The Ranger Reporter

MLB.com choose Martin Perez as the eighth best prospect in baseball.  He had a nice showing in the Texas League but then struggled as a 20 year old in the PCL where he’ll probably end up again in 2012.

He’s a lefty and hopes are high that he makes an impact in the Rangers rotation as early as 2013.  He’s not a really hard thrower but he has a really nice curve ball.  His walk rate was also a little on the high side and while this is a great arm, Perez can still use some work.

1)  Yu Darvish  RHP
2)  Jurickson Profar  ss
3)  Martin Perez  LHP
4)  Mike Olt  3b
5)  Leonys Martin  OF
6)  Neil Ramirez  RHP
7)  Cody Buckel  RHP
8)  Jorge Alfaro  C
9)  Christian Villanueva  3b
10)  Rougned Odor  2b

You never like when things drag out like this but the Rangers have until 5 pm to sign Yu Darvish.  I think the deal gets done because neither side wants this to go out without a contract and the Rangers definitely need to add a big arm to their mix.  I think tonight we’ll be celebrating a nice deal that the Rangers already are kicking in over $50 million for.

Then we need to focus and bring in Prince Fielder.  I know many people think this is an either/or situation where if Darvish signs, we won’t be getting Fielder but I don’t buy it.  The Angels are much better now and to keep up, we need C.J. Wilson’s replacement as well as another big power bat.

It cost them $57.1 million, but the Rangers won the right to negotiate a contract with Japanese phenom Yu Darvish. That broke the previous posting fee that was put up by the Red Sox to pick up Dice-K.  Darvish seems like the real deal. He’s big, throws hard and he then he has his pitchers.  The Rangers now have until January 18 to work out a deal.

One nice thing is, he’s only 25.  Last season he put up some impressive numbers in Japan.  He went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts in 232 innings.  He’s had an ERA below 2.00 for five straight seasons (but he’s had just two ERA titles and he’s a two time MVP.  The Rangers have been scouting him for a while and that hard work hopefully paid off because we should have an ace in the making.

The Rangers locked up Joe Nathan to a two year deal and now that the physical is out of the way, we can take a look at the numbers.  He’ll be paid $14.75 million and there’s also a club option for a third year at $9 million.  This is quite a bit for a guy who’s a year removed from missing a season.  In addition, there’s another $1 million in incentives that could come into play.

Last year, Nathan struck out 43 in 44 2/3 innings for a bad Twins team.  He saved 14 and had an ERA of 4.84.  Of course the big news out of this is that Neftali Felix will now become a starter and Nathan will slip into the closer role for the Rangers.

In an expected move, the Rangers offered starting pitcher C.J. Wilson arbitration.  After a 16-7 season, Wilson qualified as a Type A free agent so the Rangers will get two picks before the newer new rules go into effect.

The odds of Wilson coming back look pretty slim and the Rangers are already shuffling to fill the gap left by his departure.  Neftali Feliz is moving to the rotation and he’ll take Wilson’s spot with the signing of Joe Nathan. I like the move and with the team starting to sell Rangers tickets, they need to do everything they can to make the fans feel confident.

Darren Oliver wasn’t offered arbitration but the Rangers still get a pick because of these new rules.  There were four other nonranked players which included Brandon Webb, Michael Gonzalez, Endy Chavez and Matt Treanor.  None of those guys were offered arbitration.

The Rangers shored up their bullpen once again by signing former closer Joe Nathan to a two year deal.  Nathan missed all of 2010 and came back in 2011 and after a rough start, he had a productive season and he eventually slipped back into the closer spot for the Twins.  Nathan will make $14.5 million over two years and there’s a club option for a third year so he’s definitely closer money.

With the move, the Rangers also announced that Neftali Feliz is going to be in the rotation next year.  With C.J. Wilson most likely on his way out, the Rangers needed to fill a spot and Feliz is going to be the guy.  Then again, this is what was supposed to happen last year but it never materialized.

I like the move and Feliz gives the Rangers more value in the rotation.  Nathan used to be a stud and even if he’s taken just one step back it’ll be fine for the pen.  Good moves all the way around.