The Texas Rangers have 8 free agents this winter and not all of the decisions will be easy ones. Here’s how I see things going down this winter:

Cliff Lee: 32-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee started 15 games for the Rangers this year and he was 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Overall he started 28 games for the Mariners & Rangers this year and he was 12-9 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. VERDICT: Initially I thought that Lee would be heading to the Yankees this winter but the fans were so mean and nasty to his wife that I now think the Rangers have a great chance of re-signing him and I think it would be very smart to do so.

Vladimir Guerrero: Guerrero played in 152 games for the Rangers last season and he was 178 of 593 (.300 avg, .841 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 29 homers, 115 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Rangers hold a $9 million dollar option on Guerrero or they can buy him out for $1 million bucks. VERDICT: I have a feeling that the Rangers will buy out Guerrero and then try to re-sign him to a smaller one year deal.

Frank Francisco: 31-year old righty reliever Frank Francisco pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 6-4 with 2 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. VERDICT: Francisco is going to likely be looking for a closing job or at the very least a raise. I think he will leave the Rangers.

Rich Harden: 28-year old righty starting pitcher Rich Harden pitched in 20 games (18 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. VERDICT: The Rangers don’t want Harden back at any cost.

Matt Treanor: 34-year old righty swinging catcher Matt Treanor played in 82 games for the Rangers last season and he was 50 of 237 (.211 avg, .595 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 5 homers and 27 RBIs. VERDICT: The Rangers can do a lot better than Treanor so they should let him walk.

Jorge Cantu: 28-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Jorge Cantu played in 30 games for the Rangers and he was 23 of 98 (.235 avg, .605 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He played in 127 games combined for the Rangers & Marlins and he was 121 of 472 (.256 avg, .695 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 11 homers and 56 RBIs. VERDICT: The Rangers will kick him out the door.

Christian Guzman: 32-year old switch hitting 2B/SS Christian Guzman played in 15 games for the Rangers last season and he was 7 of 46 (.152 avg, .378 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 1 RBI. Guzman has now played in 104 games for the Rangers & Nationals last season and he was 97 of 365 (.266 avg, .648 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 2 homers, 26 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. VERDICT: The Rangers will also kick Guzman out the door.

Bengie Molina: 36-year old righty swinging catcher Bengie Molina played in 57 games for the Rangers and he was 42 of 175 (.240 avg, .599 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 19 RBIs. Molina played in 118 games overall for the Giants & Rangers and he was 94 of 377 (.249 avg, .623 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 5 homers and 36 RBIs. VERDICT: I think the Rangers will look in a different direction for a starting catcher in 2010.

The Rangers have added Bengie Molina and Cliff Lee in solid trades the last couple of weeks but they still have one glaring hole and it’s at first base. With that in mind I would be placing a call to the D-Backs with the idea of going after Adam LaRoche. LaRoche is a notorious second half hitter and he would be a outstanding fit in the Rangers’ lineup. I would definitely being willing to deal Chris Davis, Pedro Strop and Taylor Teagarden to the D-Backs for LaRoche. Of course the D-Backs would also have to send cash to cover LaRoche’s paycheck which would be why I would include Davis in the deal. The D-Backs would make that deal in a heartbeat and it would make the offense even better for the Rangers going forward.

The Rangers are 48-34 on the season which has them in first place in the A.L. West, 3.5 games ahead of the Angels. The Rangers only have one weakness and it seems to be in the starting rotation. The Rangers will likely be after Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee and Dan Haren but so will a lot of other teams. If the Rangers can’t get one of the Big Three they will likely turn to the second tier in an effort to find help. Jeremy Guthrie, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Ben Sheets, Jason Vargas, Ricky Nolasco, Ted Lilly, Brett Myers and Edwin Jackson could all interest the Rangers. The Rangers have the prospects to get any of the pitchers mentioned here but it takes two to tango.

It appears that the White Sox and Rangers have been talking about a trade involving A.J. Pierzynski. Pierzynski’s will be a 10/5 player in early June so the White Sox will likely speed up trying to deal him. That means the Rangers could probably get him for Taylor Teagarden and either Doug Mathis or Dustin Nippert. I would make the trade if I were running the Rangers as catcher has been a black hole for the team so far this season and Pierzynski would be a nice upgrade at a very reasonable price.