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When it comes to roster building, depth is only good until a team is forced to use it. For the Oakland Athletics, injuries to starting pitchers may dismantle a team that was ticketed for October baseball and championship aspirations.

According to John Hickey of Bay Area News Group, the Athletics could start the season with 60 percent of their projected starting rotation—Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin and Scott Kazmir—on the disabled list. 

When it comes to Parker, he won’t be there for the entire 2014 season. According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, the 25-year-old right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery next Tuesday. This will be the second major arm surgery of Parker’s young career, leaving his future in doubt.

For his team, the immediate future is just as cloudy. Coming off back-to-back AL West titles, the Athletics had a busy offseason in preparation for a meaningful 2014 campaign and trip back to the postseason.

Now, those plans are on hold.

In the loaded AL West, the Athletics can’t afford to lose projected starting pitchers and still win the 90-95 games necessary to put themselves in true contention. Texas is too talented and teams like Los Angeles, Seattle and Houston all improved during the winter. On a day-to-day basis, wins will be harder than ever to achieve for this A’s team. 

Furthermore, the American League is loaded. Outside of Houston, Minnesota and Chicago, a case can be made for any team in the league competing for a postseason berth. In order to qualify for the AL postseason in 2014, luck is almost as important as talent.

With less than two full weeks until Opening Day, luck is alluding the Athletics.

Unlike the Braves recent acquisition of Ervin Santana, don’t expect Oakland general manager Billy Beane to scour the open market for a veteran to save his young, injured staff. Even if Santana was still available, this franchise would be more apt to solve problems internally. 

Yet, despite pitching depth in the organization—Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Chavez, Michael Ynoa, Phil Humber—it’s too much to ask manager Bob Melvin to replicate the production and talent of Jarrod Parker.  

When Bartolo Colon was allowed to bolt to New York in free agency, the message to Parker was loud and clear: It’s your rotation now.

That message came with good merit. Over the last two years—comprising Parker’s first two big league seasons—the young righty has been among the most consistent and effective starters in the entire sport. 

Over the span, only 25 starters have thrown at least 375 innings, pitched to an ERA of 3.75 or better and allowed less than 1.0 HR/9. The combination of durability, run-suppressing pitching and the ability to keep the ball in the ballpark is rare, even among high-quality arms.

In fact, the list of names below Parker is almost as impressive as the names above him, per Baseball-Reference (subscription required). Lance Lynn, Justin Masterson, Ricky Nolasco and Jon Lester all have put up ERA marks higher than Parker’s 3.73 over the last two seasons. 

To be fair, it’s easy to overreact in light of major spring training injuries to projected aces. The narrative in March often is flipped and reversed by the All-Star break. With time to reassess the roster, it’s possible, if not likely, that the A’s could overcome Parker’s injury.

Three years ago, the St. Louis Cardinals lost Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery. That October—with Wainwright rooting on an upstart wild card team from the dugout—the Cardinals won it all in Tony La Russa’s final season.

Of course, Parker’s the biggest name, but not the only name. 

With Griffin and Kazmir also banged up, the Athletics will need to find bulk innings from their pitching depth. Organizational depth is built for times like these, but losing three potential 200-inning arms is rare and costly.

In fact, when you consider that Kazmir was signed to effectively replace Colon’s production, the Athletics are about to enter a season with the tall task of re-allocating 587.1 innings from last year’s staff. 

Even with a deep bullpen—designed in part to ease the burden of innings from young, unproven arms—the A’s will be challenged to survive over the long haul.

In a perfect world, Oakland’s offense will soar to the top of league rankings in runs scored, pitchers like Jesse Chavez and Drew Pomeranz will surprise and Sonny Gray will take a leap from potential AL All-Star to Cy Young contender.

The blueprint for overcoming this type of setback was illustrated by the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, but even that took a miraculous September run to capture a spot in the postseason tournament. 

With the American League poised to be a daily grind and as competitive as any year in recent memory, the A’s can’t survive 60 percent of their rotation being out for an extended period. It would be a fool’s errand to call a Billy Beane team hopeless, but the difference between watching the postseason at home and competing for a World Series is slim.

