Pitching
I start with pitching because this has been a point of contention with not getting to sign Cliff Lee. I wish him the best, but we have a staff to shore up now. I think two signings or a signing and a trade would get us to a good enough staff to win the West again. Step one is getting a number 2 starter.
CJ Wilson had a fantastic season. I remember watching him dominate the Royals in his complete game in the Ballpark this year. I mention that game not only because it was a beautiful night for baseball but because of who he faced, Zach Greinke. I knew that day in May, I believe, that he was going to an anchor on our staff. In 2011 I would love to see if Greinke has what it takes to be our number 2 or possibly 1 if Greinke has another Cy Young season. CJ does, however, deserve to get the ball opening versus the Red Sox.
If we cannot get Greinke, I would like to trade for Matt Garza or sign Carl Povano. Povano had a good season last year and still has something left, I wouldn't go more than 2 years with him though. Garza is hit and miss, but I think working with someone who has a work ethic like CJ could help get the best out of him, and he is still young enough to be had long term.
As for our own little AL Rookie of the Year, Neftali Feliz, I would like to see him move into our rotation. He came up in our system as a front line starter and some scouts still says he has the stuff to be an ace. My friends seem to have a romanticized view that he could be the next Mariano Rivera. While I think he can be as dominant, closers work 70 innings a year, a starter could do 220 innings. Now for Nefty, I would like to see him do no more than 160 innings in the regular season though. It seems the Rangers are exploring this, I could only say this, just at least give him the chance. We saw what happened with CJ this year and now Nefty would have that role model to not only ask advice, but the man (CJ) is a leader and can help him along the way.
So to replace our closer, I would love to see us take a plunge and sign Rafael Soriano. He was an almost shut down closer for the AL East champ Tampa Bay Rays and I think could flourish in Texas too. I know he commanding a price right now, but I think he fits that role well, better than Feliz even and is veteran enough to just plug in almost east night in the 9th.
Bullpen options are dicey and that is something I really know nothing about other than we need Francisco back. Ogando looked sharp even in the playoffs, so those two in the bullpen with Soriano closing, I would be totally comfortable with. As for minor league talent that could fill in, I would look to Jamey Newbergs awesome work on his website for our farm system.
Infield
We have two great defensive players in the center in gold-glove snub Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler proved he was more than a bat this year. Just look at what happened when he was out and we had the likes of Spider Arias, Blanco that guy from Washington I couldn't even remember his name and (ugh) Cantu (cantdo). He stepped up in the playoffs as well, so that made me feel good about him even more.
Problem is we have a huge hole at third and two options at first that can work. I think Mitch Moreland proved himself as an offensive entity and I saw great improvement in his stretch and his "athleticism" on some catches were spectacular. I still like Chris Davis better defensively, but for the life of him he cannot hit big league stuff. So I think Mitch could be our everyday player. As for Third, I think it is time to move Young out. It sucks, I know, but he is so frustrating to watch there. That is why I think we should bring in Adrian Beltre, which would kind of offset us losing a first round pick because we got the one (two really) in the Cliff Lee signing. Then we could move Young to DH for most days and as a good enough backup at third and first. Plus that saves us from having to sign a DH which could save between 2-5 million, so that kind of pays for itself. Now if we could move Young, that would be great finically, but I don't see that happening, so this is a way to get him out of third, get a better defensive replacement with some pop and keep him in the organization.
Outfield
We of course have two stud bats in the outfield that hopefully can stay more healthy this next year, and I think having a couple of great assets can help alleviate some of the problems we have had with injury.
Murphy proved he could be an everyday outfielder, but would be tough to see in center. I think Borbon is a good regular season centerfielder, but does not have the bat to be near a playoff roster as a position player. So a combination of the two of them in center with Murphy picking up spots where Josh and Nelly will be injured at some point during the season. Plus Moreland can play right if necessary and Mike Young at first in extreme cases.
The Deals That Would Get us There in 2011:
Sign Adrian Beltre and move Michael Young to DH.
Trade for Greinke/Garza or sign Povano.
Sign Rafael Soriano to be our closer and give Neftali a shot at the rotation.
In summation, I think three not far fetched deals could get us to contend in the AL West this year again, and if we have the same good fortune, it could help us beat the favored Sox or Yankees in the AL to play the NL team that could very well be Cliff Lee's Phillies.
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