Per Jon Paul Morosi, the Marlins and Ricky Nolasco have been unable to reach an agreement on a long-term contract extension, and the Marlins may look to go ahead and deal Nolasco, who is eligible for free agency after the 2012 season.
Nolasco is someone I was hoping the Rangers would pursue last offseason, and is someone who is apparently on the Rangers' radar currently. His peripherals have been better than his ERA the last couple of seasons, as his BABIP and LOB% have been sub-par, but there's nothing in his batted ball numbers that would suggest that he's giving up rockets with regularity. He strikes out guys and doesn't walk many, and would slot in well with Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson in the Ranger rotation as the #3 guy.
And one would think that putting Nolasco into front of the Rangers' defense, rather than the Marlins' (which graded out as the 4th worst in baseball over the past two years according to Dewan's +/- system), would help reduce the ERA.
I have no idea what the cost would be to trade for Nolasco...it wouldn't be as expensive as getting a Zack Greinke or a Josh Johnson, but it wouldn't be cheap. Still, for Texas, Nolasco might be the best bet of the available pitchers out there.