Jon Daniels' patience pays off for Rangers at trade deadline
As Sunday turned to Monday, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was not sure he would make a single trade.
He probably was not getting a starting pitcher. He was not confident about landing catcher Jonathan Lucroy. And he was not yet locked in on Carlos Beltran, believing at one point Sunday night that he had a shot at another outfielder, the Reds' Jay Bruce.
Everything changed in the final hours before the non-waiver deadline.
Daniels never acquired his starting pitcher, mind you, never filled his biggest need. But he took other steps that will help the Rangers outscore their opponents, landing Lucroy, Beltran and reliever Jeremy Jeffress, changing the face of his team.
The GM's pivot was a logical response to a market in which even modestly accomplished starting pitchers -- Drew Pomeranz, Rich Hill, Andrew Cashner, et al -- commanded high prices. Still, many other contenders coveted starting pitching. And none pivoted as forcefully and imaginatively as the Rangers.
Daniels spent weeks talking to the Rays about their starters, made the necessary calls on the White Sox’s Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, even pursued rentals on the final day. Yet, he did not criticize the Rays, White Sox or any other club for placing premiums on their starters. In truth, he felt the pitchers were appropriately priced.
"I don't think they were being difficult," Daniels said of his potential trading partners. "I thought they had great pitchers in a market in which no pitching was available. They were understandably asking for a lot, especially for guys with 3, 4, and 5 years of control. They may get as much in a year or two as they would have gotten today."
So, Daniels chose to strengthen his offense, defense and bullpen, knowing that a devastating lineup and deeper ‘pen will help ease the pressure on the rotation, and that Lucroy’s catching skill will benefit the pitching overall. Never mind that the GM was outbid for Lucroy initially; he improved his offer after the catcher invoked his no-trade clause to the Indians, and got his man.
The moves cost the Rangers three of their top five prospects entering the season, according to Baseball America – center fielder Lewis Brinson and right-hander Luis Ortiz went to the Brewers for Lucroy and Jeffress, righty Dillon Tate to the Yankees in a package for Beltran.
The price was steep, considering that Beltran is a rental, while Lucroy is under control only through next season and Jeffress through ’19. But the Rangers’ reservoir of homegrown talent is so vast, they kept perhaps their best three young players – right fielder Nomar Mazara, infielder Jurickson Profar and infielder Joey Gallo.
It was somewhat odd, then, that Astros GM Jeff Luhnow took exception with the Rangers’ approach, telling reporters that his chief division rival, “took three of their top five prospects out of their system to improve today ... We are not prepared to do that for our organization.”
Well, Luhnow traded prospects last July for center fielder Carlos Gomez and right-hander Mike Fiers, and he traded prospects last off-season for reliever Ken Giles. Those deals yielded more years of control, but clubs are growing increasingly willing to sacrifice future pieces for the present, as the Cubs, Red Sox, Indians, Giants and others demonstrated at the deadline.
It’s a good trend, a healthy trend – a major-league team’s goal should be to win the World Series, not place first in Baseball America’s organization rankings. Still, no GM is happy about losing top youngsters. Major-league organizations are comprised of executives, managers, coaches, scouts and players. Daniels credits them all for the Rangers’ success, and he spoke of Brinson, in particular, almost like a proud father.
“That one was challenging,” Daniels said. “In addition to having the athleticism to play center field, he can hit for power. And he’s a good person on top of being a really unique talent - the kind of guy you want, what you want to be about.”
Daniels, though, does not get too attached to such players; he also traded three of his top five prospects in the BA rankings at last year’s deadline, gaining control of left-hander Cole Hamels for three-plus seasons. The Rangers were 50-52 at the time, seven games back in the AL West. They went on to win the division and nearly beat the Blue Jays in a thrilling five-game Division Series.
Those Jays actually served an inspiration to Daniels, even though he could not quite duplicate the efforts by the team’s former GM, Alex Anthopoulos, at last year’s deadline. Anthopoulos acquired a terrific rental pitcher, left-hander David Price. No similar option was available to Daniels, so he mimicked those Jays in a different way, building a more potent, versatile lineup.
Carlos Beltran (Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images)
Here’s one possible variation:
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Ian Desmond, CF
Beltran, DH
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Rougned Odor, 2B
Lucroy, C
Mazara, LF
Mitch Moreland/Ryan Rua, 1B
Elvis Andrus/Profar SS
Beltran also gives the Rangers another experienced, high-character, playoff-tested veteran, something else that Daniels values highly. Beltre is the Rangers’ leader, one of the model players in the sport. Daniels said that Desmond reminds him of Beltre in some ways, and also recalls the influence of Mike Napoli on last year’s Rangers club. Beltran’s personality is less exuberant than Napoli’s, but he, too, is a presence, helping reduce the pressure on other players.
Hamels and Yu Darvish are still at the top of the rotation, and Daniels previously had fortified the staff in a trade with the Braves, getting a starter, righty Lucas Harrell, and a reliever, lefty Dario Alvarez. And in Daniels’ view, righty Colby Lewis – who is expected to return from a strained right lat in September - might be as good as any pitcher who was traded.
Daniels concedes that he remains a “little bit” concerned about the rotation, but he also knows that no team is perfect. He entered the final day fearing he would not make a trade. He emerged as one of the deadline’s biggest winners. Impressive audible. Impressive pivot.
