Ronnie Richard

So the Texas Rangers finally made their big splash in free agency on Friday. The move could prove to be the one general manager Jon Daniels gets remembered for, etching his name in the legacy of the franchise.

Of course, I’m talking about the signing of outfielder Marlon Byrd to a one-year contract. Byrd hit a robust .223 with five home runs in 76 games with the Washington Nationals a year ago.

And, of course, I’m obviously kidding.

But so far the offseason has not been too kind to Daniels and the Rangers. Since canning manager Buck Showalter and hiring Ron Washington to replace him, not much has gone right for Texas.

The Daniels sequel isn’t looking quite as good as the original.           

Mark DeRosa was the first to jump ship, signing a three-year, $13 million deal with the Chicago Cubs after a career year with the Rangers. Texas will not only miss DeRosa’s bat, but also his versatility. DeRosa saw time at every position on the field last season except for pitcher, catcher and center field.

Then it seemed things were moving in the right direction with the return of Frank Catalanotto to Texas. The nine-year veteran played for the Rangers from 2000-02 before spending the last four years in Toronto.

At $13 million over three years, Catalanotto could prove to be a big bargain as the Rangers’ leadoff hitter. The outfielder has a career .297 batting average with a .362 on-base percentage.

The big blow, however, came three days later when All-Star center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. came to terms with the AL West rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Matthews was a huge cog for the Rangers last season, hitting .314 with 44 doubles and 19 home runs from the leadoff spot. He also flashed quite a glove in the field, making highlight-reel catches game after game.

But Daniels is banking that Matthews’ career year could be a flash in the pan. Prior to last season, Matthews had never hit above .276 and had 59 home runs spread across seven seasons with seven different teams.

And with Matthews turning 32 last season, Texas couldn’t justify an offer that came close to Anaheim’s five-year, $50 million deal.

The Rangers’ offseason then began spiraling downward quickly.

Carlos Lee decided he liked the Lone Star State, but wanted to be a little farther south. So he inked a whopping six-year, $100 million contract with the Houston Astros.

The loss of his big bat makes last season’s trade look a little silly now. Without Lee on the team, the Rangers basically sent Francisco Cordero, Laynce Nix and Kevin Mench to the Milwaukee Brewers for Nelson Cruz.

Another move that looked big for Daniels last season was acquiring Adam Eaton in a trade with the San Diego Padres.

Now Eaton, who missed most of last season with a finger injury, has bolted for the Phillies. The Rangers, apparently, never even made an offer to him. 

So looking back at that deal with the Padres, Texas gave up Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez and Termel Sledge to keep only Akinori Otsuka.

Just when it couldn’t look much worse for the Rangers, they managed to save some face by quickly working out a three-year deal with Vicente Padilla for $34 million.

Padilla was a workhorse for Texas last season, logging 200 innings and piling up a career-high 15 wins on a 4.50 ERA. Losing him would have crushed the Rangers, who now at least can build upon Padilla and Kevin Millwood in the rotation.

And they certainly want to build upon that.

Texas is making a big push to sign ace lefty Barry Zito.

Zito is interested in the Rangers mostly because of their new manager. Washington was the bench coach for Oakland, where Zito pitched for seven seasons.

There was rampant speculation Daniels would have a deal in place for Zito at baseball’s winter meetings, but they ended on Thursday and Texas had nothing to show for it.

Part of the problem could be Zito’s agent, Scott Boras, who is notorious for trying to squeeze every penny out of owners. The market value for Zito sits at about $80 million over five years, but Boras wants $100 million over six. We’ll see who budges first (here’s a hint: Boras is the agent for Alfonso Soriano and Alex Rodriguez).      

Signing Zito could make up for all the losses the Rangers have suffered. They are also rumored to be pursuing another former Oakland pitcher, Mark Mulder. Until anything happens, though, think about this:

In the last year or so, Texas has lost Soriano, Young, Gonzalez, Cordero, Nix, Mench, Eaton, Matthews, DeRosa and Lee.

And who do they have to show for it? They have acquired Millwood, Padilla, Brad Wilkerson, Cruz, Catalanotto and Otsuka.

It’s looking like things haven’t gotten much better under the new GM regime.

RONNIE RICHARD can be reached at 940-566-6874. His e-mail address is rrichard@dentonrc.com.