The Texas Rangers have declined 29-year old righty starter/reliever Scott Feldman’s option for 2013, which was valued at $9.25 million bucks. Feldman pitched in 29 games (21 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 6-11 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He pitched in 204 games (101 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors (all with the Rangers) and he was 39-44 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. This isn’t much of a loss for the Rangers.

The Rangers have declined 36-year old righty reliever Yoshinori Tateyama’s option for the 2013 season. He pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Rangers and he is 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Tateyama pitched in 53 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Rangers and he was 3-0 with 1 save, a 5.75 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. This is no loss for the Rangers as Tateyama was horrible for them last year.

UPDATE: (12/20/2012) - The Rangers have re-signed Yoshinori Tateyama to a minor league deal.

The Texas Rangers have seven free agents heading into this winter. Here is a look at how I see staying and leaving out of this bunch:

Mike Napoli: 30-year old righty swinging C/1B Mike Napoli played in 108 games for the Rangers last year and he was 80 for 352 (.227 avg, .812 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 24 homers, 56 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Rangers are already on the hunt for catching help. VERDICT: LEAVING

Josh Hamilton: 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Josh Hamilton played in 148 games for the Rangers last year and he was 160 of 562 (.285 avg, .930 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 43 homers, 128 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. I don’t think the Rangers are going to ante’ up for Hamilton. VERDICT: LEAVING

Ryan Dempster: 35-year old righty starting pitcher Ryan Dempster pitched in 12 games for the Rangers last year and he was 7-3 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Dempster pitched in 28 games (all starts) overall last year for the Rangers and the Cubs in which he was 12-8 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. VERDICT: LEAVING

Scott Feldman: 29-year old righty starter/reliever Scott Feldman pitched in 29 games (21 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 6-11 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. The Rangers have a $9.25 million dollar option on Feldman for 2013, but they are going to buy him out for $600,000 bucks instead. VERDICT: LEAVING

Roy Oswalt: 35-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt pitched in 17 games (9 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 4-3 with a 5.80 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. VERDICT: LEAVING

Mike Adams: 34-year old righty reliever Mike Adams pitched in 61 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 5-3 with 1 save, a 3.27 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Adams underwent surgery on his wrist recently. VERDICT: LEAVING

Mark Lowe: 29-year old righty reliever Mark Lowe pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 0-2 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. VERDICT: LEAVING

The Texas Rangers finished up with a 93-69 (57.4%) record during the regular season, which had them in second place in the A.L West, 1 game behind the A’s. They then got knocked out of the playoffs in the Wild Card Game by the Orioles. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts for the Rangers in 2012, in my opinion:

Team MVP: Adrian Beltre - Sure, Josh Hamilton had better overall numbers, but he faded down the stretch. Beltre was solid all the way through the 2012 season for the Rangers. He played in 156 games for the Rangers last year and he was 194 of 604 (.321 avg, .921 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 36 homers, 102 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

Best Pitcher: Matt Harrison - 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Matt Harrison was a horse for the Rangers last year, working 213 1/3 innings. He pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Harrison was the true ace of the starting rotation in 2012.

Biggest Surprise: Robbie Ross - 23-year old rookie lefty reliever Robbie Ross came out of nowhere, to really give the bullpen a boost. He pitched in 58 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 6-0 with a 2.22 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He gave up 55 hits and 23 walks in 65 innings pitched while whiffing 47 batters, and those are some pretty impressive numbers.

Biggest Disappointment: Roy Oswalt: The Rangers signed 34-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt early in the season hoping that he would give the rotation a boost, but he was a huge bust. Oswalt pitched in 17 games (9 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 4-3 with a 5.80 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Oswalt gave up 79 hits (11 homers) and he walked 11 batters in 59 innings pitched while whiffing 59 batters. Oswalt still throws hard but it just didn’t look like his heart was into it in 2012.

The Rangers have lost 28-year old righty swinging middle infielder Luis Hernandez to free agency. Hernandez played in 2 games for the Rangers last year and he was 0 for 2. He also played in 129 games in AAA-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 136 of 519 (.262 avg, .679 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 8 homers, 70 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He has played in 122 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 65 of 267 (.243 avg, .580 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 3 homers, 20 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. This is not much of a loss for the Rangers.

The Rangers have lost 29-year old righty swinging infielder Alberto Gonzalez, as he has elected to leave in free agency. Gonzalez played in 24 games for the Rangers this year and he was 13 for 54 (.241 avg, .556 OPS) with 7 runs scored and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 402 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 216 of 893 (.242 avg, .596 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 3 homers, 85 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This isn’t much of a loss for the Rangers moving forward.

The Rangers just couldn’t muster much offense against the Orioles last night, spreading out 9 singles. Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz and Michael Young each went 2 for 4 in this game. Ian Kinsler was 2 for 3 with 1 run scored for the Rangers last night. That was pretty much the extent of the offense. Yu Darvish didn’t pitch that badly, but he was the losing pitcher. He worked the first 6 2/3 innings last night, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), walking no one and whiffing 7 batters. Derek Holland worked 1/3 of an inning, allowing 1 hit and whiffing 1 batter. Koji Uehara was awesome against his old team, working 1 shutout inning and whiffing all three batters he faced. Joe Nathan had a rough time in the 9th inning, allowing 2 hits, walking a batter and giving up 2 runs (both earned). So the Rangers season has ended with a loud thud.

The Texas Rangers have faded big time down the stretch, forcing them into this winner take all Wild Card Game. Ron Washington is 18-15 (54.5%) in the playoffs so far in his career. He has chosen 26-year old righty Yu Darvish to start this game. He has never faced the Orioles, which is likely an advantage for the pitcher. Darvish pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Rangers this year and he was 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Darvish finished strongly in September, starting 5 games in which he was 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP. The Rangers hope that his good pitching carries over into the playoffs, starting tonight. He will have to be careful with the Orioles’ lineup as they have a lot of lefty power with Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, Nate McLouth and Jim Thome in the lineup.

The Orioles are going to start 31-year old lefty Joe Saunders. That was a curious choice as Saunders has not pitched too well against the Rangers in his career. He has started 11 games against the Rangers so far in his career and he is 3-7 with a 6.48 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He has given up an amazing 15 homers in only 58 1/3 innings against the Rangers so far in his career. The Rangers have a lot of guys with success against Saunders so far in their careers. Michael Young (10 for 28, 1 homer and 3 RBIs), Ian Kinsler (10 for 24, 4 homers and 8 RBIs), Nelson Cruz (6 for 20, 2 homers and 3 RBIs), Josh Hamilton (4 of 10, 1 homer and 6 RBIs) and Geovany Soto (4 of 6, 1 homer and 1 RBI) all like hitting against Saunders.