The Major League Baseball General Managers' meetings begin Monday in the shadow of Walt Disney World, which is convenient for the Rangers.

I've heard it's as good a place as any to wish upon a star.

Which, at this moment, appears to be the best way to sum up the club's offseason strategy for contending in 2018. Here is the reality: After finishing 23 games back in the AL West and seven in what was at one time a crowded wild card race, the Rangers find themselves with multiple holes in the starting rotation, no closer to speak of, a porous outfield and a strikeout-prone lineup. They have no starting pitching prospects ready to graduate from the minors. And they are hoping to scale back payroll by about $10 million from 2017.

Storyboard those details into something with a happy ending and Pixar has a job for you.

Usually, though, those involve talking panda bears, singing ice princesses and the magic of endless merchandising possibilities. In the real world, it's hard to see anybody buying what Rangers GM Jon Daniels will try to sell this winter.

The Rangers will try to sign Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani this winter and, according to the Associated Press, they have the most money to do so under the current covenants of the international free agency process. Their advantage amounts to an extra $285,000 over the Yankees, who went to Game 7 of the ALCS and who have already overhauled their roster. The one time the Rangers do have something of a financial "edge," the money might not actually matter.

A reunion with Yu Darvish? A homecoming for Jake Arrieta? At more than $20 million per season. It just doesn't add up. Not unless the Rangers can free up some more money to do so.

Here is where the magic must happen.

Before the Rangers can go dreaming of fancy ways to fix their pitching problem, they must either create more resources with which to attack the problem, or at least reallocating some dollars currently on the payroll towards pitching. In simpler terms, they must consider trading their bad contract for somebody else's.

You know where this is going, right? In the direction of Shin-Soo Choo.

The way I see it, the Rangers have two choices: They can either be willing to subsidize somebody else to take on a fraction of the remaining burdensome $62 million commitment to Shin-Soo Choo or find a similarly "ugly" contract that somebody would be desperate to unload.

First, a word about Choo. It feels a little wrong to call Choo's contract "bad," because when the Rangers signed him after the 2013 season, they did so to get smarter, tougher at-bats for the top part of their lineup. They committed $130 million for seven years based mostly on OBP and nothing else. Mostly he's delivered in that regard. His .357 OBP ranks 19th of 107 AL qualifiers in the four years he's been with the Rangers. It's not the elite .391 OBP he had in the four years prior to joining the Rangers, but it is above average. It's not his fault the Rangers overpaid for OBP.

The contract now stands in the way of remaking of the team. If the Rangers have depth anywhere it's in average or subpar defensive outfielders with nice offensive skills who don't make a ton of money. They can fill Choo's role inexpensively. He's a luxury they can't afford.

Here's what they can try: To flip him for somebody else's cumbersome burden, particularly if the burden is a starting pitcher with some upside. Three come to mind: Cincinnati's Homer Bailey, Detroit's Jordan Zimmermann and Kansas City's Ian Kennedy. Like Choo, each has three years remaining on his contract. The financial commitment ranges from $49 million for Kennedy and Bailey to $74 million for Zimmermann. There is some range with which the teams can work to try to make the money wash. All three pitchers have "upside," and some hideous recent results. To quote the most basic of stats, they were a combined 19-35 with a 5.89 ERA in 2017.

Cincinnati is particularly intriguing. The rebuilding Reds could also use a shortstop and the Rangers have Jurickson Profar to dangle. Cincinnati has a closer who might be a luxury in right-hander Raisel Iglesias. Perhaps there is a chance to expand a deal to something bigger to help the Rangers address multiple needs.

In addition, Choo had the best year of his career in Cincinnati, is close friends with Joey Votto and, most importantly, he can't block a trade to the Reds, according to a source. The Rangers and Reds have also once hooked up before on a hopes-and-dreams kind of deal, swapping Edinson Volquez for Josh Hamilton. Bailey, a Texan has beset by injury problems the last four seasons, but is 31 and did finish the season with a half-dozen solid starts.

It's not much, but, hey, we're talking about a team needing to wish upon a star. With these teams, at least the Rangers might not have to conjure a potential trade partner out of fairy dust.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant