Baseball Time in Arlington: A Texas Rangers Blog

Mike Lowell laces a run-scoring single against the Angels on Sunday, October 11th.The passage of Saturday's non-tender deadline -- which predictably flooded the market with more than a few interesting names -- and brand new reports indicating that the Mike Lowell-for-Max Ramirez deal will remain in limbo indefinitely have conspired to fuel growing speculation that the Texas Rangers are searching elsewhere for their cherished right-handed bat. But to what end?

Several schools of thought appear to have emerged with respect to this issue, one of which holds that the expense in terms of already scarce cash ($3 million) and top-15 prospects (Ramirez) isn't worth the uninspiring payoff and that Texas should be pursuing free agent talent in the vein of Jonny Gomes, Ryan Garko -- whom the Rangers believed they were close to acquiring back in late July before San Francisco disrupted their plans -- or even Fernando Tatis. Conversely, the opposing school of thought posits Lowell as the adequate-hitting veteran leader that is needed to fill the clubhouse void created by the departures of Eddie Guardado, Kevin Millwood, Marlon Byrd and Omar Vizquel.

As is the case with the majority of things in life, the best answer almost certainly lies somewhere in the middle, but that's not the thought-provoking element in the pro-Lowell vs. anti-Lowell debate, which ultimately boils down to a matter of risk tolerance. Pictured below are Sean Smith's 2010 CHONE player projections for the Lowell/Gomes/Garko/Tatis quartet, sorted by wOBA (all numbers have been park- and league-adjusted to a neutral environment):

You might notice that Garko enjoys a healthy 10-point advantage over his two closest competitors, although this is potentially misleading in more than one way. First, we don't have the player-by-player platoon breakdowns, so it's impossible to say just how much stronger these numbers would look with a higher ratio of plate appearances against southpaws mixed in, and second, that 10-point advantage equates to a difference of less than five runs per 500 plate appearances -- worthy of noting, certainly, but not tremendously consequential.

The real point of including that chart, however, was to demonstrate just how little separates each hitter's 50th percentile (median) projection, which in turn goes back to the real question: how much risk are you willing to bear in exchange for the potential of greater rewards? Gomes and Garko are the more appealing options on paper, certainly, but both have encountered offensive missteps in the last 24 months and neither represents as much of a known quantity as Lowell, whose boringly predictable output might actually be something of a virtue when you consider that this offense is already loaded to the brim with boom-or-bust sluggers coming off down years (e.g. Josh Hamilton, Chris Davis and Jarrod Saltalamacchia).

I'll pose the question from a slightly different angle: is there value in Lowell's lessened performance variation above and beyond that of his pedestrian forecasted numbers, and if so, is it enough to bridge the gap all the way to Garko/Gomes and beyond? If that's still not enough, do the expected intangible gains in the clubhouse finally do the trick? This is no longer simply a matter of deciding whether the Lowell trade was a good idea or not; it actually runs far deeper than that, burrowing all the way down to our individual philosophies on roster construction and the best ways to maximize expected production.

The last dimension merits only brief consideration, but it's consideration nevertheless: if the Lowell-for-Ramirez swap ultimately does come to fruition, one has to wonder whether manager Ron Washington will be able optimize the value of his new veteran toy by restricting him to merely 350-400 plate appearances, and if not, just how much he's going to overexpose him. The more playing time Lowell receives above and beyond his designated starts against southpaws, the more problematic it becomes for Texas, because at 500 plate appearances he's already nothing special ... and if you go too terribly far beyond that marker, you've suddenly got an offensive liability on your hands.

[Additional Reading: "Thinking about Mike Lowell and Ryan Garko" (Adam J. Morris)]

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Sunday

13Dec2009

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Five Questions

Joey Matschulat |

Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 6:00 AM |

Rich Harden smiles during his introductory press conference at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Friday, December 11th.1. How did the Texas Rangers' enormous week in Indianapolis affect your perception of the front office, and what is your opinion on the direction the ballclub appears to be moving in?

2. Which players from this list of intriguing "non-tenders" (is that really a noun?) would you like to see Texas make a run at?

3. Did Texas miss the mark on the still impending Max Ramirez-for-Mike Lowell trade, given the surfeit of lefty-mashing options lingering on the market? For that matter, should the Rangers be targeting a low-variance hitter such as Lowell or a higher-risk, higher-reward type in the vein of Jonny Gomes?

4. Project the Rangers' likely Opening Day seven-man bullpen using in-house options and/or rumored free agent targets (e.g. Darren Oliver); feel free to make your own assumptions regarding C.J. Wilson, who could probably go either way. Use David's handy 40-man roster depth chart if you get stuck.

5. The most obvious "crystal ball" question of all-time, in which you finish this sentence however you see fit: "In 2010, Rich Harden will _______."

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Open Thread,

Saturday

12Dec2009

Rangers Roster Update: Analyzing The New Acquisitions

David |

Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 6:00 AM |

Rich Harden hurls a first-inning pitch against the Phillies on Tuesday, August 11th.In the past week, the Rangers have subtracted Kevin Millwood and Willie Eyre and added Rich Harden, Chris Ray, Joe Inglett, Clay Rapada and Ben Snyder to bring their major league roster to 40 players. Twenty-three of the 40 players are pitchers, and only five appear to be guaranteed to begin 2010 in the minors (Omar Poveda, Michael Kirkman, Eric Hurley, Zach Phillips and Luis Mendoza).

The other 18 pitchers will battle in spring training for what will likely be 12 available roster spots on Opening Day. The Rangers also appear to be in good shape in the outfield, with five players having proven that they can compete at the major league level. The team is thin in the infield and will be thin at catcher if Max Ramirez is traded.

