FanPost

For 15M: CJ, Hamilton, other, status quo





If the payroll target is 110-120M, the Rangers have 10-15M to play with and I see no way they sign CJ. Unless... a payroll move is made. The simplest way to clear payroll is to trade Hamilton. The right way is to trade FACE for full salary relief, but that's not possible. Slightly more possible could be trading part of Feldman's contract. The simplest way is to trade Hamilton. The simplist way to ensure enough resources to keep CJ is to trade Hamilton, whose contract is entirely tradeable with a prospect coming back to boot.

So, the poll below looks for your opinion on a few options under the constraint of 10-15M to play with this offseason:
Trade Hamilton to clear room to sign CJ (no other FA signings)
Trade Hamilton to clear room to sign a different big-name, long-term FA (no CJ signing)
Wait to see if Yu will post and the Rangers win the post, then look to trade Hamilton (no CJ)
Status quo: Don't trade Hamilton, and don't sign CJ or any big-name, multi-year FA

My feeling is that you want to wait for Yu, and I would trade Hamilton to get Yu. If the 110-120M assumption is wrong and the Rangers can have both, then great. Aside from that, I think the stability of this team is pitching and defense, and elevating the pitching staff needs a higher priority than keeping Hamilton.