Mlbtraderumors reporting they may be listening on Kubel. He should be able to be had for less than Upton and is a COF bat that would give the rangers lineup some pop. He's be a pretty safe bet to hit 20-25 bombs and drive in 85-90 in our ballpark I think. However, I could see how someone could argue he's not enough of an upgrade over Murphy given a full year to play he could provide the same numbers.

Isn't Kubel one of those first baseman types who has played the outfield just to get him in the lineup? What is the evaluation of his 1B defense?

His OF defense is pretty bad, so I'm guessing he's only valuable as a DH or, possibly, 1B. He might have to learn the position, though. But if Michael Young can learn it well enough for his defense to be only a little bit sucky (UZR of -1, DRS of -2 in 2012) Kubel might be able to also.

I wouldn't be terribly opposed to this, especially if they won't require as much for Kubel as Upton.

I guess what I'm thinking is that Kubel would be more of a Moreland replacement than a Murphy. I'm not sure he's enough better to be worth the cost.

Yes, I would be interested in him as a Moreland replacement, not Murphy, and probably not Cruz.

Or just let Moreland play everyday. Probably hit 20-25 HR with 80-90 rbi. Why would you trade for what you already have?

Right on Andy!!!

@J2: I think I'm at the point where I see Moreland as unlikely to improve substantially from where he is now. He provides good defense at 1B and has a decent bat but not what I'd want out of my 1B. His wOBA and wRC+ are average to above-average, and he seems unlikely to hit the 30 HR plateau. I would prefer to get more out of my 1B than that. Kubel might be better than that, and he might not. If he doesn't cost too much in trade I'd be willing to give him a shot, if he can learn to play 1B adequately.

Murphy is not the weak link that would be replaced. Most of Kubel's at-bats would probably be taken away from either Moreland or Young.

I'd rather have Murphy.

Meant to add I'd rather have Moreland too.

I see Kubel as a Young replacement at DH more than anything else. People keep saying we'll need a lefty after Hamilton leaves... well Kubel is definitely available. The bad news though is that Kubel had an atrocious ending to the season last year hitting .159 in August and .182 in September. Of course up until that point he was in beast mode at 1.100 OPS. He has never hit lefties particularly well but neither has Moreland for that matter. The contract is also very reasonable. I'd take a shot at Kubel.