Although they are unlikely to make the team out of spring training, several players who are not currently on the 40-man roster seem likely to be added at some point in 2010:

41. Justin Smoak (1B)
42. Kasey Kiker (bullpen)
43. Mitch Moreland (1B/RF/DH)
44. Willie Eyre (bullpen)
45. A.J. Murray (bullpen)

If the Rangers decide to add another major league player or two either in the coming months or during 2010, it is worth noting that there are several players who could be dropped from the 40-man roster without affecting the 2010 team. The most likely candidates to be removed from the Rangers' roster are:

1. Esteban German and/or Joe Inglett
2. Clay Rapada and/or Ben Snyder
3. Joaquin Arias
4. Luis Mendoza
5. Greg Golson, Craig Gentry and/or Brandon Boggs

KEY ADDITIONS TO THE 40-MAN ROSTER

Rich Harden, 28-year-old RHP: The Rangers have a new No. 1 starter for their starting rotation, and Harden brings strikeouts to a group that could use them. Harden has averaged 9.4 K/9 in his career and he averaged 11.0 K/9 in 2008 and 2009 combined! In 2009, the Rangers' starting pitchers racked up 5.7 K/9 and Kevin Millwood, the pitcher whom Harden will replace, had a strikeout rate (5.6 K/9) that was just a hair over half of what Harden posted in 2009. Harden is a bit more prone to walks than you would like to see (4.3 BB/9 in 2009), but he has been remarkably consistent in his seven major league seasons, posting expected fielding-independent ERAs that ranged between 3.31 and 4.08.

Harden features a 92 mph fastball and an 84 mph change-up that he mixes at a ratio of 60:40. His fastball rates as above average, and his change-up rates as plus. In his first three major league seasons, Harden also threw a slider that rated as plus. He stopped using the pitch during his injury-marred seasons in 2006 and 2007, which might explain why he has averaged more than 25 starts for each of the past two seasons.

With the slider, Harden's ground ball rates were solid (1.36 GB/FB). Pitching without the benefit of his slider in 2008 and 2009, Harden's ground-to-fly ball ratios have been 0.61 and 0.86, respectively. Harden's home run rate in 2009 (1.47 HR/9) was a career high due to his high fly ball rate and a 15.1 percent HR/FB rate that was well above league average. If he can stay healthy and his HR/FB rate falls back to league average, Harden figures to post an ERA in the 3.50-4.00 range and provide a fine role model for the Rangers' aspiring TORPs, Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz.

Chris Ray, 27-year-old RHP: Ray was a fine young pitcher in his first two major league seasons (2005-2006), chalking up 7.9 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, a .207 BAA and a 2.70 ERA in 106 major league innings. Ray pitched well again in 2007 (4.43 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, .225 BAA) despite elbow problems that ultimately led to Tommy John surgery in August. After returning from surgery and rehab, Ray tossed 24 minor league innings in 2008 and then posted disappointing results in 2009 (7.27 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 and a .344 BAA in 43 major league innings).

Ray is a two-pitch reliever, throwing his 94-95 mph fastball roughly 70 percent of the time and his 85-86 mph slider the other 30 percent of the time. Both pitches appear to have lost around one mile per hour in 2009 relative to where they were before his surgery; however, Ray's disappointing 2009 results appear to have more to do with poor control (nearly 5.0 BB/9 in 2009 vs. fewer than 4.0 BB/9 in his three previous seasons) and a .402 BABIP than any significant loss in stuff. His BABIP in 2009 was nearly 150 points higher than his prior career rate, despite a line drive rate (21.1 percent) that was only slightly above the 18.8 percent that he had given up in prior seasons.

In 2010 spring training, Ray will be competing with Dustin Nippert, Pedro Strop, Warner Madrigal, Guillermo Moscoso and perhaps Neftali Feliz for the opportunity to pitch in the Rangers' bullpen. Improved control and better luck should be enough for him to win a spot. It appears that Ray has one minor league option remaining, so it is possible that he could spend time in the minors if he struggles in the majors.

Joe Inglett, 31-year-old UTIL: In four major league seasons, Inglett has posted a .293/.349/.396 batting line in 639 at-bats that is largely indistinguishable from the .278/.358/.383 batting line that the Rangers' other 31-year-old utility player, Esteban German, has posted in 992 career at-bats. Neither player appears capable of playing more than a few games per season at shortstop, nor producing above replacement level on offense.

The only distinguishing factors between the two players are that Inglett bats left-handed and German bats right-handed, and Inglett's career year (.297/.355/.407 in 2008) happened more recently than German's (.326/.422/.459 in 2006). If they are still on the Rangers' 40-man roster when spring training rolls around, Inglett and German will likely battle Joaquin Arias and perhaps an as-yet unsigned player for the team's utility infielder position. Hopefully, Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus and Michael Young will have healthy and productive seasons in 2010.

Clay Rapada, 27-year-old LHP: Rapada was acquired from the Detroit Tigers for cash. His outstanding minor league numbers (2.91 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 0.3 HR/9 in 396 IP) are somewhat misleading, given that fact that they were generated while pitching almost exclusively as a reliever in leagues where he was older than most of the players against whom he was competing. As would be expected, his numbers against major leaguers have been much more modest (4.94 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 5.9 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9 in 27 IP).

Rapada is essentially a two-pitch pitcher, throwing his 86-87 mph fastball 65 percent of the time and his 77 mph slider the other 35 percent. Both pitches have really nice downward movement, which helps explain his excellent ground ball rates (1.68 GB/FB in the minor leagues and 1.48 GB/FB in the major leagues). Rapada has been very good against left-handed batters (.199 BAA, 120 strikeouts in 93 IP in the minors and .235 BAA, 14 strikeouts in 10 IP in the majors), so he might have a chance to be productive in the majors if he is used appropriately. Rapada is out of options, so the Rangers will need to expose him to waivers if he fails to remain on the team's active roster.

Benjamin Snyder, 24-year-old LHP: Snyder was acquired in the 2009 Rule 5 draft after posting a 2.88 ERA, 8.0 K/9, and 3.5 BB/9 primarily as a reliever in AA-ball. Snyder apparently complements a mid- to upper-80's fastball with an above-average slider, a change-up and a curveball. Like Rapada, he has posted solid numbers as a minor leaguer (2.98 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 2.5 BB/9) and has been extremely good against left-handed hitters (167/146 K/9, 31/146 BB/9, .191 BAA in 146 IP). Snyder's minor league numbers are more impressive than Rapada's because they were produced primarily as a starter in leagues where he was age-appropriate. Unlike Rapada, Snyder allows his fair share of fly balls (0.97 GB/FB).

The Rapada/Snyder moves reveal that the Rangers are clearly looking for a pitcher who can produce as a LOOGY in 2010, after going without the benefit of such a pitcher in 2009. Neither pitcher is likely to perform much above replacement level in 2010 and neither is likely to be good enough against right-handers to be more than a situational pitcher. There's not a lot of upside here, but one of Snyder and Rapada seem likely to be on the Rangers' Opening Day 2010 roster.

