So, yeah...the news today is that the Rangers are reportedly about to sign Darren Oliver to a one year, $3.5 million deal with a vesting option.
I don't get it. The problem isn't that Oliver has been bad of late -- he hasn't. He's been a solid reliever for the Angels.
The problem is that a lefty setup man/middle reliever doesn't seem to be real high on the Rangers list of needs, and this is a team that supposedly has almost no money to spend. A team with almost no money to spend probably shouldn't be spending it on a 39 year old reliever.
Jeff Wilson writes that Oliver would give the Rangers six lefthanders to sort through for bullpen roles.
To me, this indicates that either C.J. Wilson will be in the rotation, or that he is going to be traded. It doesn't make a lot of sense to go out and get Oliver, and give him a contract like this, if you are going to keep Wilson in the pen.