If even just a small amount, here's some love for Gentry. I can't shake the feeling that Wash undervalues Gentry. It's quite possible that things are very different than what they appear but the comments Wash made about Gentry being the type of player that needs to "execute" throughout his career.

I didn't see the "execute" comment that you referenced although it wouldn't surprise me if Wash said something like that. He's been known to publicly out some of his inexperienced guys.

That worked well with Holland and I guess you could say Elvis has come around (although I would probably attribute that to him maturing as a person more than as a baseball player). But it doesn't work with everyone and in every situation.

If I'm Craig Gentry, I just lost a lot of respect for my manager, and if I'm JD I'm pissed that my manager is undermining the trade value of anybody on the roster. Of everyone in the Ranger's organization, I'd say Ron needs to show he can execute more than anybody.

@Henchmen
Sorry, I was not clear about Wash's comments. They were during the season and not part of that article. He made them in one of the post game interviews, shortly after JD made the comments about having high aspirations for Gentry becoming a regular CF. In fact the comments came pretty much around the time Gentry began riding the bench.

I've been bullish on Gentry for a while now. I was last year. Some people disagreed with me. And Gentry, along with Murphy, helped carry the team for a while over the summer when nobody else could hit (except Beltre). His defense is largely unnoticed, as he wasn't an everyday player, but he's one of the best in the league.

Some people say Gentry probably shouldn't be playing every day because it might "overexpose" him (whatever that means). They're probably right - for the time being. But Murphy earned an everyday job after several years, so Gentry might be able to as well. But of course, we also want to see if Martin can become an everyday player.

I'm not very interested in any of the CFs left in FA. It's time to give both of them the chance to succeed.

Gentry/Martin definitely deserve a chance Start them off in the low-pressure #9 spot and maybe one or both of them work their way up to the #2 spot (assuming Profar isn't on the team). If they don't impress we could always go after someone like FA-after-the-season C. Gomez from MIL either at the deadline for the stretch drive or in the offseason.

I'll be disappointed if Martin flames out. It'd be the 2nd straight CF prospect we gave a major-league contract to who ended up being a bust - Borbon being the other.

Kristen, Borbon was taken in the 2007 supplemental 1st round right after Todd Frazier and a couple spots before Travis D'Arnaud (after we took Beaven & Michael Main). But we get the point. Along with Engel Beltre & Jake Skole, we haven't had much luck developing those CF hopefuls.

Does Gentry not count as a CF hopeful? I know he was taken before Borbon but he's doing pretty good for a 10th round pick.

I don't get the Martin/Borbon comparison in regards to the contracts. Borbon was a draft pick and given a contract in conjunction with where he was drafted. Yeah, he's been a bust, but every team is littered with draft pick busts. It's the nature of the MLB draft.

Kristen, Borbon was taken in the 2007 supplemental 1st round right after Todd Frazier and a couple spots before Travis D'Arnaud (after we took Beaven & Michael Main).

Not sure if you're agreeing with Kristen or trying to say Borbon wasn't given a ML contract when he was drafted, but he was. That was back when the CBA still allowed those types of things to take place.

@ The Henchmen

Yes, but when you give a prospect a major-league contract, you have to put them on your 40-man right away. On the other hand, you draft a guy and you stick him at Spokane, you have 5 years within which to decide if/when to put him on the 40-man. Basically when right off the bat you give a prospect a major-league contract which includes a lot of dough plus a 40-man spot, there's some risk involved. You're saying you have a lot of faith in the guy that he'll get to the bigs quickly without spending too much time in the minors. Examples of draftees/FA prospects given major-league contracts right away include Jacob Turner, Yasiel Puig, Cespedes, etc. so you can see the perceived calibre of prospect that gets these kinds of deals is really high which is why Borbon has been such a disappointment.

My bad. When I saw Borbon was still making close to league minimum I'd assumed he got a signing bonus like most other guys. Didn't know we put him on the 40 right away.

The Rangers' misuse of Gentry is a crime. With Josh gone or returning Gentry should be in CF against every left handed pitcher and as a defensive replacement in all close games. Intuitively, I would think his defensive abilities would more than compensate for his difficulties against RHP. Throw in his speed on the bases and I wonder why he doesn't play full time. Sometimes I think defense gets undervalued even though runs saved should be equal to runs scored.