If you haven't already, you should do yourself a favor and read Jason Cole's interview of Snyder here.

OTHER RULE 5 ADDITIONS

The Rangers also selected three players in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. James Tomlin (27-year-old outfielder who has never played above AA-ball) and Andrew Jenkins (25-year-old catcher with a minor league career batting line of .274/.324/.375) appear to be little more than organizational fodder.

Unlike the other two picks, Winston Marquez (22-year-old LHP) looks like he could develop into a major leaguer if things break right. Marquez has missed time due to injuries and has pitched in only 143 innings across three professional seasons. His career numbers are modest (4.32 ERA, 9.3 K/9, and 5.8 BB/9). Marquez's most impressive run occurred in late 2009 when, after missing 2008 due to injury, the left-handed Venezuelan struck out 30 Midwest League hitters in just 19 innings.

The scouting report on Marquez reveal why the Rangers selected him. From Frankie Piliere, in-house professional scout for FanHouse.com and former scout for the Texas Rangers: "He's 90-93 [mph] with the fastball, up to 94 [mph] and has a potential plus curveball at 72-75 [mph]. Command and control comes and goes. Very erratic. Straight up and down delivery, gets a little mechanical. Serious, lively stuff but the command will have to come a long way."

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Friday

11Dec2009

On Kevin Millwood, Rich Harden And Loving The Strikeout Again

Joey Matschulat |

Friday, December 11, 2009 at 7:00 AM |

Rich Harden fires a first-inning pitch against the Royals on Monday, March 30th.This is not a lengthy treatise on the virtues -- or lack thereof -- of Kevin Millwood, the budget-constrained machinations of Jon Daniels or even the top-flight talent that is Rich Harden ... but it just might get you to stop and think for a minute, nevertheless.

It was in September 2006 that former Baseball Prospectus managing partner Nate Silver first articulated the concept of "secret sauce," an amalgam of characteristics of good baseball teams which most strongly correlate with post-season success and all, not surprisingly, relate to run prevention: a power pitching staff (as measured by strikeout rate), a quality closer and a strong team defense.

Naturally, these same characteristics are all prime contributing factors to good teams being good in the first place; strikeouts, for example, are a key component in the fielding-independent ERA metrics which share such strong correlations with overall run prevention. Strikeouts are heavily regarded as one of the single biggest indicators -- if not the biggest -- of future success for a pitcher. Miss bats, and you're going to get your shot in the majors. Collect enough pitchers who miss bats, and you just might have something special on your hands.

For all of the confidence-infusing storylines which trailed Kevin Millwood during his four-year tenure in Texas (chiefly, the weight loss-intended kickboxing regimen and the Nolan Ryan-instilled conditioning program), the fact of the matter is that he was paid like a No. 1 starter and instead delivered exactly league-average performance over the life of his deal (100 ERA+), consuming approximately 190 innings per season but watching his peripherals erode in the process ... and yes, that includes his strikeout rate, which withered away to a career-worst mark of 14.5 percent.

And yet in spite of his peripheral struggles, Millwood, by virtue of his sub-4.00 ERA, became the media-anointed poster child for the purported success of the "pitch-to-contact" movement that was so readily espoused by the organization and vertically integrated throughout the system -- all the while ignoring that such a philosophy (a) isn't nearly as effective during the post-season, where you're generally pitted against elite-level competition, and (b) is heavily reliant on the continued maintenance of a very good defense, as well as (c) that Millwood was the beneficiary of inordinately good fortune on several fronts, both defense-wise and timing-wise (strand rate).

Meanwhile, the Rangers' team pitching strikeout rate landed with a thud in the league's bottom-five pile for a third consecutive season. Millwood certainly wasn't -- and still isn't -- a valueless entity, but it also seems apparent that he was no longer a good fit for a team that desperately needed to find some way to pair its younger and more strikeout-inclined talent with a major strikeout-boosting weapon in the vein of Javier Vazquez, Ben Sheets ... or Rich Harden, whose nigh-unsurpassed ability to miss bats has springboarded him into baseball's elite pitching fraternity alongside Tim Lincecum, Zach Greinke, Jon Lester and Justin Verlander.

From the first moment that the Millwood-for-Ray "salary dump" entered the public's consciousness, it was patently clear that the trade was a gateway move towards something much bigger -- something designed to elevate the team's 2010 ceiling and give the Rangers the chance to legitimately compete that they probably wouldn't have had otherwise. The injury risk with Harden might be anything but immaterial (the safe over/under for innings pitched by Harden is probably around 140), but the greatest and most inexcusable risk of all would have entailed the Rangers throwing up their hands, exclaiming "Oh well!" and watching helplessly as financial inflexibility wrecked their 2010 campaign.

In a certain sense, this also seems to signal a much-needed shift towards the right on the contact-strikeouts continuum, and the Rangers' seeming persistence in pursuing left-handed relief options suggests that another rightwards shift could be coming if/when C.J. Wilson gets his long-awaited second crack at the starting rotation.

Harden-Feldman-Holland-Hunter-Wilson is a potent, albeit high-variance array of talent, featuring elements of velocity, craftiness and unpredictability and the always-welcome left-handedness, and divesting no additional pitchers leaves a very respectable McCarthy-Nippert-Feliz trio waiting in the wings for depth purposes, conceivably positioning the Rangers to further enhance their run prevention even if the defense regresses to some extent.

That's the sort of pitching staff that can inflict serious damage before, during and after Game 162.

[Additional Reading: "On Rich Harden, Kevin Millwood, Chris Ray, and the Rangers" (Adam J. Morris); "Millwood out; Harden, Ray, Snyder in" (Jamey Newberg); "On Millwood" (Scott Lucas)]

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The Off-Season,

Transactions

Thursday

10Dec2009

Winter Meetings Rumor Mill: Day 4 (Or The Bloody Aftermath)

Joey Matschulat |

Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 7:30 AM |

Rich Harden fires a first-inning strike against the Mets on Saturday, September 5th.Final-day tidbits and rumors after the sheer transactional chaos that was Wednesday ... and on top of that, stay tuned for the Rule 5 Draft, which is set to take place at 8:00 a.m. CST (and in which the Rangers will be involved, as they have received the third pick in the draft from the Orioles as part of the Kevin Millwood trade):

11:30 P.M. CST -- The Rangers and Red Sox have agreed upon the terms of the aforementioned Mike Lowell-for-Max Ramirez (which remains contingent upon each player's medical records being approved), with Boston apparently absorbing all but $3 million of Lowell's $12 million salary for the 2010 season; however, the deal may not be finalized until early next week, and while commissioner Bud Selig is expected to green-light the deal, he has "reservations" about the Rangers' adding $3 million in payroll (Rob Bradford, WEEI.com; Gordon Edes, ESPNBoston.com)

4:55 P.M. CST -- Rich Harden has reportedly passed his physical, completing his signing of a one-year deal with a 2011 mutual option; a press conference to announce the signing has been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. CST on Friday morning at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (Anthony Andro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

[Love it. More later.]

