Rangers Could Regret Giving Up On Ogando

Has there been a more interesting pitcher for the Texas Rangers in this era of success dating back to 2010 than Alexi Ogando? I might give you Yu Darvish just because of his mythical nature before he actually pitched a game in the majors, but Ogando would be at least second on the list.

Forget his back story, you know, the one about a guy who was a victim of a visa scam from the Dominican Republic that tied him up early in his career only to go to Oakland and toil in their system as an outfielder before coming to Texas and moving to the mound. That's pretty interesting.

Ogando hit the bigs in 2010 and was an electric setup man for Neftali Feliz and his 40 saves. In 2011, he won a spot in the starting rotation out of necessity when Tommy Hunter (of all people) was injured at the end of spring training. All Ogando did was make the all-star game before he hit a wall late in the year and was moved back to the 'pen. In 2012, he was back in the bullpen as one of the most versatile relievers in baseball before another failed attempt as a starter in 2013 and a 2014 that ended with him being shut down and missing much of the year.

Now, he's gone after 48 starts in 183 appearances, a 28-16 record and a 3.35 ERA.

He's also cheap, as Boston got him for $1.5 million for one year over the weekend as an arbitration player after Texas declined to give him an offer and he isn't a free agent until 2017. If he's good for Boston, the Red Sox have him on the cheap for a few years.

The Rangers could regret letting Ogando walk if he finds his stroke again, and if he doesn't, he'll be long forgotten.

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