Rangers signing two former Dodgers has to be their biggest poser move yet

When it comes to trying to imitate another team's blueprint, perhaps nobody is more guilty than the Texas Rangers trying to be the Los Angeles Dodgers. The AL West team cannot keep their hands off players who have gone through Chavez Ravine.

LA fans are just wondering how much longer it'll take the Rangers to realize that their strategy isn't working. Outside the addition of Corey Seager, nothing's really panned out for them on this front. That's mostly because Texas has tried to either revive or maintain former Dodgers' projects.

And if the Dodgers couldn't revive them or if they opted not to retain them, why do the Rangers think they'd be able to do better? The Dodgers are the best at doing it. If they're parting with a particular player, there's usually a good reason behind it!

But the Rangers haven't gotten the memo. On Friday, Texas announced a slew of minor-league signings, with left-hander Danny Duffy and right-hander Reyes Moronta among them. Both spent time with the Dodgers in 2022.

Duffy never saw the field after dealing with injuries. Moronta was designated for assignment after a poor showing. What do the Rangers possibly think they can do with these depreciating assets?

Rangers sign two former Dodgers pitchers to minor-league contracts

Duffy was acquired at the 2021 trade deadline but never actually pitched for the Dodgers. A forearm issue kept him out of action for the remainder of that season. The Dodgers re-signed him for 2022, but Duffy underwent surgery in Jan. of 2022 and never recovered in time to pitch. He's appeared in just 13 games over the past two full seasons (and 25 total dating back to the start of 2020).

As for Moronta, the Dodgers, even with a thin bullpen in 2022, DFA'ed the burly pitcher in August, who logged a 4.18 ERA, 5.10 FIP and 1.14 WHIP in 23.2 innings. He then joined the Diamondbacks and was even worse (4.50 ERA, 3.25 FIP and 1.50 WHIP in 14 innings).

The Dodgers had the best pitching staff in MLB last season (2.80 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and .209 BAA). The Rangers had the 22nd-ranked staff (4.22 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .247 BAA). The Rangers should be trying to pluck the Dodgers' best talent, not options off the scrap heap.

Dodgers fans would be shocked if either of these players even managed to make an impact with a team lacking sufficient talent like the Rangers.

Maybe that'll be the final straw for Texas' front office and they'll give up on trying to replicate something that's not replicable.

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