4:50 P.M. CST -- According to general manager Jon Daniels, the probability of re-signing free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd seems relatively low (Richard Durrett, ESPNDallas.com)

[Nothing we haven't known for quite some time, but still reassuring to see this coming straight from the horse's mouth. Again, this ballclub isn't in the sort of financial position where it can commit something like three years and $20 million to a player who isn't really going to make the team all that much better going forward.]

4:45 P.M. CST -- Baltimore selected Giants left-hander Benjamin Snyder with the third overall pick in the Rule 5 draft, who will be shipped to Texas to complete the Kevin Millwood deal (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

[Snyder, 24, overtakes Clay Rapada in the prospective-LOOGY hierarchy; he brandishes a high-80s fastball and a slider which has reportedly impressed Rangers scouts, and has emasculated left-handed batters in the minors to the tune of a .191 opponents' batting average over his four professional seasons. One continues to get the sense that this C.J. Wilson-as-a-starter line of thought has gained some serious traction in the front office -- either that, or Texas is positioning Wilson as a viable trade candidate.]

4:30 A.M. CST -- St. Louis "strongly considered" pursuing Rich Harden, but instead opted to sign Brad Penny after examining Harden's medical records (Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune)

[This is not what you -- nor I -- wanted to read vis-a-vis Harden, but it does drive home an important, albeit sobering point: his physical is not a mere formality in any sense. Harden's amassed 51 starts over the last two seasons, but his tagging as an injury-prone pitcher is not off-base and the most logical place to set the over/under for the number of innings he'll pitch in 2010 is around 140.]

4:15 A.M. CST -- The terms of right-hander Rich Harden's impending contract entail a one-year commitment at a guaranteed sum of $6.5 million (with $2.5 million in available incentives), followed by an $11 million mutual option for 2011 with a $1 million buyout (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

[Just to clarify, the mutual option means exactly what it sounds like -- both parties must agree upon the option being picked up in order to activate it, but it only takes one party to sever the agreement and end the contractual commitment. It seems that the impetus behind Harden opting for Texas over Seattle was the Mariners' hesitance regarding "accelerator clauses" requested by Harden's camp.

Provided that this all goes down as we think it's going to go down, this is a good, solid signing with the potential to be utterly fantastic -- one which I hope to further opine about once I have the luxury of a little more spare time on my hands. The biggest and most apparent downside here is that if Harden is both healthy and good (a tall order, to be certain, but possible), he's not going to stick around.]

4:00 A.M. CST -- Some 10 months after undergoing elbow surgery to repair a partially torn right flexor tendon, free agent right-hander Ben Sheets is reportedly only throwing off flat ground from a distance of 60 feet and may not be ready to go by the start of spring training; however, he's reportedly seeking a 2008-esque salary, which would be something in the vicinity of $12 million (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com; Richard Durrett, ESPNDallas.com)

[Because what would the final day of the winter meetings be without your obligatory Ben Sheets update? I get this strange vibe that he's going to be somebody that remains linked with Texas for the next several years, but ultimately fails to become a Ranger year after year due to some unforeseen circumstance -- injuries, poor fit, prolonged exposure to radiation -- and then finally lands with Texas once his arm is shot and/or he's no longer any good. Shades of Sidney Ponson.

Sheets is, of course, not going to get that $12 million he's seeking; heck, he may not get even half of that. It's all a big, elaborate game of posturing.]

Quick Hits: The Diamondbacks have denied offering catcher Chris Snyder to the Rangers for left-hander C.J. Wilson ... The Rangers' interest in free agent catcher Rod Barajas has whithered due to his incongruous contractual demands; additionally, Texas has inquired into the availability of Diamondbacks utility infielder Augie Ojeda ... The Rangers and Angels are reportedly the most aggressive pursuers of free agent left-hander Darren Oliver ... Follow Baseball Time in Arlington on Twitter and/or Facebook.

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Wednesday

09Dec2009

Report: Rangers Trade Max Ramirez For Red Sox' Mike Lowell

Joey Matschulat |

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 11:21 PM |

Mike Lowell drives a run-scoring single at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, September 27th.And just when you thought this day -- one of the most tumultuous, action-filled baseball days in recent memory -- simply couldn't get any crazier, that's exactly what ended up happening.

According to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, the Texas Rangers have reached a preliminary agreement with the Red Sox on a trade that will send 25-year-old catcher Max Ramirez to Boston in exchange for 35-year-old third baseman Mike Lowell, as well as a sizable cash subsidy that is believed to cover "nearly all" of Lowell's $12 million salary for the 2010 regular season.

The deal has not yet been finalized (and may not be for several more days), owing to the necessity of (a) the deal securing the approval of Red Sox ownership, (b) the teams exchanging medical information, a process which is not to be taken lightly given Lowell's arthroscopic hip surgery 14 months ago and Ramirez's previously debilitating wrist problems, and (c) Major League Baseball green-lighting the deal, due to the apparently large sum of money changing hands.

[Major, major note: As of 12:20 A.M. CST, Rosenthal was reporting that Lowell's hip and thumb (?!) issues could potentially derail the entire deal, with one source stating, "This thing could still blow up." The oddity in play here is that back on October 4th, ESPN.com's Pedro Gomez reported that Lowell's sore right thumb would not have precluded his post-season availability, so either the hip problems are rearing their ugly head and that's what's really jeopardizing this trade, or the thumb injury was far more serious than anyone let on.]

