This kind of came out of left field (or should I say center) especially considering the supposed major league contract we are offering, but then I've been preoccupied lately.  Anyone know anything about this guy other than that he is a speed guy?  This would certainly give our positional prospect depth a boost plus I'm always on board with "elite prospects."

http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/foul_territory/2011/04/sources-rangers-attempting-to-sign-cuban-outfielder.html

With the July 2 international signing date rapidly approaching the Rangers have been unusually quiet.  In the past by this time we would have start to seen/hear some names of guys JD, AJ and the boys have interest in or been linked to.  Since they have been busy with the club and imminent sale I decided to pick up the slack.  Some of the top names that we are accustomed to being linked to are now associated with teams like the A's, Mariners, Blue Jays, and of course that thrifty team in NY, the Yankees.  

One of the top guys, RHP Ardonis Cardona, has apparently already agreed to a deal with Toronto for around 2.8 million, however this looks to be a fairly deep class with a lot of positional talent as usual in the OF and at SS.  There are a few 3B and C who would be good fits in the organization and as always several high upside pitching.  Here is a link of some of the top guys to get those of you like me who haven't heard much at all about some of the top talent on the impending market, http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/05/17/two-dozen-international-free-agents-worth-knowing/.

Who do you want the Rangers to go after?  Will the problems with the impending sale force JD and Co. to sit this one out?  While its tough to narrow it down, Veloz, Castillo, Abad, Fransua, and Truinfel (Carlos' little brother) all would look great in our minor league system from the Dominican contingent.  Mejias, Mata, and the catchers Gonzalez and Raga would also add premium talent at premium positions.

Per  Jorge Arangure: For those still following, #Rangers sign DR RHP David Perez for 425k. Perez is 6'4'', 180 lbs

I am looking for more info on him right now.

Some very brief info so far:  Dominican RHP David Perez - 86-89mph FB w/ CB & C/U; no links to any team

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In an effort to start a little trade discussion and more importantly, centralize this banter into one ongoing thread I offer this: I have started collecting rumors involving trading and our beloved Texas Rangers.  The rumor mill is just starting to get churning and some of the may have been brought up somewhere else, but again as I previously stated this is an effort to keep all this discussion or most of it anyways into one thread.

So here goes:

What I have heard is something we all know, is that nolan may prevent JD from selling some pretty decent trading chips.  We dont have the ammunition as last year, but there is still plenty to shoot around and see what sticks.  I think we all hope JD wins out if there really is any truth to this rumor since he has done at least as of late, an outstanding job rebuilding this club quickly while remarkably still fielding a competitive team.

First the rumors:

So far in the last few hours or so I found just a few tidbits from various places like mlbtraderumors.com which collects all the newspaper stories and reports.  That is probably the best site for those interested in doing their own research since a lot of what is out there is centralized into one easy read.  

So now the rumors, Texas seems to be the an early front runner for Dunn next season, especially if bradley is not kept.

A lot of teams need catcher, including boston, florida, and san diego.  No names thrown around on players from either teams except for kevin kouzmanoff of the padres.  He doesnt really excite me, but he is young, has a little pop, and is under team control for a while.  Seems like a laird for kouz deal might work, but like I said, this is a very vanilla kind of deal unless you are sold on kouz being at least above average at third.

Several teams are in the market for a relievers, particularly lefties with some being mentioned boston, both new york teams, and depending on who you believe florida.  Interestingly several of these teams have multiple needs that could be addressed in one deal including boston or florida who is running cody ross out in center until maybin is ready.  They say they are content but salty/laird plus byrd and maybe a reliever might get us a mlb ready pitcher seeing as how they have 5 already in their rotation between andrew miller, ricky nolasco, josh joshson (personal fave), top prospect chris volstad, and scott olsen.

I know this might have been a little lengthy, but its in keeping with the idea of centralizing all this upcoming trade talk into one big thread, so technically its fitting. Talk if you want, but please save the kvetching, I am only trying to help all those tiring of multiple trade threads.

what REASONABLE moves would you make to get this team either back into contention next year below I will list some options that could present themselves and weigh in on then with a final deal or no deal type finale.  

Hey it could be fun and since my last experiment didnt work that well I thought I would try a new one tonight.  Go easy on me, my ambien is taking forever to kick in and may be starting to so just please bare with me.

Here are my assignments for frisco, hope JD sees it my way.

pitchers- schlact, diamond, hunter, ballard, kiker.

I know the argument could be made that reed belongs here instead of kiker, however he is the cream of the top and some times you have to let the crop rise. Hopefully ballard starts stringing together better series of starts and moves up taking lizard/rowe out of a starting spot, then reed could join the rest up here as well and bump hodges out of a starting spot.

hitters-
c- emerson frostad, lets see if he can do it, if not call on manny later on
1b-majewski (sp?) / restko
2b-vallejo 
ss- elvis andrus – the king of errors… for now we hope
3b- whittleman
of- harrison, murphy, borbon
dh- tracy

this is where a lot of the young guys make the big jump, and some of the ones here could make another move up (i.e.) harrison, murphy, if we become sellers at the deadline.  Not sure how the organization still views frostad as a catcher so you could see pina up here and frostad playing a little first and C as our unconventional utility man.

