Ken Rosenthal's latest notes column mentions that the Rangers are talking to the Giants and the Reds about trying to acquire Jason Ellison or Chris Denorfia, respectively, with the goal being getting a righthanded backup for Kenny Lofton in centerfield.
Now, the initial reaction I had to this was that those two guys can't hit, so why bring them in here?
But when you keep in mind that they would likely only play against lefties, those two are a little more attractive.
Denorfia has a career .308/.390/.442 line against lefties, albeit in only 60 plate appearances. The problem, however, is that his AAA splits last year show he was much better against righthanded pitchers.
Ellison, meanwhile, has a career .303/.351/.452 line against lefties, in 174 plate appearances.
Ellison is out of options and is considered a very good defensive outfielder, so he seems the most likely of the two to be targeted. I wouldn't give up much for him, but if the Giants decided they weren't going to keep him and didn't want to risk losing him on waivers, I wouldn't have a problem with the Rangers sending a fringy guy of the Jesse Chavez/Joselo Diaz variety to the Giants to get him.