Results tagged ‘ Omar Vizquel ’

A little catch up for everyone…

Sorry about not being on here yesterday, me and Jarrett were out on the golf course and away from the computer all day. When I got home I was too interested in Lost and Top Chef to post anything, so here is a little catch up on everything that happened yesterday:

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Eric Hurley tears rotator cuff.
This is a pretty significant blow to the rotation next year. While Hurley was not supposed to come out and be the ace of this team, I did think he would be a solid #4 if he could stay healthy. Well, so much for that idea. I am really hoping Hurley comes back from this surgery, but odds are this could be the end of Eric Hurley. I have been anti-Sheets for a while now, but I think we need to go get him now. My friend Ryan from RangerTradeTalk.MLBlogs.com sent me a spreadsheet he put together on Sheets against the AL this morning. Pretty interesting stuff. He is 5-4 with a 2.84 ERA against American League teams in 12 starts. Has 64 Ks in 82.1 innings, 65 hits, 26 earned runs and 27 walks. He blanked the Angels in 2004, nearly throwing a perfect game.

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Rangers ink deal with veteran SS, Omar Vizquel. This is a win win situation for the Rangers. Regardless of his output we will be getting a great teacher for Andrus, a good locker room veteran, and a utility fielder we badly need that can probably still hold his own on the field and at the play. If Andrus doesn’t work out you don’t have to shift Young from place to place, hindering his progress as a third baseman and probably upsetting him more as his role would once again not be defined. With the addition of Vizquel you avoid that potential front office problem. He was also cheap. If he can benefit young Andrus in any way this season (and I think he will be a great player coach for him) then you make your money back in future investment.

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The Rangers farm system gets even more #1 love.

This is about the 5th list I have seen the Rangers receive a #1 ranking on this off season, which pretty much suggests that the cat is out of the bag. This reinforces the depth of talent we have in our minor league clubs, and one thing people continue to mention is the different, yet equally impressive, waves of young talent that will be coming to Arlington in the next 1-5 years. Law ranks Neftali Feliz (#4), Justin Smoak (#15) and Derek Holland (#21) in the Top 25 prospects in all of baseball. Excited yet? Jim Callis of Baseball America ranks Neftali Feliz #9 in his overall minor league pitching prospects.

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Jason Parks writes Q & A dissertation over at BBTiA.

Check this out, lots of good stuff. I am actually going to go through some of these questions and answer them with my own opinions later today. Jason Parks comes through as usual with tons of good information, if you don’t have this blog on your bookmark toolbar yet, you should.

I’ve got some stuff of Ben Sheets coming up later today or tonight and a few notes on JD and the offseason in the next couple days as well. My work schedule has slowed up a bit so I will try and get some more posts out today. Will be attending the caravan tonight to get Josh Hamilton to sign his walk off homerun lineup card that I bought myself for a Christmas present. Let me know if you guys are gonna be out there, I’d like to say hi if you are.

Omar Vizquel Notes…

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The Rangers are reportedly close to signing 11 time gold glove winner, Omar Vizquel to a minor league deal. This is significant in the fact that it gives them an out if Andrus gets in way over his head. It’s also significant to ink him to a minor league deal, which would not require the Rangers to reserve a spot on the 40 man roster for him, a number that currently sits at 39.

I think everyone agrees that this is a no risk move for the Rangers. They will get a professor for Andrus, veteran for the clubhouse, and (hopefully) the utility player they have been looking for, all at a significant discount. This will also keep Young from moving between 3rd and SS if Andrus can’t handle the workload.

Something no one has really expounded on yet is his presence in the locker room. This is a team that has leaders, good ones at that, but you can never get too many veteran guys in the locker room (unless you are the Cowboys). Vizquel will be another guy the young players can turn to for advice and coaching, and that kind of help will go a long way the youth on this squad.

Frankly, I like every aspect of this move and see no real downside in it, go get him JD.

Side note: The Rangers inked Frankie Francisco for $1.615 million, avoiding arbitration, another good signing.

Another side note: I have a ton of stuff to do at work for the next few days which is why my posts are increasingly lame and lacking any sort of insight. Or maybe that’s just me. Anyways, I am going to try and get some good posts in over the next couple days, but if I can’t I will this weekend.

Rangers kicking tires on veteran Shortstop Omar Vizquel?

