This from today's FW star telegram.. could another former yankee be wearing Texas pinstripes??? I found the rumor on espn.com and went to the their source and found this article... would this mean Kent could be trade bait? The Rangers play their first intrasquad game today. General manager John Hart is also bringing in all his professional scouts for a summit meeting to prepare for spring training. The two events are closely related. Intrasquad scrimmages begin the evaluation process for manager Buck Showalter and his staff. The scouting meeting begins the evaluation process of other teams as the Rangers start to consider what trades they'll consider during the spring. "There are some questions here," Hart said. "There are still spots open. This is when the process really begins." The top rumor of the spring has been the Rangers sending Alfonso Soriano to the New York Mets, either for second baseman Jose Reyes or pitching. The Mets' top pitching prospect is left-hander Scott Kazmir, whom the Rangers would love to get but is highly unlikely to be traded. Hart and assistant general manager Grady Fuson insisted there have been no talks with the Mets, and the Rangers don't seem motivated to trade Soriano. "We're completely happy with what we've got," Hart said. "We're not out there churning the trade waters. That's not something that we're interested in." That could always change as spring training progresses, but the Rangers insist their first mission is to evaluate what they have in camp, from the starting rotation and the bullpen to catcher and the outfield. There are some issues the Rangers will talk about and monitor. Clubs that need offense could call about Soriano. They could also call about Kevin Mench, who was close to being traded to the Cleveland Indians last year before he was injured. So the Rangers traded outfielder Ryan Ludwick instead for pitcher Ricardo Rodriguez, who is over his hip injury and has been impressive in camp. The Rangers have debated the possibility of trading Mench, although it could weaken them in the short-term in left field. Hart also likes Mench's bat and is leery about trading young offensive players, having done so with Sean Casey, Richie Sexson and Brian Giles in Cleveland. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the greatest need for offensive help and are loaded with pitching prospects. But they're unlikely to give up their two best prospects, right-hander Edwin Jackson and left-hander Greg Miller, even for Soriano. If the Rangers want to discuss pitching with the Dodgers, they'd most likely have to talk about Odalis Perez, their 26-year-old left-hander who has won 27 games during the past two years. Other teams could have pitching available at some point this spring. The Anaheim Angels have six starters after having signed Kelvim Escobar and Bartolo Colon in the off-season. The Rangers could be interested in right-hander John Lackey if he becomes available; he's higher on their list than Ramon Ortiz and Jarrod Washburn. The Angels will likely wait until the end of spring training and see if Aaron Sele is completely healthy. The Rangers also know the Houston Astros have extra starting pitching. Jeriome Robertson, a 26-year-old left-hander who won 15 games last year, was forced out of the rotation after they signed Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte to go with Wade Miller, Roy Oswalt and Tim Redding. Much of what's going on in the trade front is just talk and rumor. "It hasn't even started yet," Hart said. RANGERS OF INTEREST 1. 2B Alfonso Soriano. Yeah, Soriano to the Mets for 2B Jose Reyes or pitching. The Rangers say there have been no talks and that they want to keep Soriano. The Mets' top pitching prospect, Scott Kazