I haven't seen a whole lot of comments or posts about Mitch Moreland. He's underrated and has a lot of potential in my eyes. He shows up every day with the right attitude, has a solid plate discipline and approach. He has the ability to work the count and have very good at-bats. The upper-deck-HR power he has is special and isn't matched by very many hitters. If you look at his numbers, he's improving; he's matched his production from last year despite having 137 fewer ABs due to time on the DL. Numbers against LHP are also slightly better than those in previous seasons, and his defense has also improved. I think if JD gives Mitch the everyday 1B position in 2013 and allows him to continue developing as a hitter, he can become a pretty dangerous hitter in the Rangers lineup.

Well said, he's a solid player and hey who knows maybe he can get an Allstar appearance with his power. He should have a solid career

I think we should look for an upgrade at 1st.

I think we should at least give Mitch Moreland the opportunity to be an everyday player before we look for an upgrade.

I like Moreland a lot. Improved defensively for sure and as mentioned good attitude and works hard. If Hamilton is gone though we have to find replacements. OF, DH and 1B are the obvious positions to find upgrades to replace some of Hamilton's numbers so I'd be with Eric and try to find an upgrade.

I've seen Chris Davis emerge in Baltimore with a full season under his belt and Smoak tear up September in Seattle. I would hate to see another 1st Basemen not shine in Texas. If we're in the "Reloading" stage let Moreland develop another year and we might all be surprised. No sense in upgrading a position that isn't a priority. I'd be more concerned with OF help this offseason. But I am a big Moreland fan, his attitude and work ethic is wonderful. I hope he really fills out next season.

"JD gives Mitch" - there in lies the problem. What first needs to happen is JD man up and fire Wash for Mitch to get proper playing time. By this time next year, if Wash is still the coach, then our anger should be directed at JD, similar to how our anger shifted from PADMY to Wash during the course of this year.

I think Mitch is too good to let go. He's still so incredibly Young. He's a great defensive 1B and he's shown incredible power. Give him another year to man the fort to himself. I'd like to see him take 1B against all RHP and split time with Napoli at 1B next year against LHP. He deserves a shot.

I think our needs this offseason are larger than trying to find a 1B. We had a shot at Fielder last year and went with what we needed more. I think we answered any questions about the role Mitch will play going forward, then. Deal with the gaping hole in the outfield, sign Napoli/ Koji (or find replacements), find a SP, sign Elvis/ trade, then work on a bench bat.

I was disappointed that Texas gave up on Chris Davis. Moreland needs to put up 30 HRs and 85 - 90 RBI and stay healthy. I think he has what it takes to be out every day 1B.

If they'd actually give Mitch a full year and not pull him against LHP most of the time, maybe. I'm still kinda thinking he may not get much better, at least here. Still, finding a top-notch 1B (which probably isn't available) isn't at the top of the priority list.

Mitch Moreland isn't Jurickson Profar or anything; he is 27. I don't know how much more he can offer from a developmental standpoint outside of being a slightly better than average American League 1st baseman. I'm not in favor of letting him go or anything, because he is cheap, but if the right deal came along and he was thrown in for a return of a more capable hitter, it would do our offense quite a bit of good. After all, in 357 PA's his fWAR was 0.6.

Also, for the Chris Davis/Justin Smoak rhetoric: Davis accumulated nearly 1000 PA's here during a four-year stretch from '08-'11, and he didn't get it done. He was given the opportunity, before Smoak and Moreland, to seize the job outright, and he never did. He needed a change of scenery, because after awhile it became apparent he didn't have what it takes in Texas. For a franchise in win-now mode, we didn't have the patience to see if he could eventually turn it around, nor should we have.

Justin Smoak netted us Cliff Lee, who almost single-handedly took us to our first ever World Series, so that's pretty much where that argument ends.

Mitch Moreland is steady, and he's not going to hurt us, but the position he plays commands a little more offensive production. And yes, we can do better. I still have our #1 and #2 priorities in the impact OF bat and TORP areas, but 1B is my clear #3.

" For a franchise in win-now mode, we didn't have the patience to see if he could eventually turn it around, nor should we have."

Yet he is still playing and the Rangers are not.

The Rangers don't need an upgrade at first Moreland is fine for now until he starts getting expensive. We're (probably) losing an MVP caliber OF and an all star caliber catcher. Plus out rotation was shaky at best behind Darvish and Harry. I'd put a catcher and a mid level veteran pitcher ahead of 1B on our list of worried rite now.

So... because the Orioles beat us in an arbitrary one-game playoff game that means the Rangers were wrong in letting Chris Davis go? Yeah, nice try with that one. In 946 PA's with the Rangers, Davis had a 21.4% strikeout rate, compared to a mere 6.8% BB rate. I place no blame at all on JD for pulling the trigger to get Koji Uehara.

Also, we don't need any mid-level veteran pitchers. If Darvish/Harrison/Holland are locks, any of Ogando, Ross, Perez or Grimm could fill the type of production a veteran #4 starter could. Either go for a significant upgrade (Greinke/Price/Shields) or focus only on offense. No need to waste money on pitching when we already have plenty of young guys who could give the same type of production at a fraction of the cost.

