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In order to keep up in the competitive AL West, the Texas Rangers must sign Kyle Lohse to solidify their rotation. 

Lohse entered free agency as one of the best pitchers on the market, but his age and the draft-pick compensation attached to him have kept him from finding a new home.

The team that signs Lohse will be forced to surrender their first-round draft pick, which is a high price to pay for a short-term deal for a 34-year old pitcher. 

The Rangers are primed to win now with their explosive offense, so signing Lohse could be viewed as an insurance signing if Martin Perez or Robbie Ross struggle in Spring Training. 

Every game matters in the AL West, which is something Rangers fans learned last season, so it’s imperative for Texas to have five competent starters and to have pitching depth. 

The Rangers must pay the piper and surrender the pick in order to sign Lohse. With Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando locked into the Rangers first four rotation slots, Lohse would step in and be the team’s fifth starter. 

While it would take time for Lohse to get used to playing in a hitter’s ballpark, his command would allow him to adapt to the Ballpark in Arlington. 

In 2012, Lohse posted a great record of 16-3 with a 2.86 ERA and allowed only 38 walks in 211 innings. One of Lohse‘s greatest attributes is that he keeps the ball in play and doesn’t award free bases via walks or subpar pitches. 

If Lohse signed with the Rangers, his numbers would take a spike due to playing in the American League which utilizes designated hitters but that would be an expectation for any pitcher changing leagues. 

If the Rangers do sign Lohse, expect it to be a one-year deal for between $13-15 million. By signing him to a short-term deal, the Rangers would be minimizing the risk of signing an older pitcher. 

Considering that their payroll is down from last season, the Rangers front office must pull the trigger on Lohse to solidify their rotation. 

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Last season, manager Ron Washington went with Colby Lewis as the Texas Rangers‘ Opening Day starter. This coming season, the decision has to be between Matt Harrison and Yu Darvish. 

Both pitchers had stellar seasons in 2012, and, as a result, both players have made a strong case to toe the rubber on Opening Day in 2013. 

The biggest loss is Neftali Feliz, who moved into the rotation last season after two All-Star-caliber seasons as the closer. Feliz is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery and will likely make his return to the Rangers bullpen sometime in the middle of the season. 

Washington will have some interesting decisions on how to set up his starting staff. Let’s take a look at the Rangers’ projected rotation, starting with the No. 5 starter. 

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With Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post reporting that the Washington Nationals have reached an agreement to bring back free-agent first baseman Adam LaRoche, it feels like an appropriate time to speculate what the team’s next move might be.

That move should involve trading Michael Morse to the Seattle Mariners.

According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals are already speaking to 5-6 teams regarding Morse.

Rosenthal points out that Morse will earn $7 million this season and then will be a free agent.

While the Mainers could easily begin the season with Justin Smoak at first base, Morse represents a fairly significant upgrade.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweeted a list of potential suitors for Morse that includes the Orioles, Rays, Yankees, Rangers, Phillies, Mets and Indians along with the Mariners.

Needless to say, there is stiff competition.

Rosenthal goes on to report that Morse strongly opposes being a DH wherever he ends up playing.

While he is poor defensively, according to Fangraphs.com owning a -21.9 career UZR and an .882 RZR, Rosenthal points out that the Mariners have shown that they are more focused on offense over defense after having just signed Raul Ibanez and trading for Kendrys Morales.

Morse owns a lifetime .295/.347/.492/.839 batting line which stands out as somewhat above average.

However, when looking at his career performances playing in Cleveland, New York, Philly, Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Seattle, Morse absolutely rakes at Safeco Field.

In 58 career games, he posted a .309/.382/.441/.822 line with 14 extra base hits and 25 RBI.

The only other comparable landing spot is Philadelphia. While having only played there 28 times, he owns a lifetime .353/.411/.667/1.077 line with 6 extra base hits and 13 RBI.

The Mariners, short of the Morales trade and Jason Bay signing, have really done little to obtain the talent they’ve sought this winter.

When given a full-time opportunity to play, Morse can be an excellent offensive option. In 2011, he played 146 games for the Nationals, starting most of them as Adam LaRoche was injured and just played 43 games.

That season Morse posted a 303/.360/.550/.910 batting line with 31 home runs, 36 doubles and 95 RBI.

While he is no Josh Hamilton, with numbers like that Morse would be a fine silver medal for the Mariners.

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As of now, the bulk of the MLB offseason activity is complete. The majority of the major free agents have signed. And if a blockbuster trade was going to take place, chances are it would have happened by now.

Five weeks remain between now and some of the most optimistic words in baseball:

“Pitchers and catchers report.”

Before then, there are some things that still need to sort themselves out. While most of the MLB offseason is over, these storylines still need some sort of resolution.

