Murphy and [Nelson] Cruz on the corners, both of whom we’re very comfortable with, and Leonys Martin and Craig Gentry heading an internal group for center field,” Daniels said. “We’re comfortable. We’re always in the market to upgrade or add to the team if we can. But we like our outfielders.”

The Rangers may be looking to add a pitcher as well. They currently have four starters locked into the rotation, but are lacking a fifth. However, Daniels said the team may promote from within by upgrading someone from the bullpen into the fifth slot instead of pursuing a free agent.

“There have not been many starters out there this winter that we’ve really pushed on,” Daniels said. “The [Zack] Greinke thing was well documented, and we were interested there, and he got another opportunity and went out west [to the Dodgers]. We feel real good about our first four, and we’ve got some internal competition for the fifth spot. You can never have enough pitching, so if there’s someone we need to add, we will.”

Like many teams, to stay competitive Texas will also need to stay active this offseason to try and acquire as much talent as it can. The Rangers are sure to be a contender for the AL West crown once again, but with the Angels loading up, look for the Rangers to do the same.