Two schools of thought

1) Keep developing your own guys. It worked great for the Giants, and even the Yankees championships were by guys largely form their system. FA pitchers are hit and miss. Sure it's a big risk, but if they make the jump like Oakland did last year we could be set for a long time with Holland, Kirkman, Hurly, Feliz/Ogando. (Oh, I forgot Hunter. Better location and an "out" pitch and maybe)

2) Prospects are overrated. Get proven guys.

I'm somewhere on the fence between both these positions. I've heard great things about Hurly coming out of the AFL, and am excited about Kirkman's potential, and Holland if he ever finds the consistency to be the Holland we saw in NY or the one who went 8 against the Angels. Nevertheless, one more bad year and he may not have the trade value he has now.

What do you guys think?

Prospects hit and Prospects miss! Value and need are the two basic keys to any transaction. For example, Greinke is a "Cy Young" winner that KC feels everyone needs and is asking for the farm. However, the truth is, the season has not started yet. Needs are not really known at this point. Injuries and many other factors can dictate needs. Career seasons from an unknown can eliminate needs. Needs can change dramatically from the off season to during the season. I believe Texas gave up a lot last season; however, I feel every transaction was worth the price because it took care of a need for this team to compete for the World Series. I am totally against giving KC what they want for Greinke at this point. That may change if CJ or Colby Lewis gets hurt or if KC lowers their demands. I am all for challenging Tommy Hunter, Derek Holland, Michael Kirkman, Eric Hurley and Neftali Feliz to work diligently to earn a spot in the starting rotation next year. Take three of the five. If it does not work out by next July, trade for a starter who can again help us advance in the playoffs. This team is good enough to compete and win the west without Cliff Lee. They did so easily last year and I believe 2011 is not much different at this point. Only time will tell. JD needs to use his prospects well. Develop them for a role on this team or trade them as a need arises. Right now, I feel this team only needs a clean up hitter to protect (assist) Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. I am not sure Vlad is the answer at this point; however, this is the only other transaction I would make this winter. I may consider Soriano as a closer if the price/years is right and I am truly convinced Neftali is ready for the rotation. Other positions are a concern; however, I do not believe there is a need at this point. Let's see how the prospects do at this point.

Tampa, Oakland, San Francisco ... teams that have built their rotations largely on either home-grown kids, or young talent acquired in trades ... Cliff Lee, to me, was a special case scenario ... now that he's in Philadelphia, I'm for keeping our powder dry and hanging on to our young arms ... KC wants way too much for Greineke ... Tampa already told us "No Thanks" on our offer for Garza ... one never knows when one or more of the young talent we already have will "come into their own", so to speak ... for now, we can field a competitive team with what we have ... and be ready to strike at the trade deadline, if we need to ...

Thank you, Cliff ... I will always cherish your performance in Game 5 of the ALDS, and Game 3 of the ALCS ... you did your part very well ...

Now, it's time for CJ and Colby to take their game to the next level, if possible ... Cliff did say that CJ's "stuff" was better than his ... Colby pitched last year with little run support ... Hunter needs to find an 'out' pitch ... and Holland needs to develop his "mental toughness" side - he has the 'stuff' ... that's 4 arms right there ... and all of them came up through the Rangers farm system ... it took Colby a while to "put it together" ... and underestimate the benefits of making the playoffs and beating Tampa and New York last season ... these "kids" now know what it takes ... and they experienced success ... that will be huge going forward ...

Scheppers is close to being ready, at least as an addition to the bullpen ... Perez may be ready for a look after the All-Star break ... and lets see if Feldman can re-discover his sinker ... and Eric Hurley may finally be ready to show us something after the reports on his progress coming out of the Arizona Fall Instructs ... the Rangers have options ... they may not all be all glitz and glamor ... but they don't cost us any additional $$$ right now either ... keep the prospects, and lets see who is ready to step up ... yea, the bar is set high ... let's see who "rises to the occasion" ... don't spend the resources we have unless we have to ...

