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MLB Free Agent Predictions: Torii Hunter and Mike Morse will both be wearing Ranger uniforms next year, if MLBTradeRumors.com is correct.
The website offered their predictions of where the top 50 free agents will land, and while they didn't have Texas picking up any of the top tier guys, they did slot both Hunter and Morse in Texas.
I could see either Hunter or Morse ending up in Texas, but both coming here seems quite unlikely. Both Hunter and Morse profile primarily as DH-types at this point, so having both would force one of them into left field as a significant defensive liability.
In addition, the Rangers have quite a few righthanded hitting options for the COF or DH spots, in Ryan Rua, Michael Choice, Daniel Robertson and Jake Smolinski, but are lacking lefty-swinging options. Both Hunter and Morse are righthanders...I could see Hunter brought in to DH and play some COF, but if they brought a second guy in, I'd think it would be a lefty hitter who would replace Mitch Moreland and platoon with, say, Rua.
And of course, there's the issue of cost...Fangraphs' crowd-sourcing projections had Hunter getting $10 million for one year, and Morse $7 million for one year. Signing both players at that cost would leave almost no money available for a starting pitcher (and the Rangers are looking for two of them) or a backup catcher.
