DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The American League playoffs begin Tuesday night, and for the fourth straight season, the Rangers won't be a part of it.
Texas ended the 2020 season with a 60-102 record, the second-worst in franchise history.
The good news, however, is the fact that Texas has money to blow in free agency this winter, and they are apparently ready to do just that.
Spotrac estimates that the Rangers have just $28.4 million in guaranteed financial commitments for the 2022 season, with the rest of their roster either eligible for arbitration or in their pre-arbitration-eligible seasons. Considering that this was a team that spent more than $150 million on their payroll a season ago -- and the looming possibility of a salary floor as part of the new collective bargaining agreement that will have to be in place before the 2022 season -- it stands to reason that general manager Chris Young, president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and the Rangers do plan to be aggressive this offseason.
"I certainly hope it's not a long shot. I don't view it as a long shot," Young said recently on the GBag Nation in response to a question about how he would qualify the team's chances of acquiring talent. "I expect us to be very active in the free-agent market. Over the next few weeks (we're) going to assess our direction, our needs, and how we see this playing out over the next several seasons. ... I think it's a strong free-agent market, and I'm excited for the Rangers to participate in it, and we expect to be very active. And I think this is going to become a very desirable destination for players to come (to). Our hope is to create a winning environment that other players see and want to be a part of. I believe in it and we'll continue to build (the roster) with the right players that fit what we're doing."
While Texas will definitely have their eyes on the star-studded shortstop market, which includes Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story and Javier Báez, they should look to acquire at least one, if not two starting pitchers to insert into the top of the rotation ahead of young starters such as Taylor Hearn, Dane Dunning and Spencer Howard.
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One of the best arms on the open market will be former Mansfield Legacy standout and New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
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Syndergaard missed the entire 2020 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and 2021 essentially turned into a wash as well. The former All-Star made two appearances for the Mets, including allowing three hits and two earned runs as the team's opener in the season finale.
Prior to his elbow procedure, the man New Yorkers call "Thor" was among the top young arms in the game. He sports a career 3.32 ERA, with a whopping 177 strikeouts in 121 appearances in his six seasons (120 starts).
With those kinds of stats and the hometown connection, it certainly makes a lot of sense for the Rangers to get involved.
"I think they should go sign Noah Syndergaard," Mike Bacsik said Tuesday on the K&C Masterpiece (watch the video above). "He's a local guy. He had a major injury (but) he came back at the end of the year and showed that he's somewhat healthy going into the offseason to prepare for next season. That's a guy who can be a Cy Young winner, and he can be a total flop. His career might be totally over. But for three years, and I don't know, $40 million? And the third year is a mutual option. … I don't think they can run out the young pitchers (to start next season). … So, you got to go get some veteran guys out who might still have five years (or more) left in Major League Baseball."
Still only 29, Syndergaard can become a free agent this offseason, although it doesn't sound as though he envisions leaving the Mets.
“It would be a tough pill to swallow not wearing a Mets jersey next year. I’m going to try not to focus too much on it," Syndergaard said after the season, according to Mike Puma of The New York Post.
Last week, Sydergaard said that he was "fairly confident" that he would return to the Mets next year, and didn't discount the possibility of doing so on the qualifying offer. We don't yet know what the value of the qualifying offer will be in 2022, but it was worth $18.9 million this season. Accepting the qualifying offer, assuming the Mets extend it, would allow Syndergaard to be well compensated as he rebuilds his value in anticipation of potentially testing free agency after the 2022 season.
That said, we ranked Syndergaard as the No. 4 potential free agent starting pitcher this offseason. Is it possible that he could decline the qualifying offer and land a lucrative multi-year deal, be it from the Mets or someone else? Sure, but it still seems that his best bet would be to bet on himself in 2022 by playing on the qualifying offer.
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