Texas Rangers

Surgery for Mitch Moreland, Thad Levine staying put

It's just after 5 p.m., which is when the Rangers typically release any news of the day. They just announced a couple very key notes:

First baseman Mitch Moreland underwent surgery today on his right wrist in Cleveland. He had a small bone in the wrist removed, and the recovery time for the surgery is eight to 12 weeks. That's cutting things close for spring training.

Assistant general manager Thad Levine has decided that he will not interview with the Astros for their GM vacancy or any other jobs that might come open. Said Levine: "My family and I have happily decided to forego any current outside opportunities and remain part of the Texas Rangers family. We are extremely appreciative of all the opportunities that Jon Daniels, Nolan Ryan and ownership have provided to us. Winning a championship and bringing it home to the Metroplex remains my singular focus."

-- Jeff Wilson

Rangers prominent on a newsy Tuesday

None of the news the Rangers have been tied to Tuesday is significant, but there's no shortage of it.

*The most important has to do with assistant general manager Thad Levine. According to MLB.com, the Rangers have given the Astros permission to speak to him about their GM vacancy. Neither Levine or Rangers GM Jon Daniels have confirmed.

*Daniels, though, did confirm that the Rangers did not and will not sign right-hander Jensen Lewis to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training, contrary to an ESPN report that surfaced before noon. The Diamondbacks signed him.

*Two outlets are reporting that former Astros GM Tim Purpura is a candidate to replace Scott Servais as the Rangers' director of player development. Purpura and team president Nolan Ryan have ties from Ryan's days as owner of Round Rock when it was an Astros affiliate. No word Tuesday from the Rangers on the hiring process, though Daniels said last week that internal and external candidates have been interviewed and it was just a matter of the Rangers making a decision.

*Two baseball sources have confirmed that the Rangers will add Greg Maddux to the organization, joining his big brother, pitching coach Mike Maddux. Greg Maddux, a four-time Cy Young winner, spent the past two seasons with the Cubs as a special assistant to the GM, and is expected to hold a similar role in which he spends time at spring training working with pitchers and during the season traveling throughout the organization.

-- Jeff Wilson

 

 

Josh Hamilton speaks on Johnny Narron's departure

Josh Hamilton has seen his closest confidant with the Rangers, Johnny Narron, leave to be the Milwaukee Brewers' hitting coach. Narron has been only steps away from Hamilton since he returned to baseball in 2007 after years of substance abuse. Hamilton has spoken with general manager Jon Daniels about what steps the Rangers will take to support Hamilton in 2012.

Here's a statement from Hamilton, released throught the Rangers:

"Johnny is very talented and has helped me tremendously, both personally and professionally. He is fulfilling a dream to be a major league batting coach, and I have told him previously I would never stand in his way from doing that. We will stay in touch, and I wish him great success with the Brewers.
 
"JD reached out to me last week when the Brewers asked permission to talk to Johnny, and we will continue to talk to see how we should go forward in 2012."

-- Jeff Wilson

Brewers pick Johnny Narron to be hitting coach

Johnny Narron, who last season served as the Rangers' assistant hitting coach and for fours years has been a confidant to Josh Hamilton, has been hired by Milwaukee as its hitting coach.
Among the hitters Narron helped shape in 2011 was Mike Napoli, who in May and June was hitting around. 200. Napoli, though, had the second-best average in baseball after the All-Star break and finished with career-highs in average, homers and RBIs.

Narron, a former coach in the Brewers' system, joined Cincinnati in 2007 as a special assistant coach whose primary duty was to spend time with Hamilton in his first season in the majors after battling addictions to drugs and alcohol. Narron was hired by the Rangers in a similar capacity after they traded for Hamilton in December 2007.

General manager Jon Daniels said that the Rangers have spoken with Hamilton on how to support him without Narron, but no plan has been put into place.

Rangers closer Joe Nathan speaks

Joe Nathan was introduced by the Rangers as their new closer Tuesday, his 37th birthday. He signed a two-year, $14.5 million contract that includes a club option for a third year at $9 million.

The Rangers' recent success, which includes back-to-back World Series appearances, was a big reason for him turning away other offers. He also says that he expects to be in his All-Star form by spring training, nearly two years after having Tommy John surgery.

