ARLINGTON, Texas _ Only by the grace of Jerry Jones are you unaware that the Texas Rangers' season is ending, meaning there aren't many games left to be played in the 24-year-old relic that is The Ballpark in Arlington.
When the Rangers start to build their 2020 roster, they will do so knowing they can use their new building as a point of sale to attract pitchers and hitters. They told Arlington tax payers they needed this new stadium to pursue these kinds of good players to build a winner.
So if the Rangers' new house is a point of attraction for a free agent, and can be used to lure a player or two, they need to decide what kind of model they want to build their team.
Are they a team that pursues and spends money to sign Tier 1 free agents to build and enhance their roster, or are they a team that cycles out players and replaces them with young (inexpensive) talent?
The infatuation with analytics has changed the way rosters are built; clubs can justify slashing payroll by pointing to numbers and pages of data that says spending money on older players does not guarantee winning.
We have seen in this current playoff push multiple models work: Oakland and Tampa are perfect examples of franchises that replace their top talent with young players and still build contending teams despite significant payroll restrictions.
We also know the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and L.A. Dodgers can spend their way into contention.
The Rangers are a top-six market with a new stadium, so what are they?
