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There is no such thing as too much pitching depth.
The Texas Rangers have spent as aggressively as any team in baseball in recent years, and their roster is loaded with high-profile talent, including the $500 million middle infield of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.
Both of those All-Star infielders went deep in a 11-7 victory in Game 4 to help the Rangers take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks, but it’s the club’s pitching depth that has put them on the doorstep of a World Series title.
Earlier in the day, the Rangers were dealt a blow when Max Scherzer (back spasms) was removed from the roster following his early exit in Game 3.
For a team that has navigated injuries all season, it was just another opportunity to put their enviable pitching depth to the test.
The Rangers Are No Strangers to Addressing a Rotation Issue
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Left-hander Andrew Heaney was not supposed to be the starting pitcher in Game 4 of the World Series.
Bob Nightengale @BNightengale
Jon Gray will start Game 4 for the Texas Rangers while the Arizona Diamondbacks will go with a bullpen game.
When Game 3 starter Max Scherzer was forced to exit after just three innings with back spasms, the team was forced to use Jon Gray to bridge the gap to the bullpen and he delivered three scoreless innings of one-hit ball.
In the wake of that unexpected turn of events, it looked like the Rangers would be forced to counter a bullpen game from the Arizona Diamondbacks with one of their own, fronted by starter-turned-reliever-turned-starter again Andrew Heaney.
The 32-year-old signed a two-year, $25 million deal during the offseason and he made 27 starts before moving to the bullpen in September, which is the role he was expected to fill in the playoffs before Scherzer was sidelined late in the season.
He was essentially used as a bulk opener in Game 1 of the ALDS, allowing two hits and one run in 3.2 innings, and he struggled in a similar spot in Game 4 of the ALCS when he gave up four hits and three earned runs while recording just two outs.
A similar showing on Tuesday would have put the Rangers in a difficult spot, even with their offense firing on all cylinders. Instead, he gave the club five innings of four-hit, one-run ball. He scattered three hits without allowing a run over the first four innings, keeping all the momentum in the Texas dugout while the offense piled up 10 quick runs.
This type of next-man-up approach is nothing new for the Rangers, especially on the pitching side of things.
Despite losing prized free-agent signing Jacob deGrom to an early season-ending injury and getting a less-than-stellar performance from 2022 All-Star Martín Pérez, their starting rotation has still been a strength here in October, and the reason is the emphasis the front office has put on piling up quality depth.
They didn’t just sign deGrom during the offseason. They also signed Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney, spending a combined $59 million on those secondary additions to the rotation.
They didn’t just trade for Scherzer at the deadline. They also swung a second deal to acquire Jordan Montgomery from the St. Louis Cardinals, and he has been the co-ace alongside Eovaldi in October.
There is simply no such thing as too much pitching.
TEX 2023 Total Spent on SP: $95.0 million
TEX 2023 Percent Spent SP: 37.0 percent
The D-backs Bullpen Game Showed the Opposite End of the Spectrum
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The beginning of a World Series team’s pitching line in the box score should never look like this:
Joe Mantiply: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ERMiguel Castro: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ERKyle Nelson: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ERLuis Frias: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 ER
The D-backs were already on their fifth different pitcher before they recorded their 10th out of the game, and that’s more or less how they had things drawn up even if things had gone well.
Even with rookie Brandon Pfaadt giving the team 22 innings of 3.27 ERA baseball over five starts this postseason after struggling to a 5.72 ERA in 96 frames during the regular season, the team still hasn’t had an answer in Game 4 situations.
Imagine if Pfaadt hadn’t solidified the third starter role.
The D-backs were 57-50 and tied for the third NL wild-card spot heading into trade deadline day, and while they acquired closer Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners to solidify the bullpen, nothing was done to address the starting rotation.
They didn’t need to go make a huge splash to acquire the Justin Verlanders and Max Scherzers of the world to shore up their starting rotation, but they instead hoped the one-two punch of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly could shoulder the load and carry them through October.
There’s a fairly easy case to be made that Gallen (17-9, 3.47 ERA, 220 K, 210.0 IP) and Kelly (12-8, 3.29 ERA, 187 K, 177.2 IP) both had better individual seasons than anyone on the Rangers staff, but this club was far too reliant on those two arms.
The breakout performance of Pfaadt was truly a best-case scenario for their pitching staff this October, and it still put them in a position where they were cobbling things together in a crucial Game 4.
ARI 2023 Total Spent on SP: $16.3 million
ARI 2023 Percent Spent SP: 13.7 percent
Quality Middle-Of-The-Rotation Starters Should be In-Demand This Offseason
Michael WachaOrlando Ramirez/Getty Images
The truth of the matter is that not every team can afford to sign an elite starting pitcher to a mega deal with a $20 million-plus annual salary.
However, every team can afford the deals the Rangers gave to the likes of Jon Gray (four years, $56 million), Nathan Eovaldi (two years, $34 million) and Andrew Heaney (two years, $25 million) during the last two offseasons.
Put those three pitchers on the Los Angeles Dodgers this year and they might be the NL representative in the World Series. Put them on the Baltimore Orioles and their surprising rise to contention might not have ended in a disappointing ALDS sweep.
The return-on-investment when it comes to starting pitching depth is a point that teams across baseball should emphasize this offseason, and that could put several middle-of-the-rotation veterans are in-demand.
Here’s a quick look at some of the starters who should fit in that mid-tier price range in the upcoming free-agent class:
Mike ClevingerMichael LorenzenSeth LugoKenta MaedaTyler MahleSean ManaeaNick MartinezWade MileyJames PaxtonMichael Wacha
Adding two or three of those pitchers would make a far bigger impact for most teams than breaking the bank for Aaron Nola or Blake Snell to plug only one spot in the starting rotation, especially for clubs that are lacking in overall depth.
Will your favorite team’s front office learn the lesson the Rangers are teaching this postseason?
It could make or break their October run.
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