Assuming this trade ultimately goes through in its currently reported Ramirez-for-Lowell state and the Red Sox eat, oh, say, $8 million (as has been suggested by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News), there's cause for both optimism and concern; Lowell's a mostly known quantity, a low-variance hitter whose on-base utility and power have quietly eroded since his peak 2003-07 seasons -- excluding his flukishly abysmal 2005 campaign -- but remain useful if correctly utilized, which is to say that he's best employed as a lefty-mashing designated hitter who can spell Michael Young and Chris Davis at third and first base, respectively.

Where the risk factors into the equation is if/when he's not viewed in that light and instead amasses something around 500 plate appearances (a very real possibility), in which case he's probably good for a park-adjusted wOBA in the neighborhood of .350 (think an overall batting line of .280/.335/.460) -- nothing special from a player who is DH/1B/3B-exclusive, and certainly nothing special at a $4 million price tag. At that price (and with the loss of Ramirez), you're probably better off pursuing Fernando Tatis or another available talent of his ilk and shooting for either more upside or less expense in terms of cash and prospects.

Ramirez earned recognition as the system's 11th-best prospect in BBTiA's Fall 2009 Rangers prospect rankings two weeks ago, but multiple power-sapping wrist injuries derailed his 2009 minor league season to the umpteenth degree, and there has been long-standing concern as to whether he can handle catcher and/or first base without being a defensive liability. He's an enormous offensive talent who could certainly start putting it all together, but needs to hurry up if he's actually going to do it; plenty of players enjoy late-20s breakouts, but defensively handicapped 25-year-old "position players" who have yet to prove they can hit above AA-ball raise some fairly conspicuous warning flags, irrespective of their pedigrees.

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Wednesday

09Dec2009

NEWSFLASH: Millwood Deal Official; Rangers To Sign Harden?

Joey Matschulat |

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 6:23 PM |

As reported by multiple sources already, the Texas Rangers have officially traded right-hander Kevin Millwood (and $3 million) to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for right-handed reliever Chris Ray, and are (a) reportedly closing in on signing free agent right-hander Rich Harden to a one-year, $7.5 million contract with a second-year club option, as well as (b) reportedly working on a trade that would send catcher Max Ramirez to the Red Sox for corner infielder Mike Lowell.

Full breakdown is forthcoming in a little while, but this obviously is a huge, huge sequence of events with major implications for the 2010 season. Harden is an enormous talent, one who leans entirely on his excellent fastball and change-up and has established himself as one of baseball's most potent strikeout pitchers -- the single biggest thing that this pitching staff needed going forward. Of course, the injury risk is not immaterial, and there's a real chance that this gambit on the part of Jon Daniels won't work out as planned, but this ballclub was -- and still is -- in a position where it needs to pair its enormous cache of young talent with some calculated risks. This is a great first step.

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Wednesday

09Dec2009

NEWSFLASH: Kevin Millwood Headed To Baltimore Orioles?

Joey Matschulat |

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 1:22 PM |

Kevin Millwood has reportedly been traded to the Baltimore Orioles after four years of service with the Texas Rangers.According to multiple baseball sources (via the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec), the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers are closing in on a trade that would send veteran right-hander Kevin Millwood and "some cash" to the Orioles in exchange for 27-year-old right-handed reliever Chris Ray.

The included cash would help offset Millwood's $12 million salary for the 2010 season, and while many of the specifics of the deal have reportedly been agreed upon already, there are still "a few details to work out, including a review of medical records."

Assuming this deal goes down as reported (with Texas packaging a $2-4 million cash subsidy), the primary motivation behind the exchange would seem to be clearing payroll in order to make a legitimate run at one of the market's higher-end free agent pitchers, such as Rich Harden or Ben Sheets. Such a move would position the Rangers to roll out an Opening Day starting rotation comprising one high-end acquisition, Scott Feldman, Derek Holland, Tommy Hunter and -- depending on which way the wind is blowing on any given day -- either C.J. Wilson or Brandon McCarthy.

[3:00 P.M. CST Update: Millwood's agent, the ever-formidable Scott Boras, is reportedly telling media members that no deal has yet been completed between the Rangers and Orioles; Millwood wields a no-trade clause, but it's not immediately clear whether he will have the power to veto a trade to Baltimore.]

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NEWSFLASH,

Tuesday

08Dec2009

Winter Meetings Rumor Mill: Day 2 (Or Kevin Millwood Trade Watch)

Joey Matschulat |

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 7:30 AM |

Is Kevin Millwood destined for a date with the major league transaction wire?Wherein we really hope to see that hot stove start percolating out of control -- and soon:

10:20 P.M. CST -- The Rangers and Rays have discussed a possible Dioner Navarro-to-Texas deal, and Marlins corner infielder Jorge Cantu is thought to be of great interest to the Rangers, who would be amenable to trading pitching for a right-handed bat (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Jon Paul Morosi, FOXSports.com)

[The Navarro-to-Texas notion was touched on during the wee hours of this morning, but Cantu -- whose name has proliferated in trade circles since last year's winter meetings -- is a bit more intriguing, primarily because he's hit approximately .310/.375/.505 in his last 330 plate appearances against left-handed pitching over the last two seasons and has some modicum of defensive aptitude at first base.

Mind you, absorbing Cantu's salary -- which is certain to climb above $4 million in 2010, as he is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility -- will be no simple task given the current payroll constraints, but it may be that Cantu's somebody you can deploy with total confidence against southpaws and use to spell Chris Davis at first base without sustaining an enormous defensive hit. Morosi suggests that Texas could dangle oft-rumored right-hander Brandon McCarthy as trade bait in such a deal, but that idea doesn't hold much appeal with me.]

10:05 P.M. CST -- A few evening tidbits: The Rangers were expected to meet with the agents of free agent left-hander Darren Oliver on Tuesday evening, and were hoping to receive a medical update on free agent right-hander Ben Sheets from agent Casey Close before the meetings wrapped up; Texas is "no longer interested" in Cubs outfielder Milton Bradey, but has been discussing Reds left-hander Arthur Rhodes (T.R Sullivan, MLB.com; Joel Sherman, New York Post)

[If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Texas was pushing hard for an Opening Day starting rotation boasting either Rich Harden or Ben Sheets, Scott Feldman, Derek Holland, Tommy Hunter and C.J. Wilson, with Millwood being converted into prospects and payroll relief and McCarthy going ... well, somewhere. See above and below. That's a risky but extremely talented group of pitchers, one with materially higher upside than a Millwood/Feldman/Hunter/Holland/McCarthy rotation but also a much higher beta coefficient. And perhaps that's the sort of gamble it's going to take to have a legit shot at winning the division next year.]

