The trade deadline has passed, and your last place Rangers stand pat. There was last minute speculation regarding both Neal Cotts and Alex Rios, and even a far out rumor of interest in Colby Lewis, but it seems deals could not be reached.
Is that good or bad?
The Rangers did add 3-prospective new pitchers in the trades for Soria, and Fraser. That does not seem equitable considering both Rangers traded had big league experience and a successful track record. A 4 for 2 split would have been better. Hopefully, these guys will replace some of what was traded for between Dempster and Garza the past couple of years.
The bottom line is that the Rangers did not improve but they really did not get any worse it would seem.
It would probably have been a mistake to trade Rios anyway. He was not going to generate Mark Texiera type interest or prospects, he still has another year option, and is just not that expensive for the second best hitter on the team. In watching games since the All Star break it appears the team is actually getting better. Don’t misunderstand, this is not a good baseball team, but what one would hope to see is steady improvement week to week and game to game. The seasoning some of these guys are getting is extremely valuable.
The bottom line is that as bad as the Rangers are this year, with a little better health and a little luck, they could be competitive next year. How they develop some of this young talent this year will have great bearing on what happens next.
For once even I agree with Daniels, if someone was not willing to over pay for our talent, then keep the talent!