Jarrod Parker’s injury is likely a sign that it’s just not the year in Oakland.

Agree? Disagree?

Comment, follow me on Twitter or “like” my Facebook page to talk about all things baseball.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted. All contract figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Roster projections courtesy of MLB Depth Charts.

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Whether it’s Josh Reddick returning to form or Michael Taylor desperately trying to prove himself, the Oakland A’s are witnessing a variety of breakout performances that are making key decisions more difficult.

After one week of camp, four guys in particular were incredibly impressive. Now with more than two weeks worth of games under their stirrups, three of those four have continued to stay hot in Arizona while a handful of others have stirred things up.

What makes a breakout star? Well, one guy isn’t at all familiar to A’s fans. Three others are fighting for a job on the 25-man roster. Another once had a starting role, saw it vanish and now wants it back. And the other, well, he’s breaking out of a year-long slump, which was likely due to injury.

And heck, let’s rank ’em. Ranking is based purely on spring training performances. The best performance gets the No. 1 spot.

All statistics are courtesy of MLB.com.

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Begin Slideshow

After a couple of weeks, some members of the Texas Rangers are standing out from the others.

In fact, there are eight players who have a .300 batting average or higher while playing in at least eight games. Of the eight, only two of them played extensive time in the big leagues last season.

And even though it is spring training, it is worthy to note the players who are breaking out this spring. Many of them have seen a wide array of talent on the mound and in the batter’s box.

However, there hasn’t been a pitcher who has really stood out from the rest of the staff so we are going to look at hitters here.

Here are five breakout performances through the first two weeks of spring training.

Brent Lillibridge, 3B

Brent Lillibridge has had the hottest bat so far in spring training.

He has played in eight games and is hitting .438 with one homer and three RBI. The only blemish on his spring resume is a lone strikeout. Other than that, he is spraying the ball all over the diamond and has committed just one error over 36 innings.

The Rangers are the seventh team Lillibridge has played for in six years. Although the Texas infield is full, it would be difficult for the Rangers not to keep him on the 25-man roster if he continues to hit the way he has been.

Robinson Chirinos, C

Geovany Soto hasn’t seen much playing time due to an injury, and Robinson Chirinos is seizing the opportunity of extended playing time.

Chirinos has struck out six times in 17 at-bats, which account for nearly every out this spring. But he also has seven hits, making for a .414 batting average with four RBI and two walks. His .474 OBP is the highest of any other player with more than one game played.

He has thrown out three base-stealers in four attempts and has caught as many innings as J.P. Arencibia. Chirinos is really making most of the innings he has been given this spring.

Keven Kouzmanoff, 3B

Kevin Kouzmanoff hasn’t played in the big leagues for two years but is enjoying his first spring with the Rangers.

The 32-year-old is hitting .333 in 16 games so far. He is second on the team with six RBI and third in runs scored with six. He has one home run and has been walked three times.

Kouzmanoff has played 61 innings in the field, which is also the second most on the club. He has yet to commit an error and has split time at first base and third base.

After two years in the minors, Kouzmanoff is looking to prove he belongs on the 25-man roster.

Michael Choice, OF

Michael Choice’s performance so far this spring should be helping fans get over the trade that saw Craig Gentry go to the Oakland A’s.

Choice has played in 15 games this spring and is hitting .323 in 31 at-bats. He has one homer, a double and a triple and has driven in three runs.  He is tied with Chirinos for the most strikeouts on the team (6) and has yet to draw a walk.

Cutting down on swings is something Choice will learn over the rest of spring ball. Expect to see him getting quite a bit of playing time when the regular season gets going.

Jurickson Profar, 2B

Although Jurickson Profar hasn’t played defensively, he is showing promise at the dish.

Profar has more at-bats (40) than any player. He is hitting .300 and has driven in a team-high 11 runs. He has three doubles and two home runs to his credit, one of which was a grand slam.

He also has a team-high eight runs scored.

Getting at-bats is key for Profar, who had scattered playing time over the course of 2013. Letting him hit every day is more important than getting him his first live groundball.

