January 17, 2008
Jennings a Ranger
I'm not surprised the Rangers would take a flyer on Jason Jennings. I am a bit surprised they would immediately put him in the rotaiton.
He would join Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla as locks for the rotation. The Rangers would also like for Brandon McCarthy and Kason Gabbard to join them, but they could also be pushed by right-handers Luis Mendoza and Armando Galarraga and left-hander A.J. Murray.
Jennings has one good season under his belt, and he's coming off an injury. I'd rather see the Rangers leave the rotation wide open and see if some other youngsters can step up.
Given that almost every starting pitcher the Rangers have had some injury issues last year, I don't think you have to worry about guys like Mendoza, Galaragga, Hurley, Murray, etc. getting some chances to stick. Also, one of Padilla or Millwood is a good bet to be traded if they get off to a strong start, leaving much more room for the young guys.
The more difficult question is who goes off the 40-man to make room for Jennings.
Its a difficult situation. Jennings has been a pretty strong pitcher in the NL away from Coors field. While the Ballpark in Arlington is also a hitters park, it is far from the park that Coors is. However, the transition to the AL should make up for that.
However, I would say suggesting that Jennings has had 'one good season' is a stretch, hes been a servicable #3 and should make for a strong #4.
