Dallas Morning News Article re: Mancini

[Philip]

So, in this morning’s Dallas morning news, Evan Grant laments that the Rangers have missed out on a bunch of offensive free agents. Most recently, they let Castellanos go, but Grant says the Rangers weren’t very enthusiastic about him anyway.

Grant wrote that the Rangers will be moving on from the free-agent market to the trade market and his first suggestion was none other than Mr. Mancini. 

He said, “Trey Mancini, a more accomplished hitter already then Castellanos, Might be more available. All it will cost is some upper level prospects. But he would also come with three years of control – and no opt outs.”

The Rangers care a lot about offense, not so much about defense, and Mancini might be an excellent choice for them. I also like the phrase “some upper level prospects“ so I’m asking the crowd, what do you think we could get from the Rangers, and does anybody know if any kind of talks have taken place between the Texans and the Marylanders?

[Frobby]

A couple of posters gave opinions here:

 

[wildcard]

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/rangers/2020/01/28/the-rangers-offseason-moves-will-make-them-better-but-not-as-aggressively-as-jon-daniels-once-postured/

 

[Philip]

1 minute ago, wildcard said:

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/rangers/2020/01/28/the-rangers-offseason-moves-will-make-them-better-but-not-as-aggressively-as-jon-daniels-once-postured/

 

 That’s the same article but with a different title, interesting. I don’t think the Rangers are going to win this year, but because they manipulated the idiot voters in Arlington, they now have a brand new taxpayer-funded stadium so they have to go at least go through the motions. Mancini would be a splendid choice and Daniels has made some real facepalms over the years, so he might overpay for Trey.

[Greg Pappas]

FWIW (I'm fairly unfamiliar with this site) here's a write-up on the Rangers' Top 30 Prospects for 2020: https://www.prospectslive.com/lists/2020/1/23/rangers-2020-top-30-prospects

I particularly like the views on #5 (3B) Apostle, #10 (OF) Thompson,  #11 (SS) Acosta, and #26 (SS) Chris Seise. 

[wildbillhiccup]

3 hours ago, Philip said:

So, in this morning’s Dallas morning news, Evan Grant laments that the Rangers have missed out on a bunch of offensive free agents. Most recently, they let Castellanos go, but Grant says the Rangers weren’t very enthusiastic about him anyway.

Grant wrote that the Rangers will be moving on from the free-agent market to the trade market and his first suggestion was none other than Mr. Mancini. 

He said, “Trey Mancini, a more accomplished hitter already then Castellanos, Might be more available. All it will cost is some upper level prospects. But he would also come with three years of control – and no opt outs.”

The Rangers care a lot about offense, not so much about defense, and Mancini might be an excellent choice for them. I also like the phrase “some upper level prospects“ so I’m asking the crowd, what do you think we could get from the Rangers, and does anybody know if any kind of talks have taken place between the Texans and the Marylanders?

Why would the Rangers trade Mazara and then trade for Mancini? That doesn't seem to make much sense to me. Somewhat comparable players (although I know some you will vehemently argue against that claim) and comparable salaries. Plus, Choo is pretty much their full time DH so they'd have to commit to playing Mancini in the field on a regular basis. Seems like a reporter on a fishing expedition to me. 

[jamalshw]

5 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

Why would the Rangers trade Mazara and then trade for Mancini? That doesn't seem to make much sense to me. Somewhat comparable players (although I know some you will vehemently argue against that claim) and comparable salaries. Plus, Choo is pretty much their full time DH so they'd have to commit to playing Mancini in the field on a regular basis. Seems like a reporter on a fishing expedition to me. 

Perhaps the biggest thing is Mazara is a lefty bat and Mancini swings from the right side. They've been looking for a right-handed bat all off season. Todd Frazier addition helped that a bit, but Mancini is a bit more of a every day option at this point. He could platoon with Guzman at 1B and get the rest of his time in the OF or at DH with Choo in the OF. Ultimately, he'd make some sense.

As for the type of players, Mazara has plenty of upside, but hasn't developed for them. There has been growing frustration there. He was a 0.7 WAR player last year according to Baseball Reference while Mancini was 3.3 even with his defensive questions in the OF.

In four Major League seasons (more so three for Mancini), Mazara has a a 93 OPS+ to Mancini's 119.

Overall, Mancini is a better hitter at this point. Even if you believe Mancini's 2018 season was a true testament to his ability (despite being sandwiched around two much better years), he still had a 95 OPS+. So his worst year is in line with what Mazara has delivered each of his four years in Texas.

[Philip]

15 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

Why would the Rangers trade Mazara and then trade for Mancini? That doesn't seem to make much sense to me. Somewhat comparable players (although I know some you will vehemently argue against that claim) and comparable salaries. Plus, Choo is pretty much their full time DH so they'd have to commit to playing Mancini in the field on a regular basis. Seems like a reporter on a fishing expedition to me. 

Those are valid points. Mazara is an outfielder though, and Mancini would presumably be brought on board as a 1B/DH. He’s older than Mazara but seems to be a far better hitter by OPS(.788 to .999 for Trey) WAR, WRC, well everything, actually. Trey outhits him completely.

Comparing the two hitters Doesn’t make me wonder why the Rangers got rid of Mazara, But it sure makes me wonder why the White Sox didn’t trade for Mancini instead.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 hours ago, Philip said:

Those are valid points. Mazara is an outfielder though, and Mancini would presumably be brought on board as a 1B/DH. He’s older than Mazara but seems to be a far better hitter by OPS(.788 to .999 for Trey) WAR, WRC, well everything, actually. Trey outhits him completely.

Comparing the two hitters Doesn’t make me wonder why the Rangers got rid of Mazara, But it sure makes me wonder why the White Sox didn’t trade for Mancini instead.

Mancini has been the better hitter than Mazara over their short careers. Mancini has an OPS+ of 119 versus 93 for Mazara. 

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Mancini has been the better hitter than Mazara over their short careers. Mancini has an OPS+ of 119 versus 93 for Mazara. 

It is not ideal to have a CO with an OPS+ under 100.

[sportsfan8703]

14 hours ago, Greg Pappas said:

FWIW (I'm fairly unfamiliar with this site) here's a write-up on the Rangers' Top 30 Prospects for 2020: https://www.prospectslive.com/lists/2020/1/23/rangers-2020-top-30-prospects

I particularly like the views on #5 (3B) Apostle, #10 (OF) Thomson,  #11 (SS) Acosta, and #26 (SS) Chris Seise. 

Their system is pretty weak. We’d likely target guys that wouldn’t have to be added to the 40 man till at the earliest of November 2021. 

If the NL is really going to a DH soon then that opens up 15 more jobs. 

[wildcard]

Doesn't look like a good match to me.

[Number5]

4 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Their system is pretty weak. We’d likely target guys that wouldn’t have to be added to the 40 man till at the earliest of November 2021. 

If the NL is really going to a DH soon then that opens up 15 more jobs. 

Not really.  Roster limit would not change.

[Philip]

5 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

If the NL is really going to a DH soon then that opens up 15 more jobs. 

Ummm no, it just changes which type of player gets one spot per team. 15 different players but not 15 additional players.

[Philip]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

Doesn't look like a good match to me.

If you’re saying that the Rangers don’t have any trade assets that would significantly benefit us, that’s what I was asking in my original post.

if you’re saying the Rangers don’t really need Mancini, well, if we can foist him off on someone for a good return, I won’t care, haha