I never meant that the Rangers shouldn't have traded Davis or Smoak., both helped us land key pieces to our pennant chases. I just would hate for Moreland to end up hitting 25 HR and 80 RBI from the left side of the plate for another team. Not saying he would but I'd never rule out the possibility. Moreland also provides pretty good defense on 1st, but if the right deal came along and somebody wanted Moreland, throw him in since Olt could easily become an everyday 1st basemen and move to 3rd when Adrian's time is up. It's nice to have depth.

I'm just curious how this offseason turns out. Adams and Uehara are free agents and if Alexi fills in for a rotation spot, we lose 3 key bullpen pieces. And that would probably be our 2nd priority after OF. And SP would be 3rd because we could easily pick up a #4 starter off the market this year, unless we go all in for a TORP(which would be rad). Then if JD has the time he might consider 1b options. IMO

Moreland and Mike Olt can start the season platooning at 1B, and let the best bat win the position. Olt and Moreland are both athletic enough to spend part of the season in the outfield if both their bats are producing. Sign Grienke, continue bringing up young pitchers until one of them seizes a spot in the rotation on in the bullpen. I still think moving Kinsler to LF will allow him to focus more on his offense, and Profar will reduce the number of errors at 2B, add some stolen bases, and good offensive numbers. We can't replace Josh with one player, and there really is no one out there worth the big bucks. Just because the owners have the money doesn't mean they have to spend it. 93 wins was the result of JOSH distractions, and the team believing they were better than they really were. Get back to TEAM baseball, and they will overcome any missing production from the headcase (JOSH).

I just looked at Mitch's 2012 road split and YIKES.
wRC+ at home: 133
wRC+ on road: 69

We've got to start getting real about Ranger players who can't hit away from Arlington: maybe they just aren't that good.

Mitch Moreland's been a platoon player pretty much his entire career, hasn't he? I think he should at least start out as an everday player, and if his production starts to go down after a significant a number of at-bats, then give Olt a shot, who can also make starts in OF/DH.

Again.... Another area where Wash's special love for MY retards this teams growth. Gentry can't play, and Moreland is a parttimer.

In all fairness to Wash, Craig Gentry is not an every day player. And Mitch Moreland, although he's pretty good against right-handers, is a barely above replacement-level first baseman. Let's not all pretend Gentry and Moreland are world-beaters.

That said, I'm in agreement that Craig Gentry should have played more, particularly against lefties. But Moreland? We can do better than him at first. He's good, probably an everyday player on a lot of NL teams, but our lineup could use a little more punch from first base.

No one will speak to the issue. If Mitch can only hit in Arlington (there is a theme here) then how good is he really?

69 wRC+ when away from hitting-disneyland Arlington!? That's 30-40 points lower than peer first basemen.

Mitch can glove OK...he's light-years ahead of Young in that department..and his hit-tool (patience + power) dwarfs Young. But that's faint praise.

1B must be a position of focus for the team to improve. Maybe it's Olt. Maybe it's Napoli. Or maybe it's an import. Mitch is a stable but below average player. And no scout will sing soprano regarding any upside with the player.

Truthfully, the obvious question is what do we have in the system, and what is on the free agent market. Power first basemen are scarce and the Rangers can't just go to the player store for everything. I think that some of our peripheral players need to be given a full season to show what they can do while the glaring holes are filled. It doesn't do us any good to spend huge monety on a first baseman and then use scrubs in the outfield.

Mater of fact, it doesn't do us any good to go out and sign a lot of big contracts. Everyone is saying that we have foour or five spots that need to be filled and suggests this ir that player for 15-20 million each. We aren't the Yankees, and it hasn't exactly worked consistently for them. We have an excellent farm system, let's use it. I challenge all you guys to walk through the "player store" without grabbing the most obvious brain-dead choice. Instead of looking at teams and picking the top player and saying "Ooooh!!! Let's get that one!!!!" why don't we look at less obvious guys. That's what the GM's do. Of course it would be great to cherry-pick an All Star team, but that ain't gonna happen. All you stats guys, find us some under-appreciated players, some that are young with an up side.

That was on a cell phone, lol....typos

Hey, who is the hitting coach in Baltimore? That is the guy we need here. I luv me some Mitch, in fact he is probably my favorite Ranger and I'm a Murphy....and if he can improve Mitch like he obviously did for Davis, we need the Baltimore hitting coach.

I'd take Davis though; 270/33/80 ish looks good to me with 170 Ks. Davis' swing is shorter, his trigger is slightly different, his front foot is not moving as much ...Who is his hitting coach? We need that guy in Texas.

Chris Davis's BB rate (6.6%) and K rate (30.1%) in 2012 are nearly identical to his career averages of 6.5% and 30.0%. Calling him "fixed" is far from the truth. A better way to describe his 2012 is "lucky" or "unsustainable". Guys with low walks rates and high strikeout totals historically fare poorly over the long haul, which is why he never made it in Texas. Baltimore will surely find this out for themselves in the near future, and they will ship him out just as the Rangers did.

With guys like Kinsler, Young, Napoli and Cruz trending way down this year, I don't find that to be a hitting coach issue. I find it to be a fatigue issue, or, in Young's (and possibly Cruz's) case, a decline due to age. Coolbaugh's job is safe, or should be, at least.

I meant to say Chris Davis's career K rate is *31.0%, not 30.