In his blog entry this morning, Buster Olney has a couple of things I wanted to comment on...
First of all, in touching on Alex Rodriguez's opt-out option after 2007, he suggests that ARod (with Boras whispering in his ear) may actually decide to walk away from the $81 million he's due over the last three years of his contract, and hit the free agent market. The rationale is that ARod could get a 6-7 year deal at $20 million per year, giving him more money guaranteed, and more on the back end than he could command if he hits the market after 2010 as a 35 year old.
This would be a huge boon for the Rangers, since they are on the hook for $30 million of that $81 million. And it is a reason for the Rangers to hope that ARod isn't dealt this offseason, because if he isn't, and there's another year in New York like 2006, I think the chances are a lot better he exercises his out clause, and the screwing that the Rangers got in that trade isn't quite so bad.
The other thing Olney talks about is Jason Jennings, who the Rockies apparently are looking at trading if they can't work out a contract extension for him. Olney suggests that a B.J. Upton for Jennings trade "[m]akes sense in a lot of ways for both teams." I can't see how it makes any sense for the D-Rays, but if the price for Jennings really is as high as B.J. Upton, then the Rangers need to scratch him off their potential acquisition list.