Jim Bowden suggests Texas should trade Perez for Span

Over at ESPN, Jim Bowden has suggested that the Rangers should trade Martin Perez to the Twins for Denard Span.

I should just ignore this suggestion as non-sensical and move on, but there's not much else to talk about right now...

Bowden's argument is that 1) Span gives the Rangers a better chance to win now than if they wait for Leonys Martin to develop, and 2) he's under team control through 2015 so he's not just a rental.

Except those two reasons ultimately contradict each other. With Leonys Martin waiting in the wings, if you want a better chance to win now and you don't want to rely on a Julio Borbon/Craig Gentry platoon, you go get a rental, someone like Marlon Byrd, who will cost you a lot less to acquire than Martin Perez.

You would only pay the additional freight to get Denard Span if you didn't have a viable long-term option in centerfield. But the Rangers clearly think Leonys Martin is that guy, so you're in a situation where, at the beginning of 2013, you're having to trade either Martin or Span.

The other problem is that Span isn't that good. He turns 28 this month, so he's probably about as good as he's going to get. He had a .264/.328/.359 line in 2011, and a .264/.331/.348 line in 2010. And he's a good, but not great, defender in center.

Bowden, incidentally, justifies this move in part by saying that Span could be the team's leadoff hitter...because what the Rangers need is a leadoff hitter with a .330 OBP and no power.

So the Rangers would be trading their best pitching prospect for a guy who doesn't really offer an upgrade over their current situation, who doesn't look like a good long term solution, and really isn't a very good player.

I don't get this.