Texas Rangers rumors: Joakim Soria, Jason Frasor of interest to the Detroit Tigers

Texas Rangers rumors:  Joakim Soria and Jason Frasor are among the relievers attracting the attention of the Detroit Tigers, according to Jon Paul Morosi:

Tigers interested in Joakim Soria, Jason Frasor, and Chad Qualls, among other bullpen targets, sources say. @FOXSports1

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 5, 2014

Frasor is a free agent after this season, and has struggled some of late, but would be of interest to a contender looking for a middle reliever.  He wouldn't seem likely to command much in a trade.

Soria, on the other hand, has the "proven closer" sheen about him, has pitched extremely well this season, and has a reasonable team option for 2015.  The price for Soria would seem to be similar to what the Rangers gave up for Mike Adams in 2011, when they gave up Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland to land the Padres setup man.

Someone who might be in play, should the Tigers opt to deal for a reliever, is 2013 first rounder Corey Knebel, a righthanded reliever out of the University of Texas who has split this season between AA, AAA and the majors for Detroit.  Knebel was the Tigers' #7 prospect coming into the season on Baseball America's rankings.  Another name to keep an eye on is lefthander Robbie Ray, who the Tigers acquired in the Doug Fister deal.  Ray has split the season between AA and the majors, and is someone who could potentially step into the Rangers rotation, either this season or in 2015.

If the Rangers were to target someone farther away, a name to keep in mind would be Jake Thompson, a big 20 year old lefty who was a 2nd round pick in 2012 out of Heath, Texas.  Thompson is currently performing admirably in the high-A Florida State League, with a 3.08 ERA and 74 Ks in 76 innings for Lakeland.