Should The Rangers Fire Daniels?
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Since Jon Daniels took over in 2005, he has traded away the teams three top prospects in as many years. He first traded 6'11 pitcher Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez, and Termel Sledge to the Padres for Aki Otsuka and Adam Eaton. Young and Gonzalez are key parts of the Padres playoff chances now while Otsuka and Eaton are no longer with the Rangers. He signed Kevin Millwood to a long deal after he went just 9-11 with a 2.86 ERA with the Indians. Since then (excluding 2008), he is 26-26 with a 4.84 ERA. His K/9 went down in the years leading to the Rangers contract as the H/9 went up, a sign that the signing was not worth it.
That offseason, he also traded top prospect John Danks, Jacob Rasner, and Nick Massett to the White Sox for Brandon McCarthy and a prospect. Danks is in for a breakout year for the White Sox while Brandon McCarthy is on the 60-day DL. His inflated stats could explain the arm problems, but trading three solid prospects for an unproven pitcher does not. In 2007, he traded Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay to the Braves for top prospects Jarrod Saltalamachhia and Elvis Andrus, among others. This somewhat justifies his ability to make a trade, but one this past offseason does not.
This past offseason, in an attempt to rebuild the outfield, he traded Edison Volquez for Josh Hamilton. Hamilton is off to a good start, but no where close to the same start Volquez is having. Volquez is shining in the bottom end of that rotation and will likely follow behind Johnny Cueto for the next several years to come. While this team could be riding high on the top of the division, or at least competing for it, they have traded away nearly every prospect they have, and are behind the Athletics in terms of development.
Daniels is young, and he has time to learn, but I think it is time to go with someone more experienced so they can build this team back to greatness. A possible option is Paul DePodesta, who is currently working with Kevin Towers and the Padres. Towers is a master-crafter of trades, and understands stats very well, in my opinion. DePodesta is also a former GM, and built the Dodgers to what they are now. Moving Daniels into a reduced role could open the spot for him later or with another team in the future.
13 comments:
depodesta was a disaster in LA, hence his short tenure. Logan White built them through the draft, not Depodesta.
DePodesta did nothing for the current Dodgers,all the current good young players were all part of Evans Regine.DePodesta was a horrible GM and left none too soon.
I disagree, the draft picks he selected is what made them good. and dont say JD Drew was not a good signing for them...
You're suggesting the Rangers to drop Daniels for a guy who couldn't handle the GM position in Paul Deposta. If I were to get rid of Daniels, I would check and see what Terry Ryan has been up to.
daniels has restocked the system but has the left team with no pitching...fire him!
DePodesta was a train wreck in Los Angeles (as is Ned IMO). Built the team to what they are today?!? I am a huge dodger fan and this organization is not in any sort of good shape thanks to him. Thanks to Logan White we have managed to get through all of these horrible FA signings. Furcal is the only FA worth mentioning. The rest are were and are trash. Jones, Drew, Loaiza, Tomko, Wells...the list goes on and on...
Ned Colletti is not doing the best job either. However, you can't say depodesta did nothing as GM. he had a say (actually the final say) in all of their drafts and signings. The only guy on that list that belongs to Depo is Drew....
and the dodgers are in good shape. The have a lot of young players ready to take over, clayton kershaw is flying up...they'll be able to compete in the tough division.
Deposta knew how to draft, but he does not know how to pick up some key acquisitions in the free agent market. Again, if I were to get rid of Daniels, I would see what Tom Ryan is up to, or a John Scherholtz.
I like those two choices...how about going with a product of theo epstein: ben cherington?
or oneri fleita?
DePodesta was not ready to be GM in LA and is not ready now. His communications skills amongst his peers were horrible. I suggest that the Rangers talk to the Phillies assistants about taking over as GM and turning the team around. Next, Texas needs to draft pitchers suited to their park and weather conditions, same as Colorado has done the past five years. That will be the only way Texas will have any kind of regular consistant pitching for the next few years.
Ben might be a good fit, another one would be Reuben Amaro, Jr. He has experience, and that is what Texas needs. Ryan might also be tempted because he'll have more money to work with and at the same time, build the minor league system again. It works both ends.
You hardly ever see a pitching for hitting trade work out for a hitter unless he is a perenial allstar. The best way to rebuild this team is by trading Young and Blaylock. They should be able to get 4-6 prospects and shoot for the 2012 season. Mccarthy is a bust. Hamilton is a above avg. player who is not cable of carrying a team.
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