All stats courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

You can follow Trey on Twitter @treydwarren

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Texas Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder had a down year with the Detroit Tigers in 2013. Regardless, he was still one of the most productive first basemen in baseball. Many players would settle for a .279/25/106 slash line, .362 on-base percentage and .457 slugging.

If batting average, home runs, runs batted in, OBP and SLG are a fantasy baseball team’s five major offensive categories, Fielder is a solid choice at first base.

Some might be hesitant to draft Fielder due to his underwhelming (by his standards) 2013. He hit .313/30/108 with a monster .412 OBP and .528 SLG the year prior.

According to ESPN Fantasy Baseball, Fielder will post a .300/35/113 slash line this season. The projection considers 2013 to be a bump in the road rather than the beginning of a decline.

Fielder will play half of his games at the hitter-friendly Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX. He raked in Miller Park throughout his six full seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2006 to 2011, including a 50-home run season in 2007. Expect Fielder’s power numbers to improve dramatically in Texas.

He has a career .286 batting average, .389 OBP and .527 SLG. Even if he under performs, he is still a productive first baseman. 

Spring training does not count towards the regular season, but he flexed on February 27 with a long home run.

There was also nothing cheap about Fielder’s last homer in a Tigers uniform on September 22, 2013.

Or this three-run jack on July 24, 2013.

Fielder can be relied upon to play a full season. Since 2006, he has never played less than 157 games per year.

With Shin-Soo Choo and Elvis Andrus hitting in front of him, Fielder is almost guaranteed to drive in at least 100 runs. Choo is coming off a .423 OBP season with the Cincinnati Reds and Andrus has a career .339 OBP. The Rangers will eat if they can set the table for Fielder.

Turning 30 this season, Fielder is highly capable of another monster year. Miguel Cabrera—undisputedly the best choice at first base and arguably overall—and Paul Goldschmidt are sure to be high picks. But don’t sleep on Fielder.

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Somebody recently asked Albert Pujols if he was motivated to put up numbers like those of fellow Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout. Pujols didn’t take kindly to that and was still stewing about it in a more recent interview this week.

Now here we come to wag our finger. It is, after all, our duty as People of the Internet to react to situations like these. And in this case, here’s why finger-wagging is warranted:

Pujols just has the wrong idea, man. The question he was asked wasn’t an insulting one. It was actually a valid question. Surprisingly so, in fact.

Pujols, as we’re all abundantly aware, hasn’t been so great in his first two years in an Angels uniform. Thanks in part to injuries he suffered in 2013, he’s hit just .275/.338/.485 as an Angel. Very un-Pujols-like numbers, indeed.

Thus early on in spring training came the question—Jesse Spector of the Sporting News says it was his—about whether Pujols might rebound well enough in 2014 to put up Trout-like numbers. Though it was a while ago, it was still on Pujols’ mind when he spoke to Bob Nightengale of USA Today this week:

Can you imagine someone saying that to me? I felt like saying, ‘Come on, are you serious? Are you really asking me that? Check out my numbers. I know what Mike Trout has done in his first two years is pretty special, but will you look at my numbers. I’ve been doing this for almost 14 years.’

The only guy in baseball who can match the numbers I’ve put up is Barry Bonds, and someone is actually asking if I can put up numbers like Mike Trout?

Are you freaking kidding me?

I’ll be honest: My initial reaction to these comments was something like, “Damn right! You tell ’em, Albert!” It would have been better if the question had been whether Pujols could get back to being the hitter he once was. If it’s strictly hitting we’re talking about; surely Trout hasn’t been as good as that guy.

But then I actually ventured to look. And…yeah, it turns out that Trout now and Pujols then is actually a solid comparison.

Since we’ve gone and strayed into Trout fanboy territory, here’s where you might be expecting something about Wins Above Replacement and what it has to say about Trout’s general awesomeness.

Nope. Not even gonna go there.

Instead, we’re going to focus strictly on the kinds of numbers that Pujols clearly had in mind when he spouted off. Because Pujols is one of the greatest hitters ever, you’d think that there would be a notable disparity between his and Trout’s hitting numbers. 

Whether you look at it from one direction or another direction, there’s actually not.

