The Newberg Report discusses the value of Scott Feldman to the Texas Rangers.

But good teams have Scott Feldman’s around to do the dirty work, which in some years will pile up more than in others, and you can bet that the Rangers have been approached by other teams about the number nine pitcher on their staff a lot more than the national media would ever believe – and that the club is not particularly inclined to discard a pitcher who is probably going to end up playing a bigger role in keeping this thing in contention than almost anyone expects.

This goes back to the whole argument about the value of players who perform below major league average but above replacement level. In most years, Scott is a little below a 1.0 WAR player. If he has to fill in for an injured starter, or work long relief out of the bullpen, he doesn’t help that much, but he doesn’t hurt the team either. His contribution toward winning is positive, and it usually comes at a low cost. Scott Feldman is an excellent insurance policy, especially when two of the Rangers starters are in an MLB rotation for the first time.