Spitballing.
Dallas Morning News beat man Evan Grant revealed his plan for retooling the Rangers over the weekend, laying out a full 25-man roster he’d aim to take to Surprise if he were the general manager of the club.
Fun concept, and not easy. Certainly more nuanced this winter than any before it in the Jon Daniels/Nolan Ryan regime.
Having closed the book on 2012 with almost 7,000 words of catharsis myself this weekend, Evan’s exercise seems like a good way to begin the launch into 2013. I’ll give it my own shot in the next few days.
For now, here’s Evan’s targeted roster:
Starting rotation:
Yu Darvish
Matt Harrison
Zack Greinke
Ricky Romero (acquired with catcher J.P. Arencibia for Ian Kinsler and Justin Grimm)
Derek Holland
Bullpen:
Joe Nathan
Mike Adams
Alexi Ogando
Tanner Scheppers
Robbie Ross
Michael Kirkman
Catchers:
J.P Arencibia or Carlos Santana
Kelly Shoppach
Infielders:
1B Mitch Moreland
2B-SS Jurickson Profar
SS Elvis Andrus
3B Adrian Beltre
INF Michael Young
INF Ryan Theriot
INF Mike Olt
Outfielders:
RF Nick Swisher
CF Leonys Martin
CF Craig Gentry
LF Nelson Cruz
OF David Murphy
Approximate opening day payroll: $124 million (up 2.5 percent from 2012 opening day payroll).
Lineup:
SS Andrus
DH Young
RF Swisher
3B Beltre
LF Cruz
1B Moreland
C Arencibia or Santana
CF Gentry or Martin
2B Profar
When I get around to putting my own blueprint together, you might see Arencibia and/or Shoppach, two catchers I’ve talked about several times this season (though my ideal duo has been Arencibia’s fellow Blue Jay Travis d’Arnaud plus Shoppach), but I can guarantee you won’t see Swisher.
That’s not to say I think Evan is wrong to consider Swisher a realistic possibility. But I’ll never wish for that to happen, and will probably need to dump another 7,000 words of catharsis if it does come to pass.
Anyway, tip of the cap to Mr. Grant. I’ll take a shot at it later this week.