Regarding the first direction, the first thing I did was use Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs to look up how Trout’s rate stats in his first two full seasons (2012-2013) to compare them to Pujols’ rate stats from his first two seasons (2001-2002). You know, just to see if Trout’s off to as good a start at the plate as the one Pujols got off to.

Survey says:

Pujols was an outstanding hitter from the get-go, hitting for average, getting on base and slugging at terrific rates. Trout, however, only has a disadvantage in the power department. And because he’s put up his numbers in a much harsher run-scoring environment, it’s no surprise that he has huge edges in park- and league-adjusted stats like wRC+ and OPS+.

The point: As brilliant as Pujols’ start was, Trout’s has actually been better. No small compliment, that.

That’ll do for an attention-grabber. But it is also admittedly unfair to a degree, as Pujols wasn’t yet the great Albert Pujols in 2001 and 2002.

He didn’t really enter that territory until he hit .359 with a 1.106 OPS in 2003. Between then and 2010, his OBP never dropped below .414 and his OPS never dropped below .997. Once Bonds left baseball after 2007, Pujols had the “best hitter in baseball” label all to himself.

That, indeed, was Pujols in his prime. And my, what a prime it was. Certainly good enough to make what Trout’s done in the last two seasons look like some little league stuff, right?

Actually…

The edges in the non-adjusted rate stats belong to Pujols, with by far the biggest of the bunch being in power. That was expected, as Pujols did average 42 home runs a season in that eight-year stretch.

But once again, look at wRC+ and OPS+. Pujols’ prime holds the edge over Trout’s first two full seasons, but the edge is very slim. Factor in parks and run-scoring environments, and there’s virtually no difference between what Pujols was doing then and what Trout is doing now. In essence, “Trout numbers” means the same thing now as “Pujols numbers” did then.

So you know how I said it would have been better if the question had been whether Pujols could get back to being his old self? Well, that essentially was the question. 

Now, granted, Trout indeed hasn’t been raking all that long. Two great years does not a legendary hitter make. Trout has a few more years to go before he can begin even so much as tip-toeing into the same inner circle of all-time greats in which Pujols resides.

And while we’re granting things, let’s grant that Pujols can’t be blamed for not having things like wRC+ and OPS+ on his mind when he was asked the question the first time around or when he spoke to Nightengale. It’s typically the writer’s job to convey the relevant stats. Not the other way around.

Heck, let’s go ahead and grant a third thing: Even if Pujols were to be made aware of the statistical comparisons we just saw, here’s guessing he wouldn’t take back what he said. Just judging from his tone, you know.

If so, well, I guess that means you and I will just have to be content with the knowledge that we know better. We know that when Pujols was asked about emulating Trout, he wasn’t being asked if he could handle emulating an inferior hitter.

No, what he was really being asked was whether he could manage emulating himself.

Note: stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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The Oakland A’s have traveled to Arizona for another year of spring training camp. With returnees, new signings, freshly acquired players, prospects and a slew of non-roster invitees, it’s time to break down the A’s, position by position.

Most positions are all but locked up already but that doesn’t mean others are short on competition.

Spring training offers plenty of intrigues. Oakland has more than a few guys fighting for a roster spot. It also has a prospect or two looking to prove they’re worth the hype. There may even be a guy somewhere in camp that has the potential to pull off an upset of sorts, unseating a thought-to-be starter.

For this list, each slide will discuss a position, listing the players eligible and a short description of their likely outcome.

Begin Slideshow

He’s a member of the Texas Rangers now, but remember how Prince Fielder came to be on the Detroit Tigers? It was via a devastating injury to Victor Martinez, which opened up a need for an impact bat and, in turn, Tigers owner Mike Ilitch’s wallet.

I can’t help but wonder if similar circumstances might result in Ervin Santana becoming a teammate of Fielder’s. Or, at the least, I’m wondering if it should happen.

Before anybody gets the wrong idea, LET ME CLARIFY that I haven’t seen any rumors that say the Rangers are circling the free-agent right-hander. Nor am I reporting that they are. This is strictly speculation.

But not baseless speculation. It’s warranted by the very real injury concerns the Rangers have in their starting rotation.

