The LEB Sports
Dallas Sports News & OpinionsTrade Deadline 2008
With a little over a month before the trade deadline the Rangers have plenty of trade options to continue to build the foundation of this club. The team has been doing a great job of building it a piece at a time over the past year. Daniel’s brought in proven veterans as rentals and when their trade value was high he flipped them for high ceiling prospects. Gagne for Murphy, Loftin for Ramirez, and Texiera for Harrison, Feliz, Salty, Andrus, and Jones have all been very successful up to this point. The farm system has gone from last to fourth in baseball. This year the Rangers have Milton Bradley, Eddie Guardado, and Marlon Byrd as a few veterans that could be traded for prospects if they decide to be sellers again. I envision the 2010 Rangers to look something like this:
C Gerald Laird Rotation: Kevin Millwood
1B Chris Davis Scott Feldman
2B Ian Kinsler Jason Hurley
SS Elvis Andrus Ben Harrison
3B Micheal Young Kasey Kiker
LF David Murphy Closer: Warner Madrigal
CF Julio Borbon
RF Josh Hamilton
The position of depth the Rangers have is at catcher. Laird is obviously the better catcher defensively. He is better at blocking balls, throwing out runners, and calling a game. Salty looks very uncomfortable behind the plate. At 6′4, it is more difficult to block balls and it takes longer to popup and throw out a runner. Salty has a higher ceiling offensively, with more power and plate discipline. He wants to play catcher, but this is not the natural position for him. Now with Laird out, this will give the Rangers time to see what he can do at the big league level behind the plate, but long-term I see Texas trading him once he proves he can hit or moving him to first base. Like Salty, Max Ramirez has hit his way to the big leagues, but does not have the skills behind the plate. I see him with a career as an American League DH. Scouting reports say Teagarden will never be a frontline catcher for a big league club, but instead as a backup. Lets hope that while Laird is on the DL, that Salty can produce so he can become valuable in a trade come this year’s deadline.
As for Chris Davis, I don’t think anyone thought he would be here until September. I hope last night was a preview of what is to come. Great to see Josh Hamilton throw the water cooler on him during last night’s post game interview. But a decision on playing time has to be made when Blalock returns from the DL. Davis has been tabbed as the 1st baseman of the future. Stay tuned over the next month as we see new players develop, and possibly more trades that hopefully will turn out like last offseason.
mpp1 said on Saturday, June 28, 2008, 22:36
I heard Wash on the Ticket saying that once Blaylock is healthy, they’ll be sending Davis back to the minors. Obviously, if he is tearing it up, you can’t really do that. My worry with the Rangers is that they’ll try to “go for it” this year and give up some future talent to do it. But if you don’t “go for it” this year, your not guraunteed to have the chance next year. What do you do?
I say we stay put, I’d like to see Milton Bradley back next year. I’m not really excited about giving up any of the veterans that we have right now to get prospects. I think they could be valuable to the team next year. However, I would like to see the team get rid of one of the catchers, Salty mainly, while keeping Laird. This team doesn’t need the “overly offensive” catcher. They need a guy that can play solid defensive. Let Hamilton, Bradley, Kinsler, Young, and Co. take care of the offense. And its not like Laird is a liability at the plate. He’s having a solid year, which seems to be the pattern when he has some competition (see his stats the season he competed with Rod Barajas).
MRH said on Saturday, June 28, 2008, 23:54
I agree with you on the catching situation. Laird is our best defensive and overall catcher. Defense is more important out of that position than offense.
I think Bradley is the kind of guy you want to flip. He has been on a different team every year, partly because he is injury prone. Not the kind of guy you want to sign long term. Now with one of the top batting averages in the league, he is at his peak as far as trade value. We should be sellers this deadline and continue to build this thing. We are not ready to contend yet. No matter how well this team plays they are not going to catch the Angels unless the Angels have a serious meltdown.
BJsD said on Sunday, June 29, 2008, 16:16
let me get this straight…texas’ deepest position is full of players who don’t have the tools to be a full-time starting catcher? how is that deep? i’m not arguing with the analysis, i’m pointing out the fact that it appears that the rangers have a collection of individuals who would combine to be a great catcher. i think i like the idea of youth on the field and wanted salty to wow rangers fans but instead i’ve been somewhat disappointed to find that laird is the best option.
mpp1 said on Sunday, June 29, 2008, 21:24
Laird is a solid catcher. If you’re looking for a Pudge type, those are hard to find. A guy who is solid offensively and defensively. For a catcher, I’d rather have a guy who can throw out a runner trying to steal, unlike Salty. That could end up saving you quite a few runs over the course of the season. The worst part about Salty is that he’s a liability defensively as a catcher and he’s not a good enough hitter to be considered a 1st baseman. He has to play catcher to make this team, and he was the top prospect coming from the Teixera trade.
MRH said on Sunday, June 29, 2008, 21:46
Salty has a high ceiling as a hitter. Although he is not a .300 hitter yet, he is new to the big leagues and it may take a year to hit his ceiling. Scouting reports have him as a .280 25-30 home run hitter. With a little patience, he will hit. He has to improve his defense to play catcher but will hit and field good enough to play first. He made it clear he wants to play catcher and the Rangers wanted to give it an audition. The platoon between him and Laird has worked out well and I think management didnt want to disrupt it with the team playing well. Now with Laird out, he and Ramirez are the platoon. Decisions will be made as the deadline approaches and Laird comes back.