ARLINGTON -- They have two relievers, an outfielder, a third baseman and a starting pitcher coming off major surgeries.

Three other starting pitchers spent over 120 days combined on the disabled list last year. Their center fielder was on the disabled list twice while their designated hitter and second baseman each went on once.

Their first baseman was a backup last year while their fifth starter and one of their catchers have yet to spend a full season in the big leagues. Their left fielder spent almost two months in the Minor Leagues before being called up last year. Their leading candidate for the closer's job has all of two months of experience in that role.

Yet if everything falls into place just right, the Rangers could have a legitimate chance of contending for and winning a division title because they have quite a few players who have been successful at the Major League level at some point in their careers. Just not lately.

After all, starters Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla did combine to win 31 games in 2006, Jason Jennings was a 16-game winner as the National League Rookie of the Year in 2002, C.J. Wilson did have 12 saves last year, Josh Hamilton did have a .918 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) last year, Frank Catalanotto has hit .290 or better in six of his last eight seasons, third baseman Hank Blalock and reliever Eddie Guardado are both two-time All-Stars and Milton Bradley has been a starting outfielder for two division championship teams.

Mind-boggling, isn't it? Really, it comes down to which question you consider more important:

What have you ever done?

Or ... What have you done lately?

That's the basic, overriding issue that hangs over the Rangers as pitchers and catchers get ready to report to Spring Training next week and they start sorting exactly what they do and do not have for 2008.

It comes down to this: The Rangers have a roster full of players who have had varying degrees of success at the Major League level. But just about every one of them with the notable exception of shortstop Michael Young comes with his own set of issues as the 2008 season approaches. Health is obviously the biggest issue in most cases. For example, second baseman Ian Kinsler may be on the verge of stardom but he has also been on the disabled list in each of his first two seasons in the Majors.

There may never be another Rangers team whose prospects for a season are so completely unknown and can swing wildly from one end of the win-loss spectrum to another depending on dozens of different factors.

Yes, outfielder Marlon Byrd hit .307 for the Rangers last year, but it was .378 in the first half and .269 in the second half. Yes, Hamilton's OPS with the Reds was higher than any by a Rangers outfielder since 1999. But he was also limited to just 90 games because of injuries.

There is simply no way to get a true gauge of how this team is going to do until the players all get to camp, weigh in, undergo physicals, actually take the field and show exactly what they can do.

"You could probably say that about a lot of clubs, but that's probably a fair assessment," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said.

This may say something about Spring Training 2008 for the Rangers. The guy who comes into camp with more hits, runs, home runs and RBIs in his Major League career than anybody else is not even expected to make the team.

That is unless third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo surprises everybody the way Sammy Sosa did last year. Like so many on this team, he's done it before, just not lately.

"Health is a huge key for us," Daniels said. "The development of our young players is even more critical. We've got to stay healthy and our young players have got to get better."

Everything starts with the rotation. The Rangers would like a combined 100 starts and 650 innings from Millwood, Padilla and Jennings at the head of their rotation. Can they do it? The three combined for 99 starts and 627 innings in 2006 but just 72 starts and 393 innings in 2007. In other words, they've done it but they haven't done it lately.

Then comes Brandon McCarthy and Kason Gabbard. They were a combined 11-11 with a 4.77 ERA in 37 starts and 183 innings last year. Gabbard spent part of the year in Triple-A and McCarthy, given his first opportunity to be a full-time Major League starter, missed time because of a stress fracture in his shoulder blade as well as a blister problem.

The big question is if the Rangers can steer clear of the injuries in the rotation that killed them last year. Spring Training will be the first real indication of where these guys stand.

"I get updated fairly regularly," Daniels said. "Until you get to camp you don't know 100 percent but for the most part these guys are 100 percent."

Right now the only starting pitcher who is expected to be held back in Spring Training is Thomas Diamond, who missed last year because of Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery.

"He's not in the same spot as the rest of the pitching staff," Daniels said. "Everybody else should be full go."

The main concern among relief pitchers is right-hander Kazuo Fukumori, the Japanese free agent signed in the winter who is coming off elbow surgery to remove bone chips.

"We're going to take it a little slower with him just to get to know him," Daniels said. "But based on our reports and his physical, he should be OK."

The Rangers expect left-handed reliever Guardado to be fine as well, even though he is 37 and just missed a full year because of Tommy John surgery. He did pitch in 15 games for the Reds at the end of last season, he did allow just one run in his last 10 relief appearances and he did pass his free-agent physical without any red flags.

But again, this is the winter; Spring Training and the regular season are both entirely different matters.

That's also why the Rangers eagerly await the arrival of Bradley, who had knee surgery at the end of last season to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He is supposed to be their Opening Day right fielder, but his progress in Spring Training will measure that.

Spring Training will also begin to tell if Blalock is ready to play third base for the first time since May 16, if Hamilton can stay healthy for a full season and if Ben Broussard is ready to become an everyday first baseman again after being relegated to a reserve role for the Mariners last year. This is a guy who had a .484 slugging percentage in 2006 but dropped to .404 last year.

In another words, he's done it before, he just hasn't done it lately. The Rangers have a staggering number of players who fit that description. The time approaches when the Rangers start evaluating their hopes of those players being able to do it again.

That's what 2008 Spring Training will be all about.