I'd rather see us turn our efforts to shoring up / improving our defense and our offense ... if we are strong defensively, our pitchers struggles can still be turned into outs ... that's one reason I'd consider Beltre at 3B ... a solid defense can save our young pitchers ... and a better offense, in a few key spots, can still put up runs ...

We took our shot with Cliff Lee ... and he chose to go elsewhere ... at least we're not the Yankees ...

The rotation isn't good enough. The division is better than it was last season. Brandon Webb should be brought in, at the minimum.

I can't believe all these "Perez will be in Arlington in 2011" people.

He has yet to show he can get out AA hitters, never mind AAA. What are MLBers going to do to him?

He's struggled in Venezuelan winter ball this year.

He hasn't had his 20th birthday yet.

According to scouts and analysts his stuff in 2010 did not look as good as in 2009.

Time to slow down a bit on the Perez in 2011 talk. He's still a great prospect, but there is no need to rush.

Agree. Perez is a 2012 piece, and not out of Spring Training either. Scheppers is much more likely to be useful this season.

I dont know why you would expect him before 2013 honestly. He is 19 right now. It nevers hurts to give them extra time...

Proven talent within their prime is always more useful than prospective talent yet to reach their prime.

Keep some prospects and trade others. The decision is not either/or.

When considering trades, no prospect or ML player should be excluded from discussion. None.

Many factors must be considered when making a trade: window of contention, length of club control of players, salary, opportunity cost, current talent pool, the commitment of current ownership to the team. The Rangers are not in a critical situation to improve the ball club. No game has been played in 2011. Two-three months into the season, evaluate need and opportunity, then make a decision.

In baseball, it's all about patience and timing. Last year, the timing was right to trade Smoak for Lee. The timing is not right at the moment to trade for an ace because of the insane price tags. So that's where patience comes in. The best time to trade is almost always at or near the deadline. Until then, let's not get too down on the current projected rotation:

CJ Wilson - Will have plenty of motivation heading into his shot at FA
Colby Lewis - No reason to believe his stuff won't continue to translate (though he is a much better #3 option)
Derek Holland - If he can get past his WS meltdown, it's possible he can be a very effective #3
Tommy Hunter - Probably fits best at #5, but he at least will battle...but must eat up more innings
Scott Feldman/Michael Kirkman - Feldman can regain a roation spot if he get back to some semblance of where he was in '09. Otherwise, I like Kirkman here.

Then consider that the back of the bullpen could potentially have the power arms of Feliz, Francisco, Ogando and (when he's ready) Scheppers to go along with specialists O'Day and Oliver (and that's not even taking into consideration a few other options available for the pen). Has makings of a very strong bullpen.

So, all is not lost. It's still there for the taking.

Don't think there is a golden rule. depends on value you are getting.
Frankly, I'm not ready to sell the farm for a guy like Greinke. More ready to start the season in Billy Beane mode, and see what we need before the trade deadline. The package which has been announced by most pundits for Greinke makes no sense.

Another thing regarding prospect. While Ogando and Neftali are often cited as rotation candidate if JD strikes out elsewhere, the more pertinent option would seem to be Michael Kirkman. And I can live with a rotation of Wilson, Lewis, Holland (I think he is ready to step it up), Hunter and Kirkman, especially with a pen which figures to be strong.

Let's not forget the Rangers are where they are because of their patience with prospects. In the past decade, few exceptions confirming the rule, the Rangers have been rewarded when going the prospect route.

Didn't think the rangers gave up prospects with very high ceiling in midseason trade. (Never been high on Smoak).

Appearance in the WS and Lee shortcut notwithstanding, the Rangers need to continue what they have been doing in terms of prospects development. The goal is to remain competitive year in and year out. I don't think they have yet reached the point where they can afford to trade top prospects and still keep a strong farm system (See eg Braves after the Tex trade).