Mark Redman

There is a pitcher out there in the free agent market who is a lot better than his numbers say he is. And that would be good for the team that picks him up should they have a defense to back him up. Now, I know this seems a bit of a stretch, and honestly, I was a bit surprised by myself for saying this, but really, Mark Redman is a decent pitcher. And despite being on Kansas City, he still went 11-10. Granted, his ERA was 5.71, but how much of that was the rest of the team? You can take Redman and put him in a Rangers uniform (Redman has become a ground-ball pitcher over the last few years), and I assure you his ERA will return to the numbers of 2003 when his ERA was 3.59. Also note that Redman had 14 wins that season. I am willing to bet that Redman would also come fairly inexpensive compared to the rest of the free-agents on the market right now. The Rangers are actively pursing Zito. And that is great; I can’t knock them for that. It would be AWESOME to have Zito to start off the rotation for this club. But look at the rest of the rotation, and consider what a Redman, now a ground-ball pitcher, could do for one of the best infields in baseball in the number four spot in the rotation.

• Barry Zito (?)


• Kevin Millwood


• Vicente Padilla


• Mark Redman (?)


• Robinson Tejeda

As a coach, as a general manager, one thing (A Major Thing) is to find the best players to suit your team’s strengths. I do trust in John Daniels. I don’t know if he has considered Redman. I hope he does. I hope he takes it seriously. He led the Royals in innings pitched this season. Millwood and Padilla surpassed the 200 innings mark, way more than Redman, but again, consider Redman’s situation (he’s a good pitcher on a really bad team). My suggestion is to get him. He should come cheap and you may be able to get him for cheap times two (as in two years – it should be worth it). We know Zito is worth it.