30 Teams in 30 Days, Day 2: The Rangers

30 Teams in 30 Days continues with the Texas Rangers. This offseason, the Rangers made headlines with both acquisitions and losses. It should be an interesting season in Arlington, Texas.

Last Year: The Rangers finished a comfortable 10 games ahead of the Angels and won the AL West. They plowed through the AL division and championship series’ for the second straight year and reached the World Series. But, for the second straight year, they found themselves on the losing end.

Acquisitions: The large piece that the Rangers picked up this offseason was Japanese phenom Yu Darvish. He pitched wonderfully in the Pacific, but the Rangers must be wary that he could become the second edition of Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Losses: The main reason that Texas had to go out and pursue Yu Darvish was because of the key loss of C.J. Wilson. Wilson threw 223 innings last year and had an ERA under 3.00. His replacement hasn’t thrown an inning in the MLB yet.

Outlook: Even though they lost their number one starter to the Angels, the new wild-card system will keep the Rangers in the playoffs this year, at least for one game. Based on who the Angels acquired this offseason I don’t see how they could lose the West. Bringing in Darvish was a must after Wilson left, but the Rangers must be wary. Even though this guy has excellent stuff, he must be allowed to slowly transition into the MLB to have long-term success.