But if he is, put Max at DH and that position is solved for the foreseeable future. Supposed trade value be damned, we have a need for a RH masher, and we have one that is ML ready. Play Max at DH, it ain’t complicated.

Hank won’t get traded until he’s proven out a few hundred ABs. He’s expensive and an unknown quantity.

The idea of giving the backup catcher and DH roles to one player is obvious when you have two good offensive catchers.

But no one ever does it. What teams always do is carry a guy on their 25 who does nothing but spell the starter once a week. If that small role could be expanded to DH ABs, well, why doesn’t anyone do it?

I think the reason is it’s too much for one player to both catch and then also DH a few hundred ABs a year.

when they have these internal options. If they’re going to sign someone it should be Sheets.

except I substituted Max for Salty. I can see that Max probably needs a little bit more refinement in the minors, and giving the playing time to Salty would be a good way to increase his trade value (he says, hopefully). In any regard, I hope someone in the Rangers’ front office had a similar idea.

With five outfielders probable on the 25, and two more in the minors who could be fetched up in an emergency, why is DH relevant to just the catching situation? Is there some compelling reason that Murphy, Byrd, Cruz, or Boggs (or even the Hambone) cannot DH, situationally? You have two RH bats, two LH bats, and a switch hitter in that mix. Surely you can play three, DH one, and sit one depending on who the opposing starter is to be. And generally speaking, none of the mixtures is especially harmful to OF defense.

Let Taylor Teagarden start the season as the starting catcher. Let him catch 110-120 games. Let Jarrod Saltalamacchia start the remainder of the games, and get another 70-80 games at DH.

Well if your goal is to win this year then that may be the way to go. Winning in 2010 and beyond is my goal. Saltalamacchia needs to prove he is an everyday catcher in the MLs. Your proposal decreases his value.

You then have 80-90 games where you can mix in Frank Catalanotto (if he’s still around), Josh Hamilton (when you want to give him a rest), or someone else on your bench.

You have 162 games where you can rotate your everyday players through DH to give them a rest. Let Boggs, Duran or Arias DH vs lefties. Also, trade Blalock.

You let Max Ramirez go to AAA and catch every day, rather than just consigning him to a DH role from this point forward.

Yea, we agree on this.

…assuming he’s healthy. How ’bout Max at 3rd, his original position, Davis at 1st, salty behind the plate at 120-130 games, and platoon Blalock and Byrd at DH? Both Byrd and DH get traded at the deadline, and here we come 2010.

Salty would be a pretty weak option as DH against LHP.

I’d rather have Ham-bone, Murphy, Cruz, and Byrd

Salty is in Boston
Hank is gone
MaxRam is your everyday DH when he’s not catching as a back-up to Teagarden.