Lets see if this will be any better in the newer format.  Since things seem to be a little slow I thought I would open up a little game that can be played by one and all and would be sure to spark some debate.  Spokane got off to a hot start and after reading the rest of shroomers recaps, which btw I am new to and loving it, I got to thinking about the upcoming promotions and further than that next years roster allocation. 

A little caveat to make this easier: only use starters and starting pitchers for now, if you feel strongly about a guy being on said team either in a platoon or utility type role or as a prominent reliever or spot/tandem starter than feel free to include them as well.  

Of course you can go as far as you want and allocate every player to a team, but do so without the thought that someone will be coming or going in a hypothetical trade you think makes sense.  As for unsigned players, Im going to put everyone on the honor system and assume we all can guesstimate who we will sign from this years draft.  Mine is in the works and will be there shortly, take the time and enjoy it, lets see how it works.

go ahead and disregard this thread as it is being moved into a better formatting lineup. you can find the threads above in updated versions that are pretty much the same thing but split up by their team. 

Im not sure if this is seventy five words yet, but I have a hunch that if I keep on typing, then I will soon find out that it is in fact able to meet said requirement, thus allowing my amendment to this original post to be seen by one and all.

the question is would you?  If you can do a deal similar to the johan deal where its a trade and sign and get him before everyone else gets a chance to negotiate with him, should JD pursue it?

He is the perfect type of pitcher in terms of what we need, a young left-handed power pitcher who is a legitimate ace who could anchor the rotation for years to come.  Whether or not we are buyers or sellers, this might be a deal to consider pursuing.  Heck we could still sell and use those pieces to get c.c.

I actually think I would prefer waiting and just trying to money whip him, since you probably would have to do that anyways trade or no trade and save the pieces it would take to get him. FWIW, Gammons sees us as a dark horse to acquire him and does not think it will take a colon-type deal to get him:

How about the Texas Rangers. General manager Jon Danielshas rebuilt the farm system, owner Tom Hicks has the cash, it's a left-handed ballpark, the fact that C.C. was throwing 98 mph in the ninth inning of his second to last start tells us he's completely healthy and the Rangers might be able to do a trade and sign for the No. 1 starter they need to compete in the next three years.

Since JD obviously checks in here and picks guys who we highly recommend, such as smoak, ross, and tim murphy. I think we should give him a few more to key in on in either the beginning stages of the draft as he did today or to keep in mind for later rounds when guys start to get picked who slipped due to signability concerns.

Tops on my list are isaac galloway (hs of), daniel webb (hs rhp ranked higher than ross by keith law and also from kentucky), nick maronde (hs lhp), jordan danks (of, ut) and taylor hightower (hs c).

Also some guys worth taking a late risk on are hs rhps sonny gray and alex meyer. gray has a firm commitment to vandy and meyer is a big signability concern with late first round ability who may sign if given that type of money.  Meyer might be worth a later round pick and try to sign him for that type of money at the risk of upsetting Bud "Sleepy" Selig. 

Thought I would start a new one with some good news.  A great answer for my first question ever answered in a live chat, this one from keith law.

Adam (Dallas, TX): "don't think he's high on Texas. "Do you mean hicks isnt high on texas or texas isnt high on him? Who do you think the Rangers pick at 11 and if it is cashner as some are predicting, do you think that is with the idea of stretching him out as a starter? 

 Keith Law: (2:47 PM ET ) I meant "Texas' list." Sorry, been on and off the phone this whole time. The Rangers won't take a pure reliever at 11, and I found out the Ryan seeing Cashner story was bogus. I've suggested Ethan Martin there, and I think if Friedrich is there they'd pop him. Not sure on Crow; I have a feeling Crow is headed for Houston. They want pitching, he's a tough sign, but is advised by the Hendricks Brothers, who have done a few deals with Houston before. 

Hope this puts an end to the cashner to texas rumors and instills some hope in JD... if its true.

Saw a rumor on yahoo sports that the orioles are looking to trade not only miguel tejada, but erik bedard as well.  The rumor said it was looking for 2-3 major league ready everyday players and would surprisingly look to possible trade bedard to get it.  Would you trade kinsler, blalock and laird and/or a prospect.

That would leave the lineup very barren meaning a potential callup of guys like metcalf, duran, or possible even some combination of hullet, vasquez and if healthy arias or signing a middling vet like lowell or that guy from NY who just opted out (j/k).  It would be a lot to give up and the lineup would be awful, but the rotation would be one of the best we ever had.