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From T. R. Sullivan and BBTIA:
If you haven’t already, I highly suggest you check out Joey Matschulat’s write up of Omar Vizquel this morning. Link here. He also has a recording of Jon Daniels on “Ben and Skin” from yesterday, 15 minutes of pretty good Ranger talk that deserves a listen if you are interested on the GM’s take on a lot of pertinent issues.
If you have not seen this yet, the Rangers are kicking the tires on veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel. I like this move, a lot. Vizquel, now 41 years old, is far from his prime. His offensive numbers, which were one pretty salty, are not even decent any more. However, this is not where his value comes in. If you bring in a guy like Vizquel you are essentially bringing in a professor for Elvis Andrus. 
Vizquel has been a gold glove winner 11 times in his long career, you cannot put a price on that kind of experience. Andrus, who “idolized” Vizquel growing up in Venezuela, will have a legitimate mentor during his rookie season. If Andrus is the future shortstop of this organization, this move is an outstanding investment. Vizquel is still an outstanding fielder, and can play a wide range of postions, making him a great fit as a utility man on a team that doesn’t necessarily have one at this point (German Duran is probably the current utility guy). 
Another reason I like the deal is it will allow Michael Young to completely immerse himself in third base. Young, who will be debuting in April as the Rangers Opening Day third baseman, is going to have the daunting task of learning a new position in 2 months. He is not going to have time to mentor Andrus, and this is a team with no other shortstop experience. Bringing Andrus up without someone to work with on a professional level, would be a mistake for this ballclub. It would give them very little room for error if Andrus has trouble making the adjustment from AA to the Major Leagues (which he most certainly will). This would also put the Rangers in the awkward position of having Michael Young go back and forth between SS and 3B after the shakeup they had this off season. 
Another thing is the Rangers have no set utility man for this year. German Duran is the frontrunner right now, and while he is a nice player, is not someone you want to rely on to play every position on the field if push comes to shove. I believe Vizquel can play SS and 2B and possibly 3B, and play them very well. 
This also make sense on an economic standpoint. The Rangers are obviously trying to take on as little payroll as possible. He can be gotten at a big discount because of his age and it is estimated he can be had for 1-2 million dollars. This is a great investment if he is brought in as a mentor for Andrus.
A deal with Vizquel make sense on several different levels:
1) You get a great mentor for the future shortstop of the organization.
2) You get a good utility man for a cheap price
3) It allows Michael Young to completely focus on 3B
4) It is a very low risk deal, if he doesn’t pan out, who cares
I think this is something the Rangers needs to lock up as soon as possible. I would love to see Andrus and Vizquel working together this March, getting Andrus ready to be the Texas Rangers starting shortstop for a long, long time.

Rangers kicking tires on veteran Shortstop Omar Vizquel?

photo-omarvizquel.jpg
From T. R. Sullivan and BBTIA:
If you haven’t already, I highly suggest you check out Joey Matschulat’s write up of Omar Vizquel this morning. Link here. He also has a recording of Jon Daniels on “Ben and Skin” from yesterday, 15 minutes of pretty good Ranger talk that deserves a listen if you are interested on the GM’s take on a lot of pertinent issues.
If you have not seen this yet, the Rangers are kicking the tires on veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel. I like this move, a lot. Vizquel, now 41 years old, is far from his prime. His offensive numbers, which were one pretty salty, are not even decent any more. However, this is not where his value comes in. If you bring in a guy like Vizquel you are essentially bringing in a professor for Elvis Andrus. 
Vizquel has been a gold glove winner 11 times in his long career, you cannot put a price on that kind of experience. Andrus, who “idolized” Vizquel growing up in Venezuela, will have a legitimate mentor during his rookie season. If Andrus is the future shortstop of this organization, this move is an outstanding investment. Vizquel is still an outstanding fielder, and can play a wide range of postions, making him a great fit as a utility man on a team that doesn’t necessarily have one at this point (German Duran is probably the current utility guy). 
Another reason I like the deal is it will allow Michael Young to completely immerse himself in third base. Young, who will be debuting in April as the Rangers Opening Day third baseman, is going to have the daunting task of learning a new position in 2 months. He is not going to have time to mentor Andrus, and this is a team with no other shortstop experience. Bringing Andrus up without someone to work with on a professional level, would be a mistake for this ballclub. It would give them very little room for error if Andrus has trouble making the adjustment from AA to the Major Leagues (which he most certainly will). This would also put the Rangers in the awkward position of having Michael Young go back and forth between SS and 3B after the shakeup they had this off season. 
Another thing is the Rangers have no set utility man for this year. German Duran is the frontrunner right now, and while he is a nice player, is not someone you want to rely on to play every position on the field if push comes to shove. I believe Vizquel can play SS and 2B and possibly 3B, and play them very well. 
This also make sense on an economic standpoint. The Rangers are obviously trying to take on as little payroll as possible. He can be gotten at a big discount because of his age and it is estimated he can be had for 1-2 million dollars. This is a great investment if he is brought in as a mentor for Andrus.
A deal with Vizquel make sense on several different levels:
1) You get a great mentor for the future shortstop of the organization.
2) You get a good utility man for a cheap price
3) It allows Michael Young to completely focus on 3B
4) It is a very low risk deal, if he doesn’t pan out, who cares
I think this is something the Rangers needs to lock up as soon as possible. I would love to see Andrus and Vizquel working together this March, getting Andrus ready to be the Texas Rangers starting shortstop for a long, long time.

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