Here's a sampling of what he had to say a news conference at Rangers Ballpark:

On why he selected the Rangers: "Them getting to the postseason and getting to the World Series is definitely huge, and knowing what type of club this is and the success they’ve had played a huge factor."

On his return to form in 2011: "When I came back from the disabled list in June, that was a huge turning point for me. It seemed like each month got better and better for me — the way I felt and the way I was finishing pitches. The feel started coming back for me with each month. I really feel like going into the off-season and coming into spring, I should feel even better than I did at the end of September. I’m excited about that."

On being considered a good make-up guy: "Just making a comfortable clubhouse for guys, all the way from rookies to guys who have been in the league for 20 years. It's about not making guys uncomfortable and not making guys feel like they've got to walk around on egg shells. I got chance to learn from some pretty good teammates along the way with Jim Thome being on top of that list. I'll go even way back to the Giants. I got to play with a guy like Ellis Burks and got a chance to learn how he treated everybody the same."

On his pitches coming around: "I was able to fine-tune my breaking balls. I used my curveball a lot more last year. I was able to command it a lot better on both sides of the plate. That got a little better as I was trying to battle back and didn't trust my fastball early. My curveball got a little bit better. Trying to use movement a little bit more, that got better. My command and my comfort level with throwing two-seam fastballs and even mixing in changeups ... I try to make other pitches better when my velocity wasn't there."

-- Jeff Wilson

Feliz ready for rotation

Neftali Feliz is ready to move to the rotation.

The Texas Rangers made the transition known after signing Joe Nathan to become the team’s closer on Monday.

“I am happy to know the team’s decision this early, and I have plenty of time to get ready,” Feliz said in a statement. “I have already started running. I have time to work on my changeup and all my pitches. I know I have to work hard to be ready to help my team as a starter so we can get back to the playoffs.”

General manager Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington talked with Feliz about the move, and they had no reservations after the conversation.

“He had expressed some interest in starting at different points in the year,” Daniels said. “We did check back in on him through his agent, and made sure he was still interested in it. He told us he wanted to do whatever he could to help the club win.”

Feliz spent the past two seasons as the Rangers closer. He had 40 saves in 2010, garnering rookie of the year honors. This past season, he had 32 saves. The Rangers said Feliz’s Game 6 meltdown in the World Series did not influence the decision.

“It had nothing to do with the decision, it really didn’t,” Daniels said.

The Rangers contemplated moving Feliz to the rotation last season, but opted to leave him in the bullpen. Before reaching the big leagues, Feliz started in the minors.

Nathan is an 11-year veteran, best known for his years with the Minnesota Twins. From 2004-09, Nathan went to four All-Star Games and saved 36-or-more games every season over that six-year stretch.

In 2009, Nathan was an All-Star and finished with a career-high 47 saves. He missed the 2010 season because of Tommy John elbow reconstructive surgery.

Nathan returned last season and struggled at the start. But, in the second half, he went 1-0 with a 3.94 ERA over 24 appearances.

-- Drew Davison

Rangers move Neftali Feliz to rotation, sign Joe Nathan to close

Big news from the two-time defending American League champions. The Rangers have signed former All-Star closer Joe Nathan to a two-year contract with a club option and have moved Neftali Feliz to the starting rotation. That could be indication that the Rangers are out on the bidding for C.J. Wilson, though a source indicated that the Rangers haven't ruled out trying to re-sign the free agent.

Nathan missed all of the 2010 season after having Tommy John elbow replacement surgery. The right-hander, who turns 37 on Tuesday, saved 14 games last year for Minnesota after a lousy start to the season. His best two months were July and September.

The Rangers will be betting on the belief that pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery are better in their second full season back. They are gambling that Feliz can be the type of dominating starter they envisioned when they traded for him in 2007.

Feliz started through his minor-league career until the Rangers believed he could make an impact in their bullpen as they tried to chase down a playoff berth in 2009. He became the closer after one week of the 2010 season, and was the AL Rookie of the Year.

He was the closer again in 2011 after bidding for the rotation in spring training. Team president Nolan Ryan said that Feliz would have been a starter had they had another option at closer. They do now in Nathan, and also add a cheaper alternative to Wilson to the rotation and one with more upside.

-- Jeff Wilson

 

 

How one writer voted for AL MVP

The instructions sent to voters for the MVP award specifically state that pitchers are eligible for the MVP award, and that ballots are due by the final day of the regular season.

