Crisp little victory yesterday, with some surprisingly nice work from Jamey Wright, who has been more than solid since returning from the disabled list and filling in for Vicente Padilla in the rotation...
Evan Grant's game story notes that Wright's performance yesterday came against an A's team that has scored three runs or fewer in 11 straight games, and has lost 8 in a row. Still, Grant suggests that Wright could end up generating some interest in the next few weeks from teams looking for pitching help, particularly after July 31, since Wright can probably make it through revocable waivers unclaimed and thus be traded after the deadline...
Akinori Otsuka had a good bullpen session yesterday, but it is still up in the air as to whether he'll be available to pitch today. Still, he seems to have made enough progress that he won't go on the d.l., with Wes Littleton likely being sent down instead today to make room for Robinson Tejeda.
The S-T reports that Thad Levine indicated yesterday that the Rangers want to use Jason Botts as a DH or in the outfield, not as a first baseman. There's also a blurb about the Rangers signing supplemental pick Tommy Hunter, a draft-eligible sophomore who will pitch out of the bullpen for now in Spokane while the Rangers monitor his workload.
There's a fair amount of Kenny Lofton trade talk out there today. Doug Melvin confirms that the Brewers talked to the Rangers about Lofton's availability after Bill Hall got hurt, but with his return imminent, it doesn't appear anything is going to happen there.
There are also reports of the Indians being interested in Lofton. The Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Akron Beacon Journal both talk about rumors of Cleveland's interest in Lofton, although both seem to be sourcing back to the DMN story from this past weekend.
With Grady Sizemore in centerfield, the Indians would be looking at Lofton as a left fielder. They already have David Dellucci and Trot Nixon as lefty corner outfield bats, but both Nixon and Dellucci have been poor this year (both have an OPS in the 600s), so that could conceivably be a possibility.
Still, a deal with Cleveland for a reliever seems more likely.