I've seen several outlets reporting that the Rangers are interested in Paul Konerko. I think he'd be a great fit hitting cleanup in our lineup and I love his always high OBP. He could DH and play 1st giving us a solid right handed option and insurance in case Moreland struggles, which is very possible. He made $12 million last year and had a great year, .312, 39HR, 111RBI, .394 OBP so not sure what the market will pay him. He's 34 years old. I'd do it for sure if you could get him at that salary for 2 years, but I have not heard any rumors about what he is seeking. Anyone else with thoughts on this or know what kind of deal he might be seeking.

I don't know what he is looking for but he would be a good fit at the right price. The only thing I don't like is the price we would pay plus the picks we would give up for signing him. Given the recent success of our drafts I hate the idea of losing our 1st round pick. That being said I wouldn't be devastated if we go him.

I would love this signing. It gives the DH position someone who plays a position that is does not have a lot of depth and more versatility to the club. You can play him @ 1B to give Moreland a day off, want him & the other 4 OF's in or give MY, Kinsler a DH day.

Good point on losing the pick, although at least this year it's just the 26th pick thanks to our great year! Any other year it would have been top 15. We shall see.

Here's what I just wrote on the latest Rangers arbitration post about Pauly before I realized this existed:

"To me, Konerko makes the most amount of sense though and I'd rather pay him $9M than pay Vlad $8M. He can rotate at 1B with Mitch and DH. He can also still put up really good offensive numbers... Last year: .312/.393/.584 with 39 HR and 111 RBIs.

I'd love to see Pauly in a Rangers uniform next year. With a lineup that goes: Andrus, Kinsler, Josh, Cruz, Konerko, Young, Moreland (followed by either Murphy, C, Borbon, whoever) -- I'd even plug Murphy into the 2 hole at times, I think he could really produce there as well. But that's just my $.02."

Second post after seeing how much he made last year:

"Just read the Sox offered Pauly arbitration... I wonder what type of deal he is looking for. He's 34 and I would think his arbitration would be closer to $13-14M than I previously wrote at $9M. He came in 5th in MVP voting and his numbers were beyond solid. He made $12M last year. Would you offer him 3 years at $40M? or 2 at $27M? I'm not sure how closely the Rangers would look at going after him now, but I would love to see him penciled in next years lineup."

We need to be realistic about Konerko. Last year was a bit of an aberration, he's likely to put up no better numbers than about an .850 OPS next year, and he's going to want a 3 or 4 year deal, and will cost TX a draft pick. Sure you want to talk to him, but I'd rather have him on a one or two year deal, which he doesn't want to accept, and I'm not expecting anything like 2010's production to happen again.

@ t ball: maybe not the high average of 2010, but in terms of OBP/SLG... I don't think .350/.480 is out of the question with 25-35 HR and 90-100 RBIs. I think he can produce similar to Vlad's 2010 numbers in 2011... but I wouldn't go more than 3 years. The only difference between Vlad and Konerko might be the fact that Pauly can play in the field and gives you a bit more flexibility. But is that worth the extra money? Otherwise, resign Vlad, but you'll be stuck with a guy that can only DH.

Konerko signing would not excite me to be honest. Not a bad signing but not a statement signing either.

@thenamesjordan - .350/.480 is an .830 OPS. I think you could get that from any number of players that would be available for less money/years.

Well, perhaps I'm wording that just a bit too casually. An .830 OPS would be ok, and getting it is not so easy it should be sneezed at. But I'd like to think the Rangers could find someone who could do that in 2011 who wouldn't demand a 3 or 4 year deal, and isn't coming off a career year and looking to cash in on it.

The Rangers would have to trade some talented player(s) to get Konerko.
The Sox still have rights to him through arbitration and the Owner and manager have said that they will match any reasonable offer made by another club to keep him. In other words, Rangers will only get him if they offer something in trade or pony up with a large multi-year deal for an older player.

konerko is wildly inconsistent...gives four mediocre half seasons for every two good ones

come june 1, 2011, konerko could have 16 bombs or have 11 rbi hitting .137 and neither would raise an eyebrow for me