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Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that the Texas Rangers will sign free agent Lance Berkman to a one-year deal, which may include a vesting option. Berkman had been leaning toward retirement, but this deal signals an apparent change of heart.

The Rangers have been in the market for a bat all offseason. The addition of Berkman should help fill that void and give manager Ron Washington plenty of options with his lineup.

Berkman is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him play in just 32 games for the Cardinals. His first DL stint was due to a calf injury in May. He returned in July, but went out again with a torn meniscus that required surgery. Berkman would undergo a second meniscus surgery after re-injuring himself in September. 

In 2011 he showed that he still had the potential to be an impact bat, hitting 31 home runs and driving in 94 runs while batting in the middle of the Cardinals order. He also hit .301 and had an on-base percentage of .412.  

For Texas, Berkman is likely to hit in the designated hitter spot, and may occasionally play first base. Berkman is a switch hitter, and could enter into a right-handed platoon with Mitch Moreland as the Rangers will also be looking to squeeze Mike Olt’s bat into the lineup.

Berkman will be 37 years old on opening day. If he remains healthy, he could provide the Rangers some of the offense they have been in search of all offseason after losing Josh Hamilton, Mike Napoli and Michael Young.

The addition of Berkman gives the Rangers a potential middle-of-the-order hitter to bat with Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre. I could very easily see Berkman batting cleanup, breaking up the two right-handed hitters, or used as protection in the five-hole. 

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With the clock ticking down to the beginning of Spring Training, General Manager Jack Zduriencik and the Seattle Mariners continue to search high and low for ways to improve their roster.

To recap, GM Z has made a slew of minor moves including the acquisition of Robert Andino, re-signing Hisashi Iwakuma and Oliver Perez, and bringing in veteran outfielders Raul Ibanez and Jason Bay.

To date Seattle has made only one “big” move, trading Jason Vargas to the Los Angeles Angels for 1B/DH Kendrys Morales.

With questions still remaining on how the Mariners will improve their roster, GM Z and the rest of ownership have a bevy of options still available to them.

Here’s a look at the top five ways the Mariners can improve before spring training.

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The Texas Rangers have been in the market for an impact bat all offseason. They have been in discussions with the Arizona Diamondbacks regarding Justin Upton for what appears to be months now. As the months go by, Arizona continues to flip-flop on trading Upton. According to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Upton is once again on the block. 

The Miami Marlins traded virtually their entire roster to Toronto in December, and now are reportedly “willing to listen” to offers for Giancarlo Stanton, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

What is the best move for the Rangers going forward? Depleting their farm system to acquire Justin Upton or Giancarlo Stanton, or building from within? 

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The Seattle Mariners should not trade for Andre Ethier of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rumors continue to circulate that the two teams are talking, including a recent tweet from Mike Petriello of ESPN.

Yes. RT @prospectinsider: Hearing Mariners have progressed in trade talks for a hitter. Indications it’s Ethier. Multiple players involved.

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) December 31, 2012

Certainly the Mariners need offensive help and Ethier has proven to be a solid player throughout his career. All things being equal, Ethier would be a nice addition to any lineup.

Nice, but not must-have.

For the Mariners, it isn’t just about adding nice pieces. Instead, Seattle is in a payroll situation where it always has to be very careful about expensive contracts.

Go ahead and take a chance on a one-year deal for Jason Bay.

Don’t commit five years to Andre Ethier.

This is not the NFL where teams can more easily cut a player when they get hurt or stop producing.

Ethier officially qualifies as an expensive contract, at least from the standpoint of the Mariners.

In 2012, Ethier was signed to a five-year, $85 million contract extension that begins in 2013. This was part of the new-regime Dodgers and their free-spending ways in 2012.

For Seattle, Ethier could be a pricey part of the payroll for quite some time.

If the Dodgers want to pick up a sizeable part of the contract, that could change part of the equation. However, it is doubtful that Los Angeles will pay that much of the deal.

There are a numbers of strikes (no pun intended) against an Ethier trade.

Ethier will turn 31 at the beginning of the 2013 season. The Mariners do not necessarily want a 36-year-old outfielder in 2017 that is making $17.5 million.

Andre’s career statistics (via Baseball-Reference.com), are solid, and Seattle could certainly benefit from a player who is a career .290 hitter. Ethier has been a very consistent player at the plate throughout his career, as his career low was .272 in 2009.

But if the Mariners are looking for Ethier to provide more power in the lineup, they may be disappointed.

Ethier did hit 31 home runs one year, but that was in 2009. Since then, his seasonal home run totals have been 23, 11 and 20.

These are good numbers compared to the current Seattle lineup, but Ethier is not exactly slugger material, particularly as he ages.

Then there is Ethier’s health, which has been adequate, but not exactly stellar.

