Jeff Gordon
Rangers Likely to be Sellers
July 12, 2007 7:30pm CDT
The Rangers, 38-50, come out of the All-Star break as one of the most likely teams to become sellers before the waivers-free trade deadline.
This team could put slugger Mark Teixeira and relievers Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka in play, commanding huge prices for each. The Rangers were less awful in June - going 14-12 - but they are so far removed from the pennant chase that change may become inevitable.
"We'll have an opportunity to do something," general manager Jon Daniels said before the season resumed. "We have to see what makes sense. Right now nothing has. We'll see."
A big sell-off could wreak all sorts of havoc on fantasy values, sending them up or down, depending the deals that are made or not made.
The Teixeira situation is difficult to handicap. The Rangers would love to extend his contract, but he remains committed to testing free agency in 2009. He seems skeptical that Texas can make the moves necessary to contend and his agent, Scott Boras, would love to shop him to big-spending clubs like the Yankees and Dodgers.
"We're a big-market team that's playing like a small-market team," Teixeira told MLB.com. "Unless you hit with some young players and pitchers, it's tough to play that way. I know the business better than anybody.
"I go to the union meetings and I keep up with what's going on in the offseason. I know this is a business, but when the Yankees go out and get All-Stars every year and the Red Sox go out and get All-Stars every year, it shows you they want to compete and win."
Teixeira's showcasing begins immediately, since the Rangers seem ready to activate him from the disabled list (quadriceps strain) after just one rehab game in the minors.
"Luckily this is one of those injuries that once it's healed, it's healed," Teixeira told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "The doctor said I might actually come back stronger because I've trained the muscle more rigorously after the injury."
After his poor start this season - he hit just .231 with two homers and six RBI in April - Teixeira crushed the ball during May, batting .349, delivering 19 extra base hits (11 doubles, seven homers and a triple) and 27 RBI.
He was pounding the ball in June, too, until a nagging quadriceps strain shut him down for a month.
The Braves and Dodgers have shown some interest in adding his power bat for the stretch run and either team could give him a chance to put up numbers. But Teixeira has hit very well in Arlington this season, batting .342 at home with five homers, 23 RBI and a .997 OPS in home games.
Gagne has become one of the American League's elite relievers since finally getting healthy. His repaired arm has been fine, though a hip strain knocked him out earlier this season.
After saving just three games in April and May (when he wasn't on the DL), he has saved nine games since then. He is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA to go with a nice 23/11 K/BB rate.
If the Yankees acquire him, Gagne would become a setup man for Mariano Rivera and lose most of his fantasy value. If the Tigers acquire him, he would have an opportunity to displace Todd Jones as the closer.
But Gagne has expressed interest in re-upping with the Rangers - so Otsuka, an effective closer in '06, could become a more likely trade chip for Texas. His value would increase nearly anywhere he went, since he is currently stuck in the set-up role for an also-ran.
Otsuka is 2-1 with four saves and a 2.51 ERA. He, too, could push Jones for the closing role in Detroit or fall into setup work for the Yankees.
If the Rangers do begin parting with players, several young players could see earn late-season promotions to get a head start on next season - including outfielder Jason Botts and pitchers John Rheinecker and Eric Hurley.
Writer Bio
Jeff Gordon
Associate Editor
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