Last month, Derek Holland injured his left knee in a freak accident, requiring him to have arthroscopic surgery. As reported by Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News, Holland is expected to be out until the All-Star break.

Now there’s bad news about another of Texas’ lefties. After missing pretty much all of 2013 with injuries, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that Matt Harrison is experiencing stiffness in his lower back and that he’s returning to Texas for further examination.

Two of the three surgeries (!) Harrison had last year were on his back. The stiffness he’s experiencing now is apparently in the same area that gave him trouble.

Which, yeah, is not good.

And this leads us to question time: With Holland already down and Harrison possibly going down as well, what do the Rangers stand to miss out on in 2014?

Let’s go to FanGraphs and check out the 2014 Steamer projections for both pitchers:

Steamer has already adjusted for Holland’s prognosis, but aside from that, it still expects him to be a quality pitcher when healthy in 2014. That projected 1.7 WAR jells with what FanGraphs‘ Jeff Sullivan wrote about Holland: “Before he got hurt, it would’ve been wise to project him to be worth something between three and four wins.”

As for Harrison, that projection does come off as being a bit generous considering all he went through in 2013, but we do know it’s not a question of talent with him. Between 2011 and 2012, he was worth 7.7 fWAR. Surely he could manage a 2.3 fWAR if healthy.

But now you have to wonder if Harrison can deliver even that much value. And if you take what the Rangers’ rotation is already due to miss out on with Holland’s injury, they’re looking at a situation where their rotation could be missing out on anywhere between 2-4 WAR if Harrison misses some time.

Maybe that’s not a deal-breaker in a deep rotation, but the Rangers don’t have one of those. Yu Darvish—who is my pick for the American League Cy Young—is amazing, and Martin Perez is decent, but then it’s guys like Alexi Ogando (hurt for much of 2013), Nick Tepesch (4.84 ERA in ’13) and Tommy Hanson (all downhill since the 2012 All-Star break).

Then there’s also the reality that there’s not going to be a large margin for error in the AL West. As I wrote last week, the division got awfully deep this offseason. The A’s got more depth, the Angels got more pitching, the Mariners got the winter’s best talent and the Astros got actual major league talent.

Point being: Yeah, Holland’s and Harrison’s health could cost the Rangers dearly in 2014. They can’t afford to miss out on the production they stand to miss out on. What they need is a safety net.

Which brings us, finally, to Ervin Santana.

I’ll cut to the chase and get right into the numbers. Here’s what Santana did in 2013 and what Steamer projects him to do in 2014:

In short: Santana was pretty good in 2013 and should be pretty good once again in 2014. 

And that’s believable. Since he’ll be going into his age-31 season, Santana obviously isn’t on the verge of a decline phase just yet. It also looks good that, rather than decline in 2013, Santana’s velocity actually experienced a slight uptick. You can get a glimpse of that over at Brooks Baseball.

Now, sure, living with Santana does mean living with home runs. He had a 12.4 HR/FB rate in 2013, the fourth year out of five in which his HR/FB rate finished over 10.0. 

You’re also right to wonder if the move from Kauffman Stadium to Globe Life Park in Arlington would be a tough transition for Santana, as it would basically be a total 180 of run-scoring environments. In particular, it’s possible that Santana’s home run problem would become even worse.

Or maybe not.

There’s something to be noted about the 46.2 GB% Santana posted in 2013: That was a career high, and it was no accident. It coincided with his sinker becoming a bigger part of his arsenal, as Brooks Baseball can vouch:

Santana’s sinker boasted a 60.13 GB/BIP rate, the highest of any of his pitches. He couldn’t have kept the ball on the ground a career-high amount without it.

Given the success he had with his sinker in 2013, here’s thinking Santana won’t be shy about going to it more often in 2014. Especially if he finds himself in a hitting environment as harsh as Arlington. And if that were the case, well, the move from Kansas City to Texas wouldn’t be so bad after all.

If we accept that Santana could help the Rangers withstand the injury blows to Holland and Harrison, the next question is whether the Rangers signing Santana is even practical. With their payroll, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, already expected to be higher than ever in 2014, can the Rangers afford him?

