Since Josh left for the Angels, what now? I say JD shows what direction this ballclub is going right away, either by trading away Elvis for young pitching, or locking him up to a long term deal to show the direction of this team. Should the Rangers rebuild next year, or try to get RA Dickey and another outfielder and try to conted with the "mighty" angels?

PS- When Pujols and Hamilton are 37 years old, they will be making $25 million a piece. Combine that, and thats more than the Oakland A's team salary last year.

I'm looking forward to the day the Angles have $100 million worth of payroll on the disabled list...

Dickey is too unpredictable in my opinion. I think they try and lock Elvis up longterm, would love to see it.

In the meantime, Swisher is an ideal fit in my opinion. Switch-hitter, patient hitter, adds some power, can play corner OF and will fill in at 1B when Moreland goes on the DL.

I see no reason to go after Bourn.

I think the Rangers need to consider another reliable lefty in the bullpen.

Trades will be the key, I'm sure they are looking right now for a catcher and then an OF is Swisher can't be signed.

what now? no playoffs and 3rd place

Swisher and LaRoche probably just both got a phone call from JD. Signing LaRoche lets you trade Moreland for a #5. Trading for a #5 lets you trade for D'Arnaud/JPA with a package starting with Perez and escalating from there. Signing Swisher also probably makes Murphy or Cruz available to trade off and bolster the club where needed.

what now? the rangers move on! that's all they can do! some of you were hoping JD would make a move just to be able to say that he made one. josh hamilton worth $125 over five years? absolutely not! this is the same guy that can't hit in day games because he has blue eyes, the same guy who can't see the damn ball because he's over caffeinated, the same guy who can't hit the damn ball because he quit dipping, the same guy who basically quit for two months because he wasn't right with God. jeeze! when does it stop!? just shut up and play the game! he's entering his age 31 season, a time when skills begin to diminish and it's only gonna get worse. i loved and enjoyed hammy's time here in Texas but it just doesn't make any economic or, for that matter, baseball sense to sign this game long-term. it's time to move on!

Also the same guy that hit 43 HRs last year, won an MVP, and can hit 4 HRs in one game!

Depends on if they are thinking retool or rebuild. If retooling is still on their brain, then Swisher, Laroche, and CJP have to be discussed now. Upton will have to be pursued..STRONGLY, and a trade for a more solid #5 starter will be necessary. If AS I STATED A WEEK AGO and got jabbed at by an important figure around these parts for typing so, rebuilding is where they are, then do minimal moves and let the chips fall where they may, prolly around 75-80 wins.

Swisher, Upton and bringing back Adams need to be next. They could pay those guys with the money offered to Hamilton, Elvis and the Young trade and still have money left over. I doubt any of those moves are done though. The only solace I have is that Hunter produced a 5.5 WAR last year and they still missed the playoffs. Hamilton produced a 3.4 WAR last year for those wondering. Their starting rotation is still horrible, but they improved their bullpen. On paper, they're definitely better than us. But tell that to the A's. Here's to hoping our youngsters go HAM this year.

And F Hamilton.

just trade profar and perez for king felix and extend andrus

done and done

I still can't believe Elvis hasn't been traded. I personally love Elvis but Profar should be a shortstop and Kinsler should be a 2B. I'm confused by what JD is doing here.

Whoever wants Swisher gotta be the dumbest Rangers fans ever. #just saying.

JD's not gonna give away our farm just to grab a headline... he's said that all along.

If the deal is right, he'll pull the trigger. If it's not, he's not going to handicap his team.

He likes the idea of bringing on the farm guys and letting them grow a the Big League level... Oakland proved last year that is a viable way to go. And, with the talent WE have compared to what Oakland has, we should be able to get further than the A's did last year.

JD's got all this... it's under control... All hail the Jedi!

Oakland can develp young pitchers.

Just read the ANgels are looking hard at Adams now too!! The sky has fallen in Arlington!

Yes we have to do something or this truly is a rebuild year.

Lock up Elvis long term or mass hysteria might start happening in North Texas.

Our needs are the exact same as they were before. We need a catcher (I want JP Arencibia) and we need some pitching (who the hell knows where that rabbit is coming from). Hamilton hit 4 HRs in one game...BIG F-ING DEAL. So did some guy named Green that nobody cares about now. We still ended up in the wild card. I think swisher would be a nice fit here, other than the fact that hes a chach bag (so was NAP-O-LEE). Trust the Jedi. Big contracts ruin teams. See the Red Sox and the old ass Yankees. OR! OR! You guys could look back to the early aughts when we desperately needed pitching but went out and signed A-Rod instead. That worked out great for us, didn't it?

Breathe, everyone. Take a breath. Now all have faith in the great JD. Believe and breathe.

I sure hope JD knows what he's doing. Thus far It's been a disappointing off-season. I can't wait to see what the plan is bc It's obvious that Hamilton was not in them. Now we need to replace a big bat and most importantly add a top SP.

We already have a top starting pitcher in Yu Darvish. What we need is a bat. A rival exec said "the only way D'Backs trade Upton is if we deal Elvis". I say do it. I get a headache when I read that Ian Kinsler could move to first base. Unnecessary.

Believe? Tell that to the FA players, etc. When you have FA that make certain calls to get the real scooby in Texas,
well you get far too few that want to come here. Hard nose & cold is 20th Century tactics. Josh snubbed his nose up.
Now, JD wont have to explain how he's missed, but can pat answer "it's just business" or "it does not fit team budget."

what the rangers do now is put together a package of olt, perez, and two more players for david price. the only player that is untouchable is profar. the rays may be set at third with evan longoria but i'm sure they can find a place for olt. perez will add to the surplus of young pitching they already have. maybe add leury garcia and cody buckel to the offer? i know that's a high price to pay but price isn't just anyone, he's a CY-winning lefty with two years of club control who is about to enter his prime. upon acquiring price the rangers do whatever they can to sign him long-term. with a price, darvish, harrison, ogando, holland rotation you can tell greinke and hamilton where to stick all their new-found $$$. you would have a rotation that alternates b/w lefty and righty on a nightly basis. if you have too you throw in a fifth minor leaguer to the deal.

Judging by some of JD's comments I've read/heard, it's clear Josh was his plan...he just failed. He thought he had Greinke locked up too...he failed. I'm not saying I don't trust JD, but I don't understand how some people can just blindly follow him and pretend that this off-season is all part of his master plan. I just don't see how anyone could see this off-season (so far) as anything but a failure.

I know there's still time...so maybe JD has a rabbit in the hat...but what if he doesn't.

You aren't getting Price unless Profar is involved. Even then, it's doubtful. The Rays would be set though.

I don't think Rays trade Price. They just traded Shields and Davis. Who would they have left? Moore, Hellickson, Archer = not good enough. I believe they hang onto Price.