Texas Rangers rumors: Catcher, starting pitcher on Rangers shopping list

Texas Rangers rumors:  Catcher and starting pitching have been discussed all spring as areas were the Texas Rangers potentially would be looking for an upgrade.  Ken Rosenthal tweeted earlier this afternoon that, despite Opening Day being just a week away, the Rangers are trying to add both a catcher and a starter.

That triggered responsive tweets from the beat guys, who basically said, yeah, the Rangers are looking around, but there's not anything that looks serious.  Jeff Wilson used the phrase "kicking the tires" in reference to discussions the Rangers are having.

Rosenthal then updated his info by saying that, per a source, Texas thinks there's an "outside chance" of adding a catcher, but adding a starting pitcher is "doubtful."

So where does that leave things?  I'm sure the Rangers remain interested in upgrading their backup catching situation, given that Robinson Chirinos has had issues staying healthy, and the guys behind Chirinos are, even for backup catchers, uninspiring.  Its also unlikely, though, that the Rangers are going to part with significant talent for a backup catcher.

As for starting pitching, we've talked that to death...once Yu Darvish comes back, you have five guys who, if they are healthy, are going to be in the rotation.  If the Rangers could acquire a nice young starting pitcher with options who they could potentially include in the rotation initially, then send down once Yu returns (and assuming everyone is healthy), I'm sure they'd be interested.  But the chances of the Rangers dealing for someone to round out the rotation seem remote at this point.