Would throwing Mitch Moreland into the mix increase the Rangers chances of getting a #1 or 2 starter?

Moreland is a beast against right handers (.290/.346/.524, 12 HRs), but he's terrible against lefties (.194/.270/.209, 0 HRs); his UZR/150 at first base if -6.9. If he were traded, first base would be covered by some combination of Napoli, Young, and Davis. It's not ideal, but would seem to be a small sacrifice for a much-needed rotation upgrade. (I assume Moreland has more trade value than Davis, but I don't know.)

I wouldn't at all because he is still very, very young and it's obvious that he can hit. For now I would say absolutely not. If this trend continues for two more years then we'll see.

I doubt we ever get enough trade value out of him to make it worth trading him. Personally, I'd rather trade Davis, because his gaudy minor league numbers have done nothing to make me think he can overcome his high K/low BB/low batting average issues.

i'm a little biased with a lot of man love for moreland, but i would only put him in a trade for Super Torp thats not a rental. and Ubaldo doesnt count. there's very few out there, i'm talking Felix, Halladay, Weaver, the Freak... etc. thats how good i think he is, and can be for this team. dont let the ebbs and flows of the season sway you to adding him to a package just because he's struggling recently. He's already starting to heat back up again.

Speaking of Halladay it's a good thing the Rangers didn't get him the guy got heat exaughsted in Chicago today imagine him pitching in Texas

So you really think that the ORG would pull a starter, as MMM out and go with what they
already suspect about Davis, for the Flag Run?

I am just wondering how much more trade value Moreland has than Davis. I agree with a lot of people on this site that the Rangers need a #1 or 2 starter to make a serious playoff run. I assume the team will have to give something up to get that guy (see Smoak for Lee). It seems to me that 1B is an area where the Rangers could probably make due without their current starter. And given the severity of Moreland's problems against lefties, there are questions about his long-term success anyway. So if he has trade value, it wouldn't surprise me to see him as part of the package in a blockbuster deal.

Unless it is a lot more trade value, I'd much rather deal Davis. Personally, I doubt he will ever conquer his K problems in the majors, and is the new Posterboy for a AAAA player, taking that title from Jason Botts.

@djc- we should just call Davis the next Nelson Cruz...a true lifelong AAAA.

Call me crazy, but if Moreland has anymore value than Davis, I don't hesitate to trade him. If Davis falters (which I believe he won't), Napoli and Young are more than competent covering 1B.

Moreland's an interesting guy, but not sure how he fits a trade puzzle. Not good enough to headline a trade package, but far too good to be a throw in in any deal. If it were to happen I guess some form of a Napoli/Young-Chris (last chance) Davis would be how you cope the rest of the way.

He now has 20 hits in his last 110 ABs going back to June 6th (.182 avg.). During that time, his avg. has fallen from .313 to .262. Given that he only has 430 career regular season ABs, I imagine that any trade value he may have had is rapidly disappearing. Plus, his walk rate is terrible. If Chris Davis is still around after the trade deadline, you have to wonder if he'll get some PAs.

A 1 month or so slump is not the death nell for Moreland's future. Moreland is giving us very good production for the $ 400K or so he takes in, and that's no small thing. Seriously, $ saved there can go to other places, like maybe locking up CJ next year. When you add it up, $ per WAR... He's very valuable.

Plus, his vs. lefties # could probably improve if he ever got to face lefties on a regular basis. Like every lefty hitter, he'll always hit righties better, but it is way too early to pronouncing a hitter that young to be just a platoon option at 1b. I just hope his lack of ABs vs. lefties doesn't retard his growth as a hitter.

I say whichever of Davis and Moreland would make a deal get done, use them. I am comfortable with either of them being the 1B going forward.

Like every lefty hitter, he'll always hit righties better, but it is way too early to pronouncing a hitter that young to be just a platoon option at 1b.

Especially since he always did have very even lefty/righty splits as he ascended through the minors. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not a bit unnerved by his struggles against lefties this season ... he needs to get better in that regard.

From Gil LeBreton's at the Star-Telegram:

The club apparently still solidly believes in Mitch Moreland at first base, despite his .177 average thus far in July. For the season, Moreland is batting .190 with runners in scoring position . . . Since last July 27, the day he was called up to the big leagues, Moreland has a .260 average with 21 homers and 52 runs batted in, below average numbers for AL first basemen.

Don't get me wrong. I'm rooting for Moreland. I was at the game earlier this year when he hit is walk-off HR, and it was great. I just think there are questions about his long-term success, expecially given his troubles against lefties. So I was wondering whether he might be involved in a trade. But at this point, I'm not so sure he has a lot more trade value than Davis.

I like Moreland but there's NO QUESTION that Davis has a higher ceiling as a hitter, plus his ability to not only play 3B, but be above average defensively, is huge. I would say he has much more trade value than Moreland.

That being said, I think the Rangers should try to hold on to CD unless they're comfortable with Moreland as the 1B of the future (they shouldn't be--relatively small sample size, horrendous #'s for a 1B this year; etc.), or with a mix and match situation of Mitch,Napoli and Young.

If JD could get decent value for Moreland, I wouldn't hesitate to trade him. Don't think he'll ever put up monster numbers for a 1B, so any future he has here may be as a spare OF/1B/DH.

A Moreland / Napoli platoon has been pretty awesome this season, at least with power, and you probably don't want to trade away your organization's two best 1st base prospects in 2 years time (Smoak). It's enough that they are shopping Davis, who probably has nearly as much value as Mitch does at this point. They aren't going to get anyone awesome for those guys, though. If they want to try to make a big splash, it's going to cost them one or both of the real blue chips - Martin Perez and J. Profar. That's why I think they should just try to get a decent, cheap reliever or two, maybe a RH OF for the bench, and save their money for resigning CJ, and save their prospects for their own future.

I tend to agree that Davis has way more upside, though I understand the reluctance to take Moreland out of the lineup given what he did in the postseason and Davis's previous struggles. When the Rangers kept Young and signed Napoli, I always assumed that either Moreland or Davis would be traded. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems hard to justify keeping both of them around. Davis has had his struggles at the major league level, but he is young and has enormous potential. He should be in the majors somewhere. I just think one of them has to go.

And I don't see how converting Davis into some sort of utility player works either. It just doesn't seem that the Rangers have a need for another spare infielder or outfielder, and it seems that Davis needs a chance to play on a daily basis if he's going to reach his potential.