As the trade deadline draws closer, it seems like the most likely fit, if any, for this team could be a trade with the Marlins, who are still reportedly seeking a catcher and a LHP in their bullpen.  I have attached a poll to get a feel for what people around here are expecting in return for a guy like Laird and Guardardo.

But I also wanted to ask an open ended question.  It is starting to seem, at least judging from a few of the most recent trades, like this may be more of a buyer's market than a seller's market.  The Rangers have a number of young players who are blocked down on the farm, guys who don't get much love in our system but who could present value for another team (look at the list of guys still on the board in our current LSB prospect ranking process, and add guys like Osuna and Kirkman who aren't even on that list yet).  Should the Rangers entertain the idea of being buyers if they can land a guy like Washburn or someone of his ilk (slightly overpaid for his abilities but trending in the right direction).

The formidable mlbtraderumors.com has an update saying that the Twins favor Blalock over the other 3B on the market these days.  I am not sure how compelled they are to make a move, but that got me pretty pumped, because last year they seemed to have a great system full of pitchers. 

Until I read this.  Sickels, a huge Twins fan, runs through an update on his initial list, and their system appears barren.  Even the great Tyler Robertson, who has Rangers ties because of his dad, has been shut down for the year with shoulder soreness.  Besides Ben Revere, that leaves a system that only looks good compared to the Astros. 

Unless they are willing to trade someone already on their major league team, I just don’t see much that would make me want to give up a year and a half of Blalock, whose value could really rise over the next three months if he stays healthy.

Per this guy, the Astros got Randy Wolf today for a AAA pitcher named Chad Reineke.

Reineke had pitched better of late and has a K rate up near 1/IP, but he is also 26 years old and has never been considered a serious prospect.  He is the sort of flyball/strikeout pitcher who could work out in Petco and get away with pitches that would hurt a lot more in other parks.

So the question is, does this hurt Padilla's value because of the insignificant return, or does it help because there is one less arm on the market.  The park effect of Wolf's former home park and Padilla's current home park must be considered, but Padilla's contract and headcase reputation should be considered as well.

Thoughts?

I was lurking over at DRaysBay and saw that they, like a number of other SB Nation communities, are intrigued by Nelson Cruz.  They are looking all over for a right handed bat for the OF, and while it is entirely possible they go out and acquire a legit big league bat, they could be a potential landing spot for Cruz. 

Now I know the opinion of a collection of sports fans is not indicative of that of the GM, but I threw out the idea of trading Nelson Cruz for right handed reliever Juan Salas and they seemed okay with it.  Salas is already 29 and did not start pitching until 4 or 5 years ago, when it was clear he would never make it as a 3B.  He has a tremendous fastball that BA ranked as the best in the system two years ago, and he has enjoyed some success at the big league level.  He is currently pitching down in Durham and is not on their 40 because he was placed on their restricted list during spring training because of visa problems.  He was also suspended last season for 50 games, so he’s got a little baggage (but then, that’s why we could possibly get him for Cruz).  As recently as last season he was pitching in key late inning situations for the Rays. 

Adding him and Calero to the mix could turn a weakness into...something slightly less than a weakness for the second half.

If you haven't already, venture over here to read some wonderfully naive Braves fans throw out their trade hopes and dreams for Teixeira.  The best part is that the names are almost identical to the names we saw thrown around last year.  To the Red Sox for Youkilis, to the Dodgers for Loney AND Kemp. 

The best proposed trade had the Braves sending Teixeira, Ohman, and Lillibridge (a package that varies from the one we sent last year by one less year of Teixeira and one more C level prospect in Lillibridge) for Youkilis AND Buchholz. 

Nice.

I have a feeling we have already seen the major fireworks for this year's trade deadline. 

The biggest name on the market has been dealt, tentatively setting the market going forward.  But the number of teams still “in the mix” is high enough that the buyer and seller columns are hardly set in stone, and the Rangers, now at three games above .500 despite their lack of quality pitching and a recent string of injuries, are squarely in the middle of that gray area. It is July 7th, and frankly, I have no idea what this team will do. 

I am fairly certain they will try to find a trade partner for Frank Catalanotto, but I doubt they are looking to give him away.  We have heard they are willing to deal Padilla, but their pitching depth is thin right now, and with Padilla’s two recent lackluster efforts and recent injury news, it is hard to imagine his trade value being greater than his value to the Rangers at this point.  However, a couple of strong starts, along with positive news about guys like Hurley, Mathis, Murray, and McCarthy in the coming weeks, could change that.