My ballot wasn’t submitted until after Evan Longoria hit his dramatic home run to end baseball’s regular season. And, for the record, I believe a pitcher should not be excluded from MVP consideration because he doesn’t perform every day.

Justin Verlander, who on Monday became the first starting pitcher since 1986 to win the MVP, was on my ballot. He just wasn’t first.

Even though Boston suffered the worst September collapse in baseball history, Jacoby Ellsbury found his way to the top of my ballot.

His season was remarkable (32 homers, 105 RBIs, 364 total bases). That those numbers were accumulated from the leadoff spot adds to his value, as does his defensive ability at a premium position and his tremendous speed.

The Red Sox’s fall wasn’t his fault, as he hit .358 with one-fourth of his homers in September.

Curtis Granderson was second on my ballot, one spot ahead of Michael Young and two ahead of Verlander. Jose Bautista was fifth.

More are probably interested in why I didn’t vote Verlander first than why I had Ellsbury atop my ballot and Young third.

Verlander was the MVP on a Detroit team that had five All-Stars and walked away with the AL Central title. He finished first in all the major pitching categories.

But Verlander’s season wasn’t as dominating as others by starting pitchers who didn’t win past MVP awards. Jered Weaver could have won the ERA title had he not been scratched from his final start of the season.

For all the folks who say that Verlander saved the bullpen time and time again, especially down the stretch, Doug Fister played as big a role late in the Tigers’ season as Verlander.

Fister went 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 70 1/3 innings after being acquired from Seattle at the July 31 trade deadline. Verlander, while 9-0 in 10 starts, had a 2.83 ERA in 70 innings.

Granderson’s iffy September kept him from first place in my eyes, but as the best player on the best team he deserved to be voted high.

Young was the MVP for the team that won the AL West by 10 games. He hit a career-best .338 with a career-high 106 RBIs, played all four infield positions and filled in admirably when Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre were injured.

As Rangers fans know, Young didn’t let his unsettled off-season have a negative affect on the team. That was pretty valuable.

My ballot: 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF, Boston Red Sox; 2. Curtis Granderson, CF, New York Yankees; 3. Michael Young, Utility, Texas Rangers; 4. Justin Verlander, SP, Detroit Tigers; 5. Jose Bautista, 3B/RF, Toronto Blue Jays; 6. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers; 7. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Boston Red Sox; 8. Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees; 9. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, Cleveland Indians; 10. Paul Konerko, 1B, Chicago White Sox.

-- Jeff Wilson

Darren Oliver would like to pitch for Rangers in 2012

Darren Oliver wants to pitch next season. And he’d prefer to do it with the Texas Rangers.

“Obviously this is my first choice, no doubt,” said Oliver, a free agent.

Oliver has pitched the last two years with the Rangers, and makes his home in the DFW area.

The 41-year-old left-hander pitched well in 2011, going 5-5 with a 2.29 ERA in 61 appearances over the regular season. But Oliver had a forgettable World Series.

He had a chance to close out the Series in Game 6, coming out for the 10^th inning with the Rangers leading 9-7. Oliver, though, gave up consecutive singles to begin the 10^th, and then retired Edwin Jackson on a sacrifice bunt. That ended his night, and the Cardinals eventually rallied for a win in the 11th inning.

Of course, Oliver has wondered if it would’ve gone the other way for him.

“I could’ve been holding my hand on Sports Illustrated, that would’ve been a good way to end it,” Oliver said. “That didn’t happen.”

-- Drew Davison

Six pitchers added to Rangers' roster

Top prospect Martin Perez and 2007 supplement first-round pick Neil Ramirez were two of the six minor-league pitchers the Rangers added to their 40-man roster to avoid exposing them to the Rule 5 draft next month.

Right-handers Jake Brigham, Roman Mendez, Justin Miller and Matt West also had their contracts purchased. They will join the left-handed Perez and Ramirez, a righty, in big-league spring training in February.

Perez and Ramirez reached Triple A Round Rock in 2011, and Brigham and Miller climbed to Double A Frisco. Mendez, part of the Jarrod Saltalamacchia trade in 2010, and West, a converted third baseman, have never pitched above A ball.

The Rangers now have 37 players on their 40-man roster.

-- Jeff Wilson