Throughout his career, Ethier has never played a full season of baseball. He played the most games in 2009 (can you say career year?) when he played 160 games and drove in a career-best 106.

Over the last three seasons, Ethier’s games played has looked like this:

2010: 139
2011: 135
2012: 149

You wouldn’t put those numbers in the “injury-prone” category, but these totals should raise some concerns about durability.

Guys who have missed games in the past do not typically get healthier as they get older.

The question the Mariners have to ask is whether they want to pay a guy an average of $17 million a year to play 140 games and hit 20 home runs.

That may be a more conservative projection for a player like Ethier, but it is arguably realistic considering what he has produced in recent years.

If Ethier follows the normal decline experienced by many baseball players, he could be hitting .260 with 12-15 home runs in a couple of seasons.

Is that worth $17 million a year?

Even with the shorter fences at Safeco Field, is Andre going to pound 30 home runs and play 150-160 games for the next five years?

That seems unlikely. History is against such a scenario.

If the Mariners were looking for a complementary player and they had additional payroll flexibility, it might be a good deal to ship a couple of prospects to Los Angeles for Andre Ethier.

However, the future for Ethier is not necessarily bright. He certainly is not worth one of Seattle’s premier pitching projects.

Too many years, too much money and too many questions in the latter years of the contract.

This trade rumor has some intrigue, but Seattle should let this deal pass them by.

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The Houston Astros will open the regular season at home on March 31st, hosting the Texas Rangers on Sunday Night Baseball.

In 2013, the Houston Astros will leave the National League Central division after two years of negotiations. They will switch instead to the American League West, with this switch balancing the number of teams in each league. 

This will be the first-ever game with the Houston Astros franchise now being a member of the American League. No team has switched leagues since 1997, when the Milwaukee Brewers switched from the American to National League. 

Coming off a 107-loss season with the worst run differential in the league, Houston will look to flip the switch this season. Luckily for Houston, the Astros have enough young pieces to compete over the next few seasons. 

That being said, here are five bold predictions for the Houston Astros in 2013. 

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The Seattle Mariners need more offensive production if they are going to compete in the American League West.

They need Michael Bourn—preferably now before he signs somewhere else.

There have been a few rumors of late regarding the speedy outfielder, and one has to wonder where the supposedly coveted Bourn may eventually land.

Has the market played out to the point where Bourn will be forced to accept a lesser offer?

Moves have been made by the Mariners, such as the acquisition of Kendrys Morales and the free-agent signings of Jason Bay and Raul Ibanez, and something tells me that the Rangers, Angels and A’s are not scared by these transactions.

Bourn is not the type of player who can solve all of the needs of a historically weak-hitting Mariners lineup. However, he would certainly help.

Consider what Bourn would bring to the lineup. He would be a true leadoff man, which is something that Seattle currently lacks in its lineup. Dustin Ackley could theoretically bat first, but that is not necessarily a guaranteed solution.

Given that the Mariners batted .234 as a team in 2012, it would be nice to add a player with a .272 lifetime average.

Granted, a 30-year-old is not necessarily going to improve his hitting in the future, but Bourn did hit .274 in 2012, and one would hope that Bourn would not decline too quickly.

The Mariners would also benefit from Bourn’s base-stealing ability, as he swiped 42 bags in 2012 and 61 in 2011.

Seattle may not be very interested in a player like Bourn, simply because he would not necessarily provide a great deal of power. Bourn’s nine home runs in 2012 were a career high, but he only has 22 dingers since breaking into the majors in 2006.

You can understand why the Mariners might be a bit hesitant to throw big money at someone like Bourn. His age is a concern, and his asking price might be beyond what the Mariners want to spend.

If Bourn signs a four- or five-year deal and hits .240 in his first year, Seattle could be facing another Chone Figgins-like situation.

Signing Bourn would add to the logjam in the outfield, but the reality is that Seattle does not really have a bevy of proven commodities in the grassy areas of Safeco Field.

Franklin Gutierrez could continue to struggle with health issues. Jason Bay and Raul Ibanez may not have much left in the tank.

Michael Saunders, Casper Wells, Alex Liddi, Carlos Peguero and Eric Thames may struggle mightily to hit .250 for the season.

Translation? It is not hard to argue that none of the outfielders’ jobs are safe.

Supposedly, the Mariners offered Josh Hamilton a four-year deal worth $100 million, though, according to The Seattle Times, Hamilton downplayed Seattle’s pursuit.

Seattle clearly should not offer that much money to Bourn. If anything, it would be prudent to offer less than half of that amount. If Bourn wants to sign for five or more years, walk away.

Three years would probably be best.

At this point, the Mariners may only be part of the conversation because they always seem to be in need of an upgrade in their lineup. However, this may still be a good move.

Go get him, Mariners.

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