Would the Texas Rangers have loved to get two starting pitchers from Pittsburgh for first baseman Mitch Moreland? Sure. What about one starting pitcher and a stud catching prospect? You betcha.
But none of that came to fruition at last week's MLB winter meetings, despite the Rangers' best efforts to make it happen. And now, with each passing day, it appears the Rangers will roll with Moreland at first base in 2016. And guess what? That's not a bad thing.
As we saw last season, when Moreland is healthy — which hasn't been often — he can play some really good baseball.
Moreland was healthy for a full season for the second or third time in his career and it showed, as he put up career numbers pretty much all the way across the board.
Moreland hit .278 and drove in 85 runs, both of which were career-highs. He also tied his career-high with 23 home runs, which tied with Prince Fielder for the team lead.
Moreland has actually played more games than his 132 this year twice in his career, but he's never had a better season. Aside from his good year at the plate, Moreland is a great first baseman and was near the top of the league in several advanced metric categories including runs saved and ultimate zone rating.
So would it have been nice to get a couple of veteran starters and balance out the lefty-heavy lineup? Sure. But having Moreland as your starting first baseman in 2016 is a good thing, too.
