With Napoli and Young gone....all eyes turn towards Arachis.

I mean...towards Mitch Moreland and his platoon mate....Mike Olt. Right? Isn't that the current scenario? Olt is backup for Beltre, alternates with Mitch and maybe does a little pinch hitting?

And...isn't Olt now almost untradeable...at least for the balance of the offseason?

Olt is such a big commodity right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he was traded soon.
When/if Young decides to go, some big dominoes are going to fall. It's going to be like
Gallahger's sledghammer dropping on mellons. Yet, mysteriously funny & exciting!

OK...I just read where the Rangers might move IK to first base. That just makes no sense to me. How much value is Ian's nice range at 1st base?

And his bat doesn't compare well with peers at first base...esp. poignant when you look at his road productivity.

The only way that would make sense to me...is if they platooned him and moved him into a utility role.

How about a second salary-dumping-we-bear-some-of-the-financial-burden trade involving Ian?

I posted a while back about having Kinsler get some playing time at 1st. The Rangers could have a great defensive infield, assuming Kisnler could play decently at 1st. He could play 1st, 2nd, and DH.

I agree about the defense, but that's usually not so important at first base.

DH at home maybe. If Ron ever rolled him out at DH on the road...with his .611 road OPS...it would be time to look for a new manager.

But that's just it...It's exactly something RonRon would do.

(Kinsler had a 62 road wRC+ in '12, and hovered around 90 wRC+ over 2010 and 2011 on the road. That's NOT a first baseman. That's NOT a DH.)

What kind of logic is this?

What kind of logic is Kinsler at first base? Aside from the nominal value of (possibly) elite defense at first...I'm still trying to figure it out.

Care to chime in?

The title of this thread was intriguing. The content, not so much. Central as in key trade piece, sure. Central as a platoon partner for Mitch? Cmon, Profar. Your game has fallen off a cliff this offseason.

There is one factor that keeps Mitch Moreland in Texas. Mitch is left handed. My fear is that, if Hamilton is not re-signed, the Rangers will be too right handed. Olt is a valued commodity by the Rangers, as well as other clubs. I would not be surprised to see him traded.

If the plan is to bring Josh back, I think Moreland is gone and Kinsler will be at 1B. You're not wasting Kinsler's range. You are putting a superior defensive player (Profar) at a more demanding position (2B), while upgrading defense at 1B. That is why Greinke wants to come here.

If Hamilton comes back, they won't need Upton. They'll need A.J. Pierzynski. Soto, the very definition of a spare, will catch Yu Darvish. With Greinke locked up, your Rangers will be AL West favorites and, by far, the most loaded team in the AL. And, they'll have just the right mix youth, experience and fresh blood to make another run at a title.

Peace

How do you think this lineup would fare? Look at the offense AND defense.

Gentry CF
Andrus SS
Hamilton LF
Beltre 3B
Kinsler 1B
Murphy RF
Cruz DH
Pierzynski C
Profar 2B

April rotation:

Darvish
Greinke
Harrison
Holland (may be traded)
Ogando

Scheppers
Perez (trade bait)
Soria
Ross
Adams (must re-sign him)
Nathan

Bench:
Martin
Soto
Olt (maybe)
Utility middle infielder

Couple more spots, to be seized by Colby Lewis and Neftali Feliz, upon their return from surgical proceedures.

Peace

I'm still completely unsold on Kinsler at 1B. A first baseman is either going to field the ball....or not field the ball...within a few strides. Speed rarely comes into play at that position. Meanwhile IK doesn't have the height or long limbs that can help a first baseman. And Ian's been known through his career to have a fairly high number of brain-freeze type errors, which I suspect would happen at 1B as well.

Ian's value is at 2B. His bat plays best as a second baseman. The team should have ridden w/him two years longer in that role and then slid him into a utility role with the emergence of a Sardina, Garcia or one of their many other promising middle infielders.

Plus I'd rather trade Elvis, and insert Profar at 2B. We get some value out of Andrus while we can.

I was riding shotgun with your entire post until the last sentence, ProfarMVP. Trade Elvis and start Profar at 2B? Huh?

ProfarMVP

Surely you meant to say Profar at SS. I see your points. Particularly the one about Ian's height and arm legnth. I hadn't really cosidered that. However, I'm in basic disagreement, overall.

The number of runs saved by Andrus and Profar up the middle will far outstrip liabilities that Kins MAY have at 1B. Plus, going with an unproven SS, who may have slightly LESS range, over Elvis, isn't good.

Kinsler is slipping defensively. Cruz is slipping defensively. These issues have to be addressed first. Then, after next year, get Cruz off the books and start getting a feel for what Elvis/Boras want. JMHO.

Peace

I do not agree with the fact that IK's value is at 2nd base or 1st base. The goal of any team is to put the best talent on the field at any position. Now with that said (current roster could look much different than opening day), you put Kinsler where he is going to be the most help for the team (mind you, he is willing). If the front office believe in Profar on opening day, then IK's value is not at 2nd base. It is probably more likely at 1st or OF. I believe we get to wrapped up in "a 1st baseman should hit for power" theory. It is my opinion that you put your best players on the field and roll with it. Will he be a better 2nd baseman than OF? Probably, but that doesn't mean that is where is best value is.

