The off-season is filled with rumors and silence. Mostly silence.

When your team is trying to compete, that quiet can be a thrill, like the anticipation of good news, like when you were a kid and you were riding in a roller coaster that was slowly ascending that first hill, higher and higher and higher, and you’re not sure exactly what the ride is going to be like but you know it’s going to be an adventure.

For many teams, that’s what this off-season is like. Which player is coming to help us conquer October?

When your team is not trying to compete but simply trying to field the legally mandated number of players on the field, this off-season quiet is like when you were a kid riding in the back seat of the car on the way to the dentist and every mile you get closer your joy for life gets further and further and further away because you know what’s coming and you cannot believe your mom would do this to you.

For the rest of the teams, it’s the waiting room in the dentist agonizing over that moment when soon that door will open and your name will be called.

Welcome to Texas Rangers baseball 2019. This won’t hurt a bit, just just ignore this really long needle we are inserting into the hard roof of your mouth. We have a lot of cavities to fill. So sit back and forget about the pain. You should feel better in a few years.