Shouldn't we be looking to upgrade at catcher?

Arencibia
d'Arnaud
Santana
Jaso
Salty
?????

Who, why and how?

I almost forgot I like Carlos Santana. Switch hitter and plays 1st as well. He is not great at either but is serviceable at both. Not a tremendous defensive upgrade over Soto but could allow us to trade Olt, playing 1st against tough lefties and he adds tremendous flexibility on the offensive side.

Can't believe I'm saying this but my 2nd choice would be Salty for the same offensive reasons.

Cleveland and KC are going to be our "Go2" teams for trades.
Mets seem workable, if we're actually *forced into looking at Dickey.
Grienke just shot the price up for Sanchez, Shields and of course
David Price. We must be creative, to get the Upton train back on track.
Got2give2Get for 2013.

Jaso -- awesome splits vs RHP but Seattle will want MLB-ready offense in return I think... worth a call to Zduriencik
AJP -- best available on FA market, total douche, numbers last year were probably a mirage, but still could hit better than Soto in his sleep
JPA -- lots of potential but I'd be hesitant to meet the Jays asking price for a guy with a .275 career OBP
D'Arnaud -- why would they trade him?
Santana -- why would they trade him?
Salty -- worth asking

A few others not mentioned:
Shoppach -- good fallback, has some pop, he would be the 1A to Soto
Ryan Hanigan -- could be available if the Reds are ready to roll with Mesoraco full time. Murphy for Hanigan (h/t Newberg)?

And my personal favorite:
Hector Sanchez -- tell me where the Giants are going to use him? He's good but he's not supplanting Posey, ever. Belt is at 1st for the foreseeable future. The Giants would probably love to flip Sanchez for some can't-miss 2B or COF prospect.

There have already been reports this offseason that Cleveland was willing to move Santana/Cabrera/Choo basically anybody called it a rebuild.

Ok this is probably an even bigger concern now... Right? I still like TDA, Santana, Salty and I add Grandall.

Padres are looking for Pitching. I doubt they will be competitive for a few years. So could a package of Buckle, Garcia and Mendez be enough?

Grandal is a bopper. If we want him, we need to give up one impact prospect. Mendez is more of a gamble, Buckel is more of a MORP, and Garcia is a utility infielder. Replace one of them with a Martin Perez/Leonys Martin/Mike Olt, and you're probably talking.

I don't think the Rangers would do that, though.

I'll pass on Yasmani Grandal. 2012 was his first year in the majors and he already got busted for steroids. Banned 50 games next year.

We could've gotten TDA, with a little exercise in Jays needs also.
Looks as if Mets, of all teams, can get it done with the Dickey Deal.

That just shows he's committed.

Since Baltimore is our "farm team" why don't we look at the switch hitting catcher Matt Wieters? He hit 23 HR and hits around .250. Can handle 140 games and is still young. Give Jackie Moore a catcher to work. Bring back Pudge to backup. Lol

Seriously though, 50 game suspension doesn't scare me as much as 130 starts for Soto which is better than Whiteside/Snyder/Martinez for 32.

It's not the 50-game suspension that bothers me so much as what it represents. It's just the fact that he couldn't get past his first year in The Show without already being a knucklehead and a cheater. It doesn't bode well for one's future career trajectory.

Baltimore graduated from AAAA Rangers East last Post Season. Wieters might be as untouchable as Stanton or Heyward. Never hurts to dream though.

Yeah, just don't care for Soto.. He moved the Mendoza line down...does it become the Soto line?

Looks like D'Arnaud (and Arencibia, by extension) are about to be off the board if this Dickey deal happens.

Sign Pierzynski for 2 years (club option for 3rd) to bridge the gap to Alfaro. Keep all of our trade assets.

Or just sign Shoppach on the cheap and ride the hot (ummm... warm) hand between him and Soto.

AJ is a not a good fit for the clubhouse...major jerk..

Pierzynski loves to win. He's extremely smart. He takes no guff from opponents. You like him as a teammate.
He talks to batters. Throws pebbles and dirt on your shoes, while in the box. He's got your back in a struggle.
He's got Nadz. Our fans will love him as a Ranger, not a ChiSox. He'll be a manager one day for a WS Team.