What’s subsequent for Rangers’ offseason after Michael Conforto lands with Giants?

In the words of Scott Boras, the world’s funniest agent, there will be no Conforto Claus coming down the Texas Rangers chimney this week. Unless, of course, he fails at the physical.

That seems to be the only thing stopping Michael Conforto from signing a two-year contract with San Francisco after the underprivileged Bay Area kids dropped their top two items on their Christmas wish list: Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa. Both were shipped to New York instead. Buncha Coastal Elites.

Anyway, you may have heard that Correa wanted to take a podium in San Francisco to be heralded as the Giants’ big offseason acquisition before concerns were raised during his physical. That led to Boras calling Mets magnate Steve Cohen, who was having a martini in Hawaii, and somehow, next thing you know: Correa is a mead… and Friday Conforto became the desperate Giants’ consolation prize. He agreed to a two-year deal worth $36 million. The deal has an opt-out after 2023, so if Conforto, 30, returns to his 2020 form, he could retest the market.

The extra security was apparently the turning point. The Rangers offered a similar deal, but Conforto would have had to meet certain playing thresholds to opt out, two people with knowledge of the talks told The Dallas Morning News. In short, Rangers wanted to give Conforto a convenient opportunity to bet on themselves that bigger things are to come; The Giants had to sign him.

Whether it was the right call for Conforto remains to be seen. If you’re a lefty, Arlington was a lot easier to beat than San Francisco last year. Lefties had a .719 OPS at Globe Life Field in 2022 with 82 homers. It was the fourth most homer in a stadium by left-handers. In San Francisco, where things like wind come into play (those Luddites!), lefties have put up a .703 OPS with just 53 homers.

Regardless, Rangers could still use a left fielder. Do we need to dig up the ugly stats on how poorly left fielders have done for this team over the past decade? Not when we’re in the Christmas spirit. It’s bad. Actually the worst. That’s where we said it. OK.

For now, left field will come from a combination of Bubba Thompson, Josh Smith, Eli White (if he clears the waivers after he was drafted Friday), Ezequiel Duran or Joe McCarthy, who has a minor this week after League contract signed spent last season in Japan. This quintet has cobbled together a .211/.280/.300/.580 slash in a total of 1,053 MLB plate appearances to date. They’re an athletic group with some elite defenders and they still have potential, but they haven’t proven they’re ready to play in the majors every day. Brad Miller is also on the list, but if he makes it to the start of the season he should only be counted as a part-time DH.

Yes, Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds is commercially available and controllable, but the prize would be a top-tier swath of the Rangers’ farm system. There’s some depth left, but the front five – starting with outfielder Evan Carter – would certainly be off-limits.

You want a short-term deal, that’s for sure. They think Carter’s a year away, if that. Aaron Zavala, if he can stay healthy, could be on the same path. They need some coverage for 2023. It calls for a year-long commitment.

They can also now safely retreat from the harsh court-wide press they’ve carried over to negotiations since the start of the off-season. You can slow down the holiday season to think about the next step. It could be to focus more on relief pitching, where finally taking left Matt Moore off the market and maybe pursuing another arm could make them more money.

And then they can turn to the outfield again. On that front, a reunion with Jurickson Profar seems unlikely. Profar, who turns 30, may have the most assets and versatility of the remaining boys but he’s likely looking for a long-term deal.

No, if you’re looking for a leftfielder on a one-year contract, you’re more likely to be talking about guys like AJ Pollack, Tommy Pham or David Peralta, all guys in their mid-30s. All have career OPS numbers between .787-.801 and OPS+ numbers over 110 They have been slightly better than average in most of their careers, although neither of them had a great 2022.

They will still be there after Christmas. And New Year. Probably also after the MLK day.

The push-hard phase of free choice is over. Now it is a question of finding the best value among the remaining stocks. It’s time to take a deep breath and refocus. It’s time to move from hustle to bargain hunting. Conforto Claus isn’t coming to town.

In Short: The Rangers received RHP Nick Mears on a waiver from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, the team said. To make room for Mears, White was designated for assignment.

Mears, 26, spent most of the 2022 season on the injured list (elbow surgery). He played a total of 29 games between Bradenton (Low-A) and Indianapolis (AAA), most of it in rehab, before going two scoreless innings in two games for the Pirates in the final series of the season.

Also Read: Former Ranger Joey Gallo signs one-year deal with Minnesota Twins, report says

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