Over the last season, the Texas Rangers have made some serious moves toward diving deeper into playoff contention. Although they’ve added top-tier talent at multiple positions of need including signing starter Cole Hamels and trading for elite catcher Jonathan Lucroy, they’ve also recently lost nearly just as much. Outfielders Carlos Gomez and Ian Desmond (who declined the Rangers’ qualifying offer) have already hit free agency, as have first baseman Mitch Moreland, DH Carlos Beltran, and right-hander Colby Lewis. That’s not even to mention the loss of Prince Fielder.
Although the Rangers’ depth of young talent has dwindled after selling off some of the farm at the non-waiver deadline, they still have enough leftover to make another convincing playoff push in 2017. Infield utility man Jurickson Profar still has a boatload of potential despite his limited offerings at the major league level so far, as does slugger Joey Gallo, who may become much more of a mainstay next season with the departure of so much power this offseason.
Where they still seem to be lacking, however, is in the outfield, specifically at center field, where both Desmond and Gomez left a considerable hole to fill. Left to take their place, for the time being, is Delino DeShields, which is exactly why the team has been rumored to be back in talks with Desmond, in an effort to re-sign him, and more intriguingly, one of the fastest players in baseball – Billy Hamilton.
Considering the growing likelihood of Texas being unable to re-sign Desmond, Hamilton would easily be a good fit for the team for multiple reasons.
Despite owning a sub-par career line for one of the best base stealers in the game (.248/.297/.334), Hamilton has shown improvement over the last season, bringing his batting line up to .260/.321/.343 while stealing a career-high 58 bases and being caught only eight times.
For a player of his speed, it may be disappointing to see he only tallied 69 runs, especially when coupled with his limited ability to drive in runs himself, totaling only three home runs and 17 runs batted in on the season. But given the state of the Cincinnati Reds, who ranked in the bottom half of the league in nearly every offensive category, there were obvious missed opportunities for the young center fielder as well. In fact, his situation may even play to the Rangers’ advantage in that regard — his value being lessened sheerly by the circumstances of the team that surrounded him makes him that much more affordable.
But Hamilton’s true value isn’t at the plate anyway. His speed gives him exceptional range in the outfield and his defensive metrics, on the whole, are a selling point on their own. In 2016, he registered a .990 fielding percentage with only three errors, earning himself a 1.8 defensive wins above replacement value on the season.
In comparison, DeShields, who played 121 games in 2015 (.261/.344/.374, 2 HR, 37 RBI, 25 SB), stumbled this season in his limited opportunities (.209/.275/.313, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 8 SB, 203 PA) and registered a -0.0 dWAR.
Hamilton may not have the youth of current center fielder DeShields (who is 24) at 26 but would undoubtedly fit into Texas’ timeline should they choose to sign him to a multi-year contract. He would easily serve as an upgrade to DeShields defensively and on the bath paths and still has the potential to develop into more than he’s shown so far at the plate, especially in a lineup that, last year, ranked no less than eighth in nearly every offensive category (H, R, HR, RBI, AVG, SLG).
With the success the team found last year on its way to a 95-65 record, Texas will undoubtedly be striking while the iron is hot. Cincinnati will likely be looking for a bevy of young talent considering they are far behind the rest of the division in terms of top-notch prospects.
Whether the Rangers will be willing and able to make a deal given what remains in their own system – and outside of those they’ve already expressed they’re unwilling to trade – is what will likely be the pivotal point in making rumors into reality. At an estimated $2.3 million, they can surely afford to pay his salary, but paying the demands of a team on the wrong side of a rebuild is a different story entirely.
Jonathan Powell is the Managing Editor of Outside Pitch MLB and the Milwaukee Brewers writer. Follow him on Twitter @jonathannashhh.
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