Rangers lock up Elvis Andrus

The Texas Rangers have locked up 24 year old all-star shortstop Elvis Andrus today agreeing to an 8 year extension worth $120 million according to sources. AP Photo/Tony Dejak

Andrus's extension won't kick in until the 2015 season as he  will make $4.8 million this year and a solid $6.48 million next year. The extension also gives Andrus the option of opting out after four years and it does include a vesting option for a ninth season. The Rangers have now locked down three of their four infielders (Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre; both under team control through 2016).

The extension also gives a little bit of wonder as what will happen with MLB Top prospect Jurkinson Profar.  Now since Andrus will be locked up until the 2019 season if he decides to opt out of the contract after four years and 2024 if the vesting option for the ninth season is used. They also have Ian Kinsler locked up for another three.

Profar for Price?
Getty Images

 Now, the Rangers could do a few things with this situation, one is to trade Jurkinson Profar. Two names that have been circulating throughout baseball is Tampa Bay pitcher David Price or Giancarlo Stanton.  Both would make sense for the Rangers as their outfield has diminished with the loss of Josh Hamilton. Stanton would thrive in Texas hitting in one of the more friendly hitter ballparks. Adding Price to their rotation would make their rotation the best in baseball that already consists of Matt Harriston, Yu Darvish, Alexi Ogando, and Derek Holland. Profar is a very valuable asset for the Rangers, so if they do trade him it will be a
blockbuster trade. If he will be traded it will be either at the Trade Deadline or during offseason. Chances of this happening 20%.

Here's another option for the Rangers, keep Profar and trade Ian Kinsler moving Profar to 2nd. Accept there is one problem with trading Ian Kinsler, will they trade him after making a big financial commitment to
him last year (5 years $75m) to make him a big member of the Rangers core. Kinsler is considered one of the top 2nd baseman in the league which makes him a valuable asset for the Rangers but he is already 30 and his extension will keep him through 2018 which will make him 35. Now, that doesn't seem that bad right? Here's the problem, not many teams will want to take all of his contract, now it's not that big of a contract compared to others when a team won't want to take all of a contact but the Rangers will need to eat a good 7-13 million worth of his contract. Chances of this happening 30% .

Trade Kinsler or move him to another postion?
Is a big question facing the Rangers (getty images)

Another possibilty would be a simple one, move Kinsler to the outfield or first base and put Profar at second base. This option does not need much explaining as it is a pretty simple concept to grasp, move Kinsler to another position to make room for Profar. The outfield is more likely for Kinsler inless Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland struggles throughout the year. Note that Moreland has rasied his average over the last three seasons but only played in 114 games last year compared to his 134 games in 201. He hit .275 and .259 in those respected seasons. This option will also allow one of the best SS-2B duos ever to take place if Profar gets moved to 2B. Chances of this happening 80%.

MLB 2013 Predictions: NL Edition

Welcome to the 0-2 Pitch's MLB 2013 Predictions: NL Edition! In our last post we covered the AL and saw the Rays,Tigers,and Angels are winning their division! Now it's time to see who is going to win the highly competivie NL, and to start off we're going to start in what is one of the best if not the best divison in baseball, the NL East. Without further adieu let's get started

NL East:

Bryce Haper will lead the Nationals to
an NL East crown while putting up historic
sophmore numbers.

1.Nationals: 98-64
2.Phillies: 93-69
3.Braves: 91-71
4.Mets: 68-94
5.Marlins: 66-96
Why: The Nationals will win the NL East this year with no surprise as they all stacked, as Bryce Harper who is coming off a ROY campaign will continue to turn heads as he goes on a monster season recording a 30/30 season. The Phillies will be the NL's somewhat surprise team this year as they have a full team coming back healthy this year with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley solidfiying the middle of their lineup will surprise some people this year, Ryan Howard will finally live up to his contract as he has another 40 homerun 120+ RBI season for the Phillies. The Braves will start off hot this year but the too many strikeouts at key times will hurt the Braves this year as they finish third in the NL East and miss the playoffs while setting a record for the most strikeouts by one team in a season. The Mets will miss Johan Santana again for the season it looks like, and their already diminished pitching staff from losing R.A. Dickey will be even worse, the only hope Mets fans have his Travis D'Arnaurd and Zach Wheeler but thats even a few years away from being good. The Marlins will finish with one of the worst records in franchsie history after they traded away all the players they spent tons of money on an off season ago, now they will finish last in the NL East for the another year while their stadium in it's second year will continue to be empty.

NL Central:
1.Cardinals: 94-68
2.Reds:93-69

Allen Craig will show that he
is one of the elite first baseman
in the Major Leagues.

