Dodgers Must Proceed Cautiously with Greinke

Fans with Dodgers tickets received a little bit of a scare last week, as pitcher Zack Greinke was flown home to Los Angeles to have his elbow examined. Greinke, who signed a six-year, $147 million deal in the offseason, was diagnosed with inflammation in the back of his elbow, and received an injection of platelet-enriched plasma, as well as anti-inflammatory medication. While Greinke has since pitched bullpen sessions and experienced no pain, it appears as if his timetable to start the season has been pushed back, and is no longer slated to start the Dodgers second game of the season on April 2.

Rangers Unusually Quiet This Offseason

Coming off a disappointing finish to the 2012 season, fans with Texas Rangers tickets were clamoring to see the team make some big moves this offseason. However, while the Rangers have been involved with several of the big names this winter, GM Jon Daniels has not been able to land those targets. In fact, the biggest news for Texas this offseason was former MVP Josh Hamilton signing with the AL West rival Angels, who gave the slugger a five-year, $125 million contract to lure him away from the Rangers. Texas also could not outbid the Dodgers for pitcher Zach Greinke, leaving the team still searching for starting pitching options. The Rangers have also been heavily linked with Arizona OF Justin Upton in trade talks, but so far the two teams have not been able to work out a deal centered around the 25-year old slugger. With both the trade and free agent market drying up, Texas’ options for the rest of the offseason are pretty limited.

However, the Rangers have made several minor moves this offseason that should help them going forward. In desperate need for catching after Mike Napoli left for Boston, Texas reached a one-year deal with former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who is coming off the best season of his career. While the 36-year old probably does not have too many years left, he should be a solid short-term solution for the Rangers, especially because he gives the club another left-handed bat with some power. The Rangers other important move this offseason was signing former Royals closer Joakim Soria to add more depth to the bullpen. Soria, who did not play in 2012 after having Tommy John surgery, should be fully recovered sometime in the first half of the season, and he should form an impressive duo with closer Joe Nathan late in games. There is still plenty of time left before the season starts to make additional moves, and Daniels always seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve. It just has not been the big offseason that Rangers fans were expecting just weeks ago.

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