Well, we can put it this way: Santana is probably more affordable right now than he’s been all winter.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported in November that Santana was seeking a $100 million contract. That was never going to happen, and now he might be lucky if he gets half that.

This is what Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweeted in late January:

This was well after Ricky Nolasco signed for four years and $49 million. Then Matt Garza signed for four years and $52 million. More recently, Ubaldo Jimenez signed for four years and $50 million. Since these were Santana’s three most relevant comps, it’s likely that he’s also in line for something similar.

It doesn’t help that Santana’s market doesn’t appear crowded with suitors. There was talk of the Baltimore Orioles being in on him even after signing Jimenez, but MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli says not to count on it.

And one thing the Rangers wouldn’t have to worry about in the short term is forfeiting their first-round draft pick to sign Santana. That pick was lost when they signed Shin-Soo Choo.

And while signing Santana to that sort of contract would mean bumping their 2014 payroll up even higher, the Rangers will be able to clear some space after the season by declining Alex Rios’ $13.5 million club option. His job could go to Michael Choice, and the club’s payroll would level out nicely.

That there’s been zero buzz about the Rangers making a move on Santana could suggest that general manager Jon Daniels is determined to move forward with what he has. In fact, Daniels did tell Kevin Sherrington of the Morning News that outside rotation help is not on the way; “at least right now,” anyway.

Or maybe Daniels just hasn’t yet realized how badly his club could be screwed by Holland’s and Harrison’s health woes. If that’s the case, maybe it won’t be long before he realizes that signing Santana is a move he can and should make.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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The Los Angeles Angels enter their fourth straight spring training without the leftover confidence of making the playoffs the previous season. Consequently, with a good-sized payroll and star power on the roster, that scenario leaves a little bit of pressure to get things turned around right now.

And what better time to tidy up a mess than during the spring.

For the Angels, however, it’s not an overwhelming matter. Sure, the offseason wasn’t a complete “winner,” and the strength of the AL West has increased—in the on-paper category. But don’t expect the severity of the Angels’ to-do list to blast through so many reams of paper only a company like Dunder Mifflin could keep up with the demand.

There is hope—more than just Mike Trout—and all of it starts with simple steps in March.

Begin Slideshow

The Texas Rangers did plenty of housekeeping during the offseason.

Prince Fielder was brought in to provide a power bat from the left side. That deal sent Ian Kinsler to Detroit and opened up a spot for Jurickson Profar at second base. Shin-Soo Choo was signed to fill out the outfield and take over the leadoff spot.

As a result, there are only a couple of things that manager Ron Washington has to take care of during spring training.

Here is the club’s to-do list.

Pick a New Closer

Now that Joe Nathan is gone, the team is looking for a new player to slam the door in the ninth.

Luckily for Texas, there are three guys who could potentially take over: Joakim Soria, Neftali Feliz and Tanner Scheppers.

Soria was the former closer in Kansas City before Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the 2012 season. Before that, he completed 160 saves in 180 opportunities from 2006-11. He averaged 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings and had an ERA of 2.50 during that span.

Feliz closed for the Rangers from 2010-11 before moving to the starting rotation the next year. He too had to undergo Tommy John surgery in 2012 and did not return until September of last season. The 25-year-old converted 74 of 84 save opportunities and struck out 8.8 batters per nine innings.

Scheppers was the setup man for Texas in 2013 and did a nice job. He appeared in 76 games, which was the most of any Ranger reliever. He posted a 1.88 ERA and earned 27 holds in 76.2 innings. Scheppers throws the hardest of the three pitchers but needs to upgrade his slider.

It is an issue most teams would love to have. Washington will have the month of March to choose his closer.

And if it doesn’t work out, he still has extra options.

Finalize Rotation

The club still needs one more starter to fill out the rotation.

Yu Darvish is obviously at the top, followed by Martin Perez, Alexi Ogando and Matt Harrison. However, per Drew Davison of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (h/t Dayn Perry of CBS Sports), Harrison was shut down from baseball activities on Feb. 20, which may hurt his chances of being ready in April.

