Rangers' focus on trades, not free agents

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Rangers general manager Jon Daniels entered the offseason with some confidence. Texas won the American League West in 2015, answering several key questions along the way, giving Daniels hope that the best is yet to come.

The Rangers are in the market for a starting pitcher, a right-handed bat and a bullpen arm, and Daniels said on Tuesday at the General Managers Meetings that there isn't a lot of movement, adding that the Rangers have been focused more on trades than free agents at this point.

"I think there's a little bit of confidence going into the offseason as far as [having] an experienced core, and even the young guys now have experience on a big stage," Daniels said. "You feel you can try to add a couple of pieces and [not] need to reinvent the wheel and totally change over the club.

"You don't want to get complacent either, but there's a confidence, especially [considering] where we were a year ago, and we've gotten some real positive answers [for] some of our injured guys."

After being ravaged by injuries in 2014, the Rangers got bounceback seasons from outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, pitchers Martin Perez and Derek Holland, and slugger Prince Fielder.

"When guys get hurt, you don't always get them back," Daniels said. "I think from that standpoint, there's confidence that the core of the team is place, and it's more, 'What can we do to make good baseball deals at this point?'"