Big free-agent splash not in Rangers' plans

LAS VEGAS -- Free-agent infielder Manny Machado is 26 and a proven offensive star who hit .297 with 37 home runs, 107 RBIs and a .538 slugging percentage for the Orioles and Dodgers this past season.
He would seem to be a good long-term fit for the Rangers as they rebuild their team around young players and get ready to move into a new ballpark in 2020. The Rangers also have unusual financial flexibility with Adrian Beltre, Cole Hamels, Martín Pérez, Matt Moore and others no longer on their payroll.
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But that is not going to be a part of the Rangers' strategy as they put together their 2019 ballclub.
"We just decided this isn't the year for us to pursue the top guys," general manager Jon Daniels said. "We're looking for long-term fits, which you could certainly characterize some of the top free agents as. But you look at the best years of free agents, [they] are often the first years of their contracts. That doesn't necessarily line up with where we are looking to put it all together. You could argue we need to wait for an opportunity where the timing is more consistent with what we are trying to do."
The Rangers have played at the top of the market before. That was the case when they signed Beltre in 2011, Yu Darvish in '12 and Shin-Soo Choo before the '14 season. This is not a club that has a long-term history of financial austerity. But this time around, the Rangers want to continue to rebuild their foundation before taking another deep plunge into the free-agent market.
That will not always be the case, Daniels said.
"There will be a point in time where we will entertain the top free agents," Daniels said. "We have done it before and we will do it again. We are not always going to do it and we are not always going to go for the top guys. But we will be more aggressive at points in the future than we are right now."

The Rangers' focus on the free-agent market is aimed more toward starting pitchers seeking one- to three-year deals who can provide rotation stability as the young prospects continue their development.
Some of the names that have emerged on the Rangers' board include right-handers Charlie Morton and Lance Lynn, and left-hander J.A. Happ. Veteran right-hander James Shields is another possibility.
Yohander Méndez and Ariel Jurado are both candidates for the rotation, but the Rangers' preference is to give them more development time in the Minor Leagues, along with Jonathan Hernández, Joe Palumbo, Taylor Hearns and others.
"You have a lot of things on the board," Daniels said. "You're trying to figure out what are not options and what things are real, trying to whittle those down from a concept to push it across the finish line."

Morton, 35, was 15-3 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 2018 over 30 starts for the Astros. Happ, 36, was 17-6 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in 31 starts for the Blue Jays and Yankees.
Lynn, 31, wasn't quite as stellar, finishing last season at 10-10 with a 4.77 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP with the Twins and Yankees. But he had a strong finish, going 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his last four outings and that has helped renew clubs' interest in him.
Shields, 36, is no longer the top-of-rotation starter he was with the Rays and Royals earlier in his career. He was 7-16 with a 4.53 ERA last season for the White Sox, but he also gave them 204 innings. That's the kind of workhorse the Rangers could use to give their young pitchers more time.
"That's something we've discussed," Daniels said. "There is value in that."