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The Rangers have released Kasey Kiker, their no. 1 pick form 2006. He has had a couple of bad years at class A ball and the Rangers have officially given up on him. They were hoping to get Lincecum that year, but the Giants took him first. The Rangers also decided to release pitchers Juan Grullon, Andrew Doyle and Paul Strong; infielder Jimmy Swift; and catcher Carson Vitale. They did, however, acquire another catcher in Luis Martinez from the Padres for Minor League pitcher Ryan Kelly. Martinez has an invite to spring training, but will most likely wind up at Round Rock to start the season. It is a little more depth at a position that the Rangers feel pretty good about going into 2012 with Napoli being the no.1 guy and Torrealba being the no. 2 guy.
The Rangers are negotiating with Darvish’s agent and we know they have till mid January to sign him, but I am also hearing that they are trying to seal up new contracts with Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Mike Napoli and others. They are very serious about keeping the core of this franchise together, and are starting to step in that direction. I, as a long time fan of the team, also hope that they keep Michael Young after his contract runs out if he is still as productive as he has been the past few season. He showed me last season that he has what it takes to be a premire DH in the AL. I would love to see Michael stay with the team till he retires, but there is probably little chance of that happening.
Of course, you can always go to texasrangers.com to watch the live renovations happening to the ballpark. If you have not checked it out, you should. It is crazy how much they are tearing up right now!! And finally, I would like to thank all of you who frequent the Ranger Report website and listen to the Hague Sports Podcast (New episode tomorrow morning, pre recorded but still new, giving out the Drama Queen of the Year award) that we do every week. I greatly appreciate all of the followers and support that you all have given me over the past year, and I hope that as 2012 gets here, we can continue to enjoy discussions on our favorite topic, the Texas Rangers. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! See you in 2012!