Milton Bradley is another wild card.  His numbers are still among the league leaders, but he has been missing more and more games of late, and his delicate handling by the Rangers of late is reminiscent of Gagne at this point last year.  If a team believes in his health going forward, he should have some serious value.  The market for an impact right handed bat is pretty thin, with Bay and Nady as the only real competition.

The catching situation has been skewed by injuries.  I have a feeling a resolution will not come until the offseason, due to Salty’s weak performance to date and Laird’s injury.

Any other thoughts, rumors, or musings?  I’d love to hear them. 

Sorry folks.  I know this is a baseball forum, but there are many on here that care about the NBA and enjoy opining about the (sad) state of the Mavs, and I found this tidbit to be interesting.

In 2005, the Mavericks did not make a single pick in the June draft, having traded both their first and second round picks.  But before last season, the Mavericks took a flier on Brandon Bass, an early second round pick who failed to impress in his first two seasons with the New Orleans Hornets.  It appears to Mavericks have taken a shining to that formula, because they now have three more players who failed to live up to expectations from that draft.  After trading for (and hopefully resigning) former Texas A&M great Antoine Wright, they have now brought in former 12th overall pick Yaroslav Korolev, an athletic small forward from Russia, to play on their summer league team, and have signed to a one year deal uber-athletic shooting guard Gerald Green, one of the last high school draft entrants, who was originally thought to be a top five pick before falling to the Celtics at 18.

The Mavericks now employ (to various degrees) four of the top 33 picks in that draft.  Here’s hoping one of Green, Wright, and Korolev can come in a make a similar impact this year to the one that Bass made last year, because this team will surely need it.

Since my last fanpost proved to be a dud (that's what I get for thinking of a fun title and then trying to build content around it), I figured I would try again, this time leaving the content to others. 

The Futures Game rosters have been announced, and the Rangers are well represented.  On the old US of A side, Davis and Teagarden make the cut, and on the World side, Andrus and Ramirez are there.  Ramirez and Davis shan't be able to partake, I believe, because of their current status as big league ballplayers.

Here is the link:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/allstargames.jsp?mc=_us_08&sid=milb

Chris Davis is here.  This is a legitimate cause for excitement for Rangers fans.  He, along with Ramirez, Hurley, Salty, Feldman, Mendoza, Murphy, Boggs, etc., give fans hope that a young core is starting to come together for the Rangers, a core that could usher in a new and far more successful era of baseball for this franchise.

But I am concerned about adding another left-handed hitter to the middle of this lineup.  Our record against LHP this year is 8-15.  Over a whole season that would project out to 16 wins and 30 or 31 losses.  For a decidedly .500 team, that is a pretty significant split.  Our line against lefties this year is .256/.331/.420, whereas against righties it is .287/.355/.468.  That results in OPS of .751 vs .823, a difference of .072.

Complicating matters is the fact that our best hitter this year against lefties has been Milton Bradley, a player having a career year who we will be hard pressed to keep around beyond this year.  Of the new guys, Max has historically hit lefties well, but Davis' splits, as expected, show he is better against RHP (although the splits are not grotesque).

The statistics listed above have to be taken at face value, because I do not have the time, tools, or technical know how to dive any deeper.  But I am concerned that until we are able to have sustainable success against LHP, it will be difficult for the Rangers to make the jump into the upper echelon of teams.

Luis Mendoza has been overshadowed of late because of the big league arrivals of some guys named Hurley, Ramirez, and Davis, but in his last 5 appearances (3 in OKC, 2 with the Rangers) his line looks like this:

21 innings

13 hits

17 Ks

1 BB

1 ER

2:1 G:F ratio

The three innings he gave us last night to get the ball into the hands of our 8th and 9th inning guys (who did not look nearly as sharp as Mendoza) was almost as integral to getting the win as Max’s 2 run shot in the 4th. 

Many around here have vocalized their dismay, myself as much as anyone, about the Rangers keeping Mendoza over Galarraga this offseason.  But if Mendoza can continue to keep the ball on the ground and throw strikes, he should be a valuable asset for this team for a long time.