Fairly quiet out there today, Rangers-wise...
Kat O'Brien says that the Rangers have given Barry Zito a deadline of this weekend to let them know if he is going to accept the Rangers' contract offer.
I'd put this in the "formality" category...by the sound of things, nobody thinks that Zito is coming to Texas at this point, and the Rangers just want to get this out of the way so they can move on.
I don't know, though, if there is really anyone else out there, other than Mark Mulder, that the Rangers are really going to want to go after at this point. I know they are still looking around for a backup catcher upgrade over Miguel Ojeda, and there is still talk of them searching for a righty bench bat (which I think should be Jason Botts, anyway) and a utility infielder, but I have to think they are pretty much done other than possibly Mulder.
There was some talk in the wake of the Danks/McCarthy trade that the deal was motivated, in part, by ChiSox pitching coach Don Cooper's unhappiness with McCarthy. The Chicago Sun-Times has a piece on Cooper's reaction to the trade, and he has some comments that would support that view:
''McCarthy was our top prospect. Well, we have two of their top prospects now. And White Sox baseball has a nice collection of arms maybe for the next five years. McCarthy basically was unproven. We had some looks at him and he had some great outings for us, but he also struggled at times.
''I look at trades like this very optimistically. I like Brandon McCarthy, but Brandon McCarthy last year didn't pitch so well. I still think he is going to be a good pitcher in the major leagues, but trades make the world go around.''
Sort of a less-than-ringing endorsement of McCarthy by Cooper...
I also like Cooper's comment about trading Fat Freddy Garcia:
''I can understand the disappointment of losing a Freddy Garcia. Hell, how could you not remember what he did in the postseason? The added thing for us is there is an emotional attachment from the White Sox fans. But their services are no longer needed here."
That's a great way of putting it...thanks for all you've done for us, but your services are no longer needed here.
Richard Durrett comments on the Rangers making moves at Christmas the past two years, and the way this most recent trade sets up the Ranger rotation for the next few years.
Mike Pindelski at Beyond the Box Score offers his thoughts on the McCarthy/Danks deal.
Jon Heyman writes on the Yankees and Randy Johnson, and how a Big Unit trade would result in the Yankees jumping into the Barry Zito sweepstakes with both feet. An interesting sidenote in the piece is the fact that, according to Heyman, Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson "detest" each other.
And finally, T.R. Sullivan offers a Rangers year in review...