Txball, I'm in the middle of a relocation (i.e.: move), and more than a little distracted. Obviously I meant, Ian at 2B, Profar at SS.

drseuss, I am excited about the overall upgrade in defense that we will see with 1. Young's departure. 2. Insertion of Profar. 3. Looming replacement of Cruz. And OK...I'm *curious* about Kinsler at first (curious versus remotely convinced).

I have no inclination to know what Boras wants. I know what he wants and it won't make any sense when we have Profar, Sardinas, Odor, Garcia and still others in our system.

Mansfield, I don't follow you at all. Certain attributes are highly valued in one position, but almost non-factors elsewhere on the diamond.

There is a long history of putting big bats...or at least high OB% guys at first. You can often get away with defensive inadequacy at that position. As long as a guy can handle a glove decently...it often doesn't much matter. You almost never see a speedy guy man the position at 1st base. It's a complete waste of that attribute.

Ian's bat compares pretty well to his peers when he's at second base. But he'd rank in the bottom third in the league were his bat to compete with the bats of fellow first basemen.

To put its simply: Ian would not be even league average at first base offensively (most certainly after park adjustments are made). And since his speed would have limited merit...he might very possibly not be much more about the median in defense.

If JD's vision is to use Kinsler as a platoon IB and utility infielder...and let him sit 25% of the time...I'd have a completely different view of the idea...and I'd praise the FO for it's forward thinking.

That is...if they have a working understanding with Ron Ron.

This I almost certainly believe, would be the Joe Maddon way...Joe wouldn't be afraid to sit Ian on the road...where Kins is so awful offensively.

Ian's value to the team in that scenario would sky-rocket, I believe.

Mike Young was the sole of this team. Why else did Washington keep (outside of his incompetence) krrp plugging MK into the lineup when he really needed some rest. The clubhouse is in trouble. Who will fill the roll? Plus they gort virtually nothing in return. Wanted to save $$$$$$$$$$$$ to sign the Dodgers new pitcher. That worked out well. I remember being at Mike Young's first game as a Ranger. He should not have been made to make this decision.

The one guy that should be gone is Washington.

hbc, you're new here aren't you?

(By here I mean Earth)

ProfarMVP, you're talking about ideals and not real-world scenarios. In an ideal scenario, we would upgrade Mitch to a guy like Pujols (now, not Pujols in 5 years) that has an elite bat and good defense. Unfortunately, you can't always sign or trade for a Pujols. For now, let's assume that we aren't going to trade for a guy like that.

In absence of that guy, you have to look at what your options are. Now, if you're just comparing offense, and you're going by the last few years, there's no question Ian has better offense, independent of position of course, than Moreland. I'm not suggesting we launch Moreland into the sun, though. As we discussed in chat recently, what we have to look at is the alternative. Are the Rangers better off with Ian at 1B and Profar at 2B, or Mitch at 1B and Ian at 2B? That's a hard question.

But saying that we shouldn't move Ian to 1B just because his offense isn't that of Pujols or Fielder, regardless of what other moves would likewise be made? I don't think that's right.

Mansfield has it right.

Andy, how is my approach unrealistic? Who said anything crazy about a Pujols clone (as if that existed) I run with pieces that we have right now.

And I even provide two options with a free cup of coffee and a side of hash browns.
Option A. Trade Elvis and keep IK at 2nd. Roll with Moreland/Olt at first. (Profar, of course at SS)
Option B. If Ian does get moved off second...platoon him with Moreland...and give him utility duties.

Ian is certainly a power hitter in Arlington. I have no problem with him at 1B when we are at home.

Yes, you did provide those options. But you also talked about how inferior Kinsler would be in comparison to 1Bs around the league. From this, I inferred that you were pooh-poohing the idea of putting Ian at 1B, and I already explained why I didn't think we should just nix that idea from the get-go just because he doesn't have the offensive prowess of, say, Prince Fielder. If you weren't implying that, I apologize, but it seems like an easy inference from that post.

As much as I love Jurickson Profar, there's no rush to bring him up to the big leagues unless we trade Elvis. Napoli will be wearing a Red Sox uniform next year, and MY is off to Philadelphia. That leaves us with Mitch Moreland at 1B. There's no reason to think he won't continue to improve in all aspects of the game. I think it's time to see what he can do in a full season, facing both righties and lefties. He's earned it. Also, I don't think using Olt as a platoon player in the big leagues when he hasn't yet seen pitching at AAA would be best for his development.

The idea of having Profar in the lineup and in the infield along with Beltre, Andrus, and Kinsler is exciting, but moving two infielders out from their natural positions, where their value is highest, might create some problems on defense.

Profar belongs in the big leagues. The "rush" is his talent.

@Profar

I am looking at this from the perspective of what we have on our team currently. Not from an MLB macro view as to what a first baseman/RF should bring to the table. My view - Is Profar an upgrade defensively over IK at 2nd base, yes and maybe offensively as well (TBD). So then lets look at IK at the other positions vs what we have on the current roster and look at it from the perspective of "are the Rangers better with IK at (insert position), not from the perspective of "he doesn't fit the mold of a RF because he doesn't have a good arm."

I was just looking at this diffently than you I suppose. I do not disagree with you that Kinsler doesn't fit the mold of a 1st baseman, but I also do not believe that he has less value as one either. Him being versatile is part of his value. He may not be better at 1st or OF than 2nd but he could absolutely be an upgrade for the Rangers.

Disclosure: I am one that thinks IK is an above average leadoff hitter as well. I know this is not viewed by many on here in the same way. Part of my reasoning on this is the fact that he hits leadoff as well.