3.Brewers: 87-75
4.Pirates: 81-83
5.Cubs: 61-101
Why: The Cardinals this year will show they are still the best in the NL Central as they go on a late season push with help of rookie Tyler Rosenthal and go on another magical september run as they take over the NL Central from the Reds after being counted out. The Reds this year will provide some heavy hitting and strong pitching depth as they look like the favorites throughout the season to take the NL Crown but a mid-late season plunge hurts the Reds as they fall out of first ultimaly losing the NL Central to the Cardinals, Joey Votto will have a 40 homerun season while winning the MVP. The Brewers will start out not so hot this year as they have a losing record through May, a hot streak in July will help them pull within a few games of the divsion lead but another cold spell in August will ultimaly hurt them at the end of the season. Andrew McCuthchen will have another MVP quality season but even another one of those will not help the Pirates end their streak of losing seasons. The Cubs, the one team no matter who your a fan of you feel bad for their fans, well Cubs fans will be in for another long season even though first baseman Anthony Rizzo has an amazing season the bullpen will cost too many games for this Cubs team to come even close to competing.


Buster Posey will live up to his
contract extension propelling the Giants to another
NL West Crown

NL West:
1.Giants: 94-68
2.Dodgers: 90-72
3.Diamondbacks: 84-78
4.Padres: 77-85
5.Rockies: 66-96
Why: The Giants coming off their second World Series championship in three years will come out strong once again this year dominiating just not the NL but all of the majors the first two months of the season, Buster Posey will live up to his mosnter contract extension while Matt Cain puts up Cy Young award winning numbers. The Dodgers who spent $215 million this offseason will look like the team that Magic Johnson and the rest of the Dodgers owners imagined. But a late season plunge will hurt them as they miss the playoffs even though Clayton Kershaw wins his 2nd career Cy Young. The Diamondbacks who strengthen their offense after trading away Justin Upton will come out strong out of the gate but their pitching staff will not be able to perform at the level of the Giants and Dodgers pitching staffs which will ultimaly decide the D-Backs fate as they miss the playoffs. The Padres will see alot of good things from Jedd Gyorko this season but it will not be enough for them to compete at the same pace of the NL West and the rest of the NL. The Rockies will once again finish under .500 still having the worst rotation in all of baseball and Troy Tulowtzki will continue to not live up to his $157 million.

MLB 2013 Predictions:AL Edition

Welcome to the first post here at The 0-2 Pitch! Today, we will be giving our 2013 MLB Season Predictions!

Today we will be making our AL Predictions. We saw a big year last year in the AL and the AL is going to be fully competive again this season and will be very fun to watch so let's get started on our predictions!

AL East:

Evan Longoria will have a career season
while trying to lead the Rays to the promise land.

1.Rays: 96-66
2.Blue Jays: 94-68
3.Yankees: 88-74
4.Orioles: 84-78
5.Red Sox: 76-86
 The Blue Jays bullpen is going to be rocky this year but has a chance to be a surprise for the fully loaded offense and starting roationed Blue Jays, but the bullpen will blow too many games for this Blue Jays team which a late season Rays rally will propell them into first place and ultimaly win the division by 2 games. The injury riddled and aging Yankees will finish with their second less than 90 wins season since 2001, while the Orioles will start out hot but a mid-season collapse will ultimalty decide their fate as they fall from playoff contention in the start of September. The Red Sox will finish under .500 for the consecutive season as they are not strong in any catagory, Red Sox's fans should prepare for another long and unsucessful season.

Justin Verlander will win another Cy Young
while leading the Tigers to another pennant.

AL Central:
1.Tigers: 98-64
2.White Sox: 87-75
3.Indians: 84-78
4.Royals: 75-87
5.Twins: 61-101
The Tigers are stacked once again this season and also could breathe a little easily now that they signed Justin Verlander to a 7 year extension worth 180 million. The Tigers offense are going to put up record numbers while Verlander has another Cy Young winning season winning 20+ and having a sup 2.80 era. The White Sox are on their way to a playoff birth in the near future but they fall short this season even though Chris Sales puts up Cy Young winning numbers but also falls short to inner-division ace Justin Verlander. The Royals are on the verge of a winning season but their youth will hurt them this year as they fall short of another winning season but catch a glimpse of the future many times through the season. The Twins will finish in last once again, throughout the season they will show signs of a good but their rotation is just to weak even with Vance Worley winning 15 games.

Josh Hamilton(left)Mike Trout(center),
and Albert Pujols (right) will lead the Angels to a
record season and the best record in baseball.

AL West:
1.Angels: 103-59
2.Athletics: 93-67
3.Rangers: 85-77
4.Mariners: 77-85
5. Astros: 49-113
The Angels will see their money pay off as they have a record season while Pujols,Hamilton,and Trout all put up 30 home run seasons and as Mike Trout wins his first of many MVP awards. The Athletics are going to have another strong season and will make the playoffs for the second consecutive season for the first time 2002 and 2003 seasons. The Rangers will have a good season under the circumstances that their team has been dismantled over the last few seasons. The Rangers will trade for Andre Either at the trade deadline trading away Ian Kinsler to make Jurkinson Profar who will win the ROY a full time starter while also trying to make a playoff push which will fail in early september. The Mariners are going to be very good, in a few years. But this is not their year as they will finish under .500 but their offensive numbers will go up as the fences at Safeco have been brought in. The Astros, are the kids who get bullied by all of the MLB this season as they finish with one of the worst records in MLB history and will once again get a first overall pick.