Texas signed Tommy Hanson on Feb. 14 as another option for the rotation. He is looking to make a comeback from a disappointing 2013 campaign in which he also missed time due to the death of his brother.

Colby Lewis is a fan favorite and has a shot of filling in the No. 5 spot. He has not pitched since 2012 after elbow and hip surgeries stalled comebacks to the big leagues. The 34-year-old signed a minor league deal back in November and received an invitation to spring training.

Nick Tepesch is another option for the Rangers. He made his debut last season in April and started 17 games for the club, going 4-6 with a 4.84 ERA. He won the No. 5 spot out of spring training last year. 

It is also unlikely the Rangers will go with one of their top prospects to start the season. Alex Gonzalez split time between Low-A Spokane and High-A Myrtle Beach in his first year in the organization. Luke Jackson also spent most of his time in Myrtle Beach, but he had a small stint with Double-A Frisco.

Either way, this is another position Washington has a full litter to choose from. Spring training will be a battleground for two premium spots on the roster.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

You can follow Trey on Twitter @treydwarren.

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A healthy pitcher was hard to come by for the Texas Rangers in 2013.

Eleven different pitchers started at least two games for the club last season.  Only Yu Darvish and Derek Holland started more than 30, and Martin Perez was the only other hurler to hit the 20-game mark.

That is why Matt Harrison will be the key for the Texas Rangers’ success this season.

Harrison is coming off of multiple back surgeries that limited him to just two starts last year. He has been throwing and completed a bullpen session of 44 pitches on Feb. 16. He is expected to be ready to go by Feb. 28, which marks Texas’ first spring training game.

The 28-year-old will most likely be the third or fourth starter in the rotation. Darvish, Perez and maybe Alexi Ogando well precede him, depending on whether or not manager Ron Washington wants to split his southpaws. 

It’s odd to think that a guy who won 18 games in 2012 and was the 2013 Opening Day starter is in the middle to back end of the rotation. What makes it good is it shows how strong the team’s starting pitching has become.

Harrison didn’t pitch well in his two starts last year. He gave up 10 earned runs in 10.2 innings, walking seven and giving up 11 hits. He did strike out 12 batters, but nine came against the Houston Astros, who broke the major league record for most strikeouts in a single season.

Was it the back pain he complained of after his second start that caused him to pitch poorly?

It is a good question. No matter what the answer is, the Rangers missed Harrison immensely during the course of 2013. If he was around, this team wouldn’t have had to play 163 games to try to reach the playoffs.

When it was declared that Harrison needed surgery, Washington struggled to find a permanent replacement.

Once you get past Darvish, Holland, Perez and Ogando, not a single Texas starter had a winning record last season. That includes Matt Garza, whom Texas traded half the farm system (to the Chicago Cubs) to acquire.

The offense was also a large component of the team’s failure to reach the playoffs in 2013. But even when it was scoring runs, starters who were not on the Opening Day roster had a hard time keeping opponents from rounding the bases, except Perez of course.

Again, once you go past Darvish, Holland, Perez and Ogando, the struggle to find a reliable starter is clear. Those were the only four Rangers starters to have an ERA under 4.00 in 2013.

That is what makes Harrison so valuable to the Rangers this upcoming season. He pitched at least 185 innings the past two seasons after moving from the bullpen to the rotation in 2011.

He may not strike out a lot of guys and gives up quite a few hits; however, the difference between him and his replacements was his ERA. In 2011, it was 3.39 and slightly improved to 3.29 in 2012. Although he has given up an average of 9.4 hits per nine innings over the course of his career, he has been able to limit damage and get out of tough situations.

To put that in perspective, he has a quality start percentage of 64 percent. That is the same percentage that Darvish has since 2012. The team always has a shot at winning when he takes the bump and is 40-24 since 2011 when Harrison starts.

He needs to take this spring to get himself back into the swing of things. In an interview with Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, he said he can’t let Holland’s injury speed up his return to the mound. Doing so could force him back to the disabled list, and that is something this team cannot afford.

For the Rangers to reclaim the crown in the West, it will be key for Harrison to stay healthy and get back to the form he had in 2012.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

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