4:20 P.M. CST -- One baseball official "swears" that Texas recently offered right-hander Nefali Feliz and first baseman Justin Smoak to the Marlins for right-hander Josh Johnson, but they were rebuffed by Florida (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

[For what it's worth, friend of Baseball Time in Arlington Frankie Piliere noted later in the day that no such offer was actually made, apparently corroborating the rumor's absurdity with two different sources. It's a steeper price than most people would be inclined to pay (including myself), but even though this trade is clearly not happening, understand that Johnson would have a legitimate chance at being a true ace in the American League and would probably render Texas the favorite to win the division in 2010. But, once again, it's not happening.]

2:50 P.M. CST -- Catching has emerged as a "high priority" for the Rangers in light of Jarrod Saltalamacchia's uncertain status, and included among the group of catchers the Rangers are considering are Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Yorvit Torrealba, Jose Molina and Henry Blanco (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

[Blanco's not a bad option. Kendall can't throw. Barajas will hit lots of home runs, but will give you a .260 on-base percentage while doing it. Torrealba's apparently staying in Colorado. And the distance from Molina's 2009 campaign (.260 wOBA) to the league-average hitter (.335 wOBA) is roughly equivalent to the distance from the league-average hitter to Carlton Fisk's breakthrough AL ROY-winning 1972 campaign (.408 wOBA), which is utterly mind-boggling.]

2:20 P.M. CST -- Right-hander Brandon McCarthy is drawing trade interest from other clubs; the Rangers have been linked to Pirates right-hander Matt Capps and catcher Ryan Doumit, as well as (for some reason) Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington stated that Texas was "not a serious suitor" for Doumit and had no interest in a deal (Jon Paul Morosi, FOXSports.com; Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

2:00 P.M. CST -- Team president Nolan Ryan confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that he has partnered with Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and will not remain with the organization if Dennis Gilbert places the prevailing bid; both Gilbert and Greenberg re-submitted bids on Monday (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

1:55 P.M. CST -- One report states that the Orioles are dangling 24-year-old outfielder Felix Pie as bait in a potential Kevin Millwood deal; another report suggests that the Rangers were interested in Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman but were instead being offered David Hernandez and Brandon Erbe, with the end result being that the Orioles-Rangers connection has "cooled off" (John Perrotto, Baseball Prospectus; T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

1:40 P.M. CST -- The Diamondbacks -- who just completed a three-way blockbuster trade in which they seem to have downgraded talent-wise -- proposed dealing catcher Chris Snyder for left-hander C.J. Wilson; not surprisingly, they were rebuffed (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

7:30 A.M. CST -- Trade discussions between the Rangers and Orioles appear to be heating up beyond mere exchanging of pleasantries, as Baltimore "may be getting closer" to acquiring veteran right-hander Kevin Millwood for a "second-level pitching prospect"; the quality of the prospect would be contingent upon how much of Millwood's $12 million salary the Rangers elected to subsidize (Peter Schmuck, Baltimore Sun)

[A big development, if true, and presumably (hopefully?) indicative of something bigger brewing in the Rangers' front office. You're not getting elite 22-year-old southpaw Brian Matusz without chipping in a significant quantity of additional talent (nor Jake Arrieta or Zach Britton), so don't even bother going there; instead, focus your attention more on the likes of right-handers Brandon Erbe -- who might also be out of range -- and Kam Mickolio, Luis Lebron and Steve Johnson, all three of whom recently earned 'C+' grades from prospect guru John Sickels.

Finding yourself underwhelmed by some of those names? I don't blame you, but after all of this posturing on the part of the front office suggesting that Millwood is highly valued and that there's no real impetus to move him, the only conclusion one can logically arrive at is that there's something else going on here. Understand that if some configuration of this proposed deal ultimately goes down, that $6-9 million of cost savings isn't just vanishing into Tom Hicks' luxuriously deep pockets; it's going to be applied towards something, or saved to be deployed later this winter. Stay tuned.]

6:50 A.M. CST -- Free agent right-hander Brad Penny has agreed to terms with the Cardinals on a one-year, $7.5 million contract with an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses (Buster Olney, ESPN.com)

[A higher base salary than one would have expected Penny to snag, and one that could set the benchmark higher for the likes of Rich Harden and Ben Sheets than the Rangers might have hoped.]

Early Morning Quick Hits: Missed all of the Day One boredom excitement? Click here for an extensive, play-by-play recap ... According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers have inquired into the availability of Padres right-hander Heath Bell, but are unlikely to swing a deal due to the poor wants-and-needs match between the clubs ... Per MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, the Diamondbacks "would like nothing more than to get their hands on Derek Holland or Neftali Feliz," but Texas isn't going there.

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Monday

07Dec2009

Winter Meetings Rumor Mill: Day 1

Joey Matschulat |

Monday, December 7, 2009 at 1:30 PM |

Julio Borbon is tentatively positioned to be the Rangers' starting center fielder in 2010.The Whitey Herzog-in-Texas era came -- and just as quickly went -- some 15 years before I was born, but after reading and re-reading Mike Shopshire's anecdote-laced "Seasons In Hell" (in which the 1972-74 Rangers and Herzog's brief managerial stint were chronicled in excruciatingly funny detail), I find it oddly gratifying that Whitey finally found himself elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday:

11:15 P.M. CST -- Minutes after officially declining the Rangers' offer of salary arbitration, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez has signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Nationals; also, Marlon Byrd officially declined arbitration (Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports; T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

[Wow. It was debatable whether the Rangers could even justify throwing $1 million in Pudge's direction (yeah, he's got his merits, but the eroding offense is still a pretty significant stumbling block at the end of the day), but $6 million over two years? Interesting thought process there, and one that has earned Texas a second supplemental-round draft pick in the 2010 amateur draft.

One possible option for Texas could be Rays catcher Dioner Navarro, who nabbed All-Star recognition in 2008 and then absolutely cratered in 2009, prompting Tampa Bay to supplant him with their acquisition of Kelly Shoppach. His non-tendering is virtually assured, which will obviously breed strong motivation to trade him for something -- anything! -- before Saturday's deadline, and that combination of a solid .295/.349/.407 campaign two years ago, relative youth and major league experience could form the basis for a connection with the Rangers.

