One of the narratives throughout the Texas Rangers' offseason and into their spring training has been their lack of left-handed relief in the bullpen, with the only viable option being Alex Claudio, and calling him viable is a bit of a stretch given the fact he doesn't have many skins on the wall and is strictly a lefty-on-lefty specialist.
The Rangers seem to be making a concerted effort to get a lefty reliever from the Miami Marlins, as numerous sources have told The Dallas Morning News over the weekend.
The Marlins have a surplus of lefty relief and the sources have said the Rangers are in talks with Miami over Mike Dunn and reliever-starter swingman Brad Hand.
Hand made 16 starts last season for the Marlins and is an attractive option because of the fact he's a) a lefty, b) can give you multiple innings if needed, unlike Claudio and c) could be a spot starter in case of an injury — think of him as Scott Baker from the left side. Dunn pitched 57 innings of relief for the Marlins last year, compiling a 3.16 ERA, and held left-handed batters to a .220 batting average against him.
