Stealing an idea from Bill Simmons, I thought I'd rank the top 40 current Rangers in terms of trade value.
For the purpose of this exercise, I'm assuming that the restrictions on trading a 2006 draft pick and a 2006-07 offseason free agent signing are waived (in other words, you can trade Kasey Kiker immediately, without waiting for one year after he signed, and a free agent such as Kenny Lofton can be traded without his permission before June 15, 2007).
Otherwise, though, all real world issues apply...a player's arbitration eligibility, free agency status, contract situation, age, etc. all play into things.
And thus, I give you my preliminary top 40 trade value rankings.
- Teixeira
- Young
- McCarthy
- Millwood
- Kinsler
- Hurley
- Otsuka
- Laird
- Padilla
- Tejeda
- Wilson
- The Cat
- Kiker
- Francisco
- Littleton
- Gagne
- Cruz
- Lofton
- Volquez
- Blalock
- Arias
- Diamond
- Botts
- Rupe
- Mahay
- Loe
- Feldman
- JMJ
- Wilkerson
- Koronka
- Tracy
- Haigwood
- Benoit
- Lemon
- Guzman
- Galarraga
- Teagarden
- Diaz
- Poveda
- Bauer
#1 and #2 were very easy.
The guys slotted #3 through #8 are almost interchangeable. And that says a lot about how the market changed in one year...Kevin Millwood went from being overpaid to, with three (or four) years left on his deal, being a bargain worth giving up valuable assets for.
There was, for me, a dropoff after #8, with #9 thru #13 being tough calls, then another dropoff after #13.
I know some folks will disagree with how highly I've slotted Blalock, and I agree that, if he continues to hit like he has the past year or two, he's got negative value, given his contract. However, I think that, given his age, his past production, and his potential, you could get value for him.