6:30 P.M. CST -- Kevin Millwood is drawing interest from other teams, including the Orioles (whom Rangers executives met with on Monday); however, general manager Jon Daniels reiterated that the Rangers are not under orders to clear payroll (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

[Well, that's reassuring. I think. I've grown really tired of talking about Millwood trade possibilities without having something more concrete than "well, a bunch of teams really like him because he's such a swell guy!" in hand, so here's a little September 2007 scouting info on new Rangers left-hander Clay Rapada (courtesy of Scout.com's Mark Anderson: "Rapada was a more conventional lefty at the time he turned pro, only adopting his low-3/4 slinging motion after he started working with the Cubs instructors. Clay breaks his hands quickly, hiding the ball behind his back leg, before slinging it towards home plate from his low arm slot. He works from the extreme first base side of the rubber, making it extremely tough for lefties to pick him up."

Other random tidbits of interest: Rapada has hit 93 mph on the radar gun in the past (juiced gun?), is most effective when he smashes the corners with hard fastballs, has an "above-average" slider which he struggles to command effectively due to problems repeating his delivery, and has occasionally utilized a change-up through his minor league career, albeit with minimal success. Not that pitchers whose sole purpose is to effectively retire left-handed batters really need a killer change-up, mind you.]

5:00 P.M. CST -- The Tigers are close to trading right-hander Edwin Jackson, but the identity of the acquiring team is not yet known; the Mariners and Diamondbacks are believed to be the most interested parties, with the Angels lingering on the periphery (Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi, FOXSports.com)

[There has been some discussion regarding the merits of the Rangers acquiring Jackson, but it's probably for the best that Texas doesn't seem to be involved -- sure, his arm is excellent and the peripherals are improving, but I'm not sure whether I trust his command going forward, and he seems to be the sort of guy who will end up netting more talent than he should. Also, he's about to get quite expensive.

Then again, FanHouse.com's Ed Price is reporting that Detroit is weighing offers from 12 teams for Jackson, so it's entirely possible that the Rangers are a dark horse candidate in this race ... but I'm not really counting on it.]

3:00 P.M. CST -- According to Rangers manager Ron Washington, the tentative Opening Day outfield alignment will be Josh Hamilton starting in left field (!), Julio Borbon in center field (and leading off, which he did 36 times late in the 2009 season), and Nelson Cruz in right field (Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

[Smart. By optimizing the outfield alignment in this way, Texas can roll with newly anointed "swing man" David Murphy some 20-30 percent of the time in left field and protect Josh Hamilton's body while maintaining slightly above-average defense in that corner of the outfield; I expect Cruz will be relieved in a similar way by Murphy, but not nearly as often, and only time will tell as far as how the Rangers plan to spell Borbon, since Hamilton's an enormous risk there outside of occasional spot work and Cruz/Murphy aren't realistic options. Whither Brandon Boggs?

Washington on Borbon, whose defense has markedly improved during his Dominican Winter League stint: "I think Borbon is ready for that task. But with any young player, you are going to have to watch them grow some. He is going to have to develop his bunting. He is going to have to develop on the bases. He is going to have to develop his decision-making abilities." Also, expect the batting order to include Borbon-Ian Kinsler-Michael Young-Hamilton at the top and Elvis Andrus in the nine-hole, giving Texas a potent injection of speed at 9-1-2.]

2:25 P.M. CST -- According to the afternoon scuttlebutt from the Indiana Convention Center lobby, the Rangers are "still talking about dealing [Kevin] Millwood" and remain in the hunt for Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley (Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News)

[I'm not sure why Texas wouldn't be talking about dealing anybody that's not untouchable, and let's be perfectly candid here -- how many of those players do the Rangers really have? Elvis Andrus? Martin Perez, maybe? There's no harm in discussing every possible option, and dealing Millwood isn't a bad idea so long as the cost savings are put to good use, so everything looks just fine from this end.

For what it's worth, one Rangers official told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat yesterday that the ballclub wasn't sure if they wanted to deal with "that headache" again. Bringing Bradley back still makes considerable sense in the abstract, but if the players and coaches -- whom reportedly "called him onto the carpet" last season -- by and large can't support that move, then that's a big hindrance as far as getting a deal done. Sounds like the front office isn't wholly convinced that it's a good idea, either.]

2:15 P.M. CST -- When free agent-eligible outfielder Marlon Byrd was queried on Monday afternoon as to whether he would accept the Rangers' offer of salary arbitration, he tersely replied, "I don't think so" (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

[Byrd further stated that he (a) didn't know what the Rangers were working on, (b) didn't know if the Rangers would even be able to do anything, and (c) didn't know what his market value was. Doesn't know much, does he?]

1:35 P.M. CST -- Texas has acquired 28-year-old left-hander Clay Rapada from the Tigers for either cash considerations or a player to be named later; additionally, right-hander Willie Eyre -- who has cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment -- has been outrighted from the 40-man roster, which now comprises 38 players (Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News)

[Shades of last year's Laird-to-Detroit deal, which was also consummated on Day One last year. Rapada's exhausted his supply of minor league options and was going to be outrighted by the Tigers regardless, so this is hardly a show-stopping transaction; however, the former undrafted free agent does boast a LOOGY-attuned repertoire, with an 85-87 mph two-seamer and high-70s slider thrown from a deceptively low arm slot. Right-handed hitters will slaughter him, whereas left-handed hitters will hate him. Conversely, the Rangers will love his league-minimum salary if he ends up making the ballclub.

Rapada's dominance of the minors has been relatively thorough (396.1 IP, 2.91 ERA and 9.1 strikeouts to 3.5 walks per nine innings), and at this stage in the game, his chances of cracking the Opening Day bullpen as the Rangers' primary left-handed specialist seem to be as good as anybody's in the organization. Beware of the walks, however.]

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Sunday

06Dec2009

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Five Questions

Joey Matschulat |

Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 6:00 AM |

Josh Hamilton's days of patrolling Rangers Ballpark in Arlington's huge center field are apparently over.1. Set the over/under on the number of major league transactions the Rangers will manage to complete during this week's winter meetings, including signings, trades and potential Rule 5 draft selections.

2. Rumors of "two major announcements" during this week's winter meetings have been rapidly circulating, one of which has already been revealed, so what will the second one end up being? Expanded instant replay? Worldwide amateur draft? The resurrection of the 1899 Cleveland Spiders? Take a shot in the dark.

3. How greatly are you concerned by the prospect of team president Nolan Ryan departing -- and perhaps other key management figures down the line -- in the event that Dennis Gilbert purchases the Rangers? Is the growing anxiety completely unwarranted or totally justified?

4. With word coming down that Texas has "no intention" of playing Josh Hamilton in center field going forward, predict next season's playing time distribution at the position using any realistic combination of players; for example, if you truly believe that Marlon Byrd will return or that the Rangers will swing a deal for an upper-tier center fielder, by all means make your belief known here.

5. Correctly guess the winning ownership group (e.g. Hicks, Greenberg or Gilbert) and the day and hour in which news of the winning bidder is first leaked and win a fabulous prize! It could be something random from my baseball bookshelf, a player-signed baseball card or an 8x10 photograph of Tim Curry autographed by Jason Parks. Needless to say, we'll figure something out. Eventually.

[And your obligatory pre-Meetings scuttlebutt: Deposed Padres general manager Kevin Towers -- whose long-time friendship with Dennis Gilbert continues to fan the flames of speculation that he could eventually supplant Jon Daniels -- is reportedly leaning towards a front-office position with the Yankees ... According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the answer to question No. 1 figures to be mightily low, as the Rangers apparently have "no money approved for free agency"; this may or may not contradict Daniels' recent comments that Texas has "the flexibility to sign major league players."

One more item of interest: According to Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, the Cubs' signing of free agent center fielder Mike Cameron is contingent upon the trade of Milton Bradley -- which, in Carroll's words, has been "imminent" for some 72-plus hours. Per FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, the Rangers remain interested in re-acquiring Bradley, and Chicago is willing to eat some of his $21 million contract to facilitate a deal, but there's still no biting. Not yet, anyway.]

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Open Thread,

Saturday

05Dec2009

Saturday Morning Rangers Notes: Winter Meetings Prep Work

Joey Matschulat |

Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 6:00 AM |

Because no Rangers hot stove-focused story is complete without a picture of Ben Sheets.This seems like as good a place as any to mention that while Baseball Time in Arlington -- nor, to my knowledge, any other non-media-affiliated Rangers website -- is not headed to Indianapolis for this coming week's winter meetings, we're planning on rolling with continuous coverage for a second consecutive year and recognition/analysis of every Rangers-relevant tidbit of information. Because, hey, that's what the winter meetings are for, right?

● The Rangers are interested in multiple high-upside starting pitchers from the damaged goods bin, including -- but certainly not limited to -- free agent right-handers Rich Harden, Brett Myers and Ben Sheets; additionally, free agent left-hander Jarrod Washburn has been popular with Minnesota, Milwaukee, Seattle and Texas (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com; Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports)

[Not surprisingly, many of these same pitchers also intrigue other pitching-needy general managers to such a degree that one finds themselves casually wondering just how favorable the bang-for-the-buck ratio will really be. Myers could possibly be had for a smaller ransom, but if Harden and Sheets correctly play their hands, they're not going to come as cheap as some might have thought. And yet, these are exactly the sorts of players the Rangers need to be pursuing in light of their current situation -- high-variance talents with the potential for big payoffs whose large risk factors limit their contractual demands.

I dare not paint 35-year-old Jarrod Washburn with such a broad stroke, given that his margin for error is so absurdly thin; unless he's inclined to settle for a one-year deal worth less than $3 million, I have a hard time envisioning where his value actually manifests itself. Caveat emptor.]

● Texas has claimed Blue Jays infielder Joe Inglett off waivers; the transaction has bumped the Rangers' 40-man roster to 38 players (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

[Nominally, he's a utility infielder; more realistically, he's not somebody you're going to feel real good about rolling out there at shortstop every ninth or tenth day, and his limited defensive track record at both shortstop and third base suggests a better fit as an outfielder ... and there, his offense isn't up to snuff. Inglett, 31, isn't a bad little player if you take him at face value, and he possesses some utility as a moderate-average, moderate-patience hitter (albeit with little power to speak of), but he just doesn't strike me as a particularly great fit with the current major league roster.

Actually, you know who Inglett kinda reminds me of? A pre-2004 David Dellucci. In other news, scouting reports coming out of the Dominican Republic on shortstop Joaquin Arias's shoulder are positive, and arbiration-eligible infielder Esteban German seems destined to move on; you can bet that Inglett and Arias will find themselves in the company of at least one or two more utility infielder options before the spring training competitions commence.]

● The Rangers' payroll is likely to decline, at least until the ownership situation arrives at some sort of resolution; however, general manager Jon Daniels asserts that the Rangers now have the "flexibility" to sign major league free agents within the constraints of the team's budget and hope to complete some transactions in the next 7-10 days (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com; Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News)

[Other items of interest emanating from the keyboards of Grant and Daniels: Catcher Ivan Rodriguez is not expected to accept the Rangers' offer of salary arbitration; the Rangers would like to add "a utility player and middle-of-the-order bat"; Texas has no intention of playing Josh Hamilton in center field in 2010 and is "pleased" with Julio Borbon's defensive progress; rehabbing right-hander Joaquin Benoit has not yet resumed pitching in the Dominican Republic; and precocious left-hander Martin Perez will begin his 2010 campaign at Frisco and spend the majority of his season there.

With Jarrod Saltalamacchia now shelved for the remainder of the month of December and consequently tagged with the always reassuring "uncertain" label going into spring training, it's apparent that Texas can't simply sit back and do nothing on this particular front; I also find myself wondering how far the Rangers will be willing to go to keep Pudge on retainer in terms of dollars, and whether going a little bit above and beyond to secure a decent catcher would be money well spent. Frankly, I'm concerned about Saltalamacchia's health, and I don't see how anybody can't be concerned about Taylor Teagarden after last season's step backwards.]

Quick Hits: Baseball America's John Manuel ranks the Rangers' farm system as baseball's best for a second consecutive year; the Angels, Athletics and Mariners all land in the No. 16-25 range ... According to the Associated Press, the Mariners and free agent third baseman Chone Figgins have a preliminary agreement in place on a four-year, $36 million deal ... Steve Buechele will manage the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders in 2010 ... Non sequitur No. 1: The Ticket is still dominating the local sports radio market ... Non sequitur No. 2: Follow Baseball Time in Arlington on Twitter and/or Facebook.

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