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Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?That's remarkable. Feels like he should be 30 or 31 starting his eight year.
Yes, the Rangers took baseball news and blogs by the nuts today signing Nathan to a two-year deal for $7 million each and a $9 million option for 2014.
A gigantic, franchise-shifting move.
If you were unsure of the Rangers' plans for the rotation and bullpen, they are a hell of a lot clear now.
Neftali Feliz is going to be in the rotation. Nathan will be the closer. Mike Adams will be the set-up man. Even if Nathan's arm falls off (he missed all of 2010 due to Tommy John surgery), Adams is the closer and the set-up situation will need to work itself out.
I do think that the Rangers are considering, seriously, moving Alexi Ogando to the bullpen full time, but that's for another day.
As for Nathan, he's just a big badass: 6-4, 225, all-time saves leader for the Twins, throws strikes, allows a bare minimum of runs, baserunners, walks, hits and home runs. Over the past decade, he's been the second or third best closer in the game.
I don't think the money is too bad. It's basically a bet that Nathan can go another two seasons with a carrot on the stick for a third. Either way, they are aiming to bolster the starting rotation now, make two more runs at a title with Nathan and figure it out in 2014.
As for Feliz, I think this was a foregone conclusion. The Rangers want him in the rotation. His two pitches are really good. Two pitches got Ogando 13 wins and an All-Star game. If Feliz works his curveball a bit more in the off-season, a valid third pitch would be devastating.
As of this moment:
Rotation
Colby Lewis
Neftali Feliz
Matt Harrison
Derek Holland
Alexi Ogando
Bullpen
Joe Nathan
Mike Adams
Koji Uehara
Mark Lowe
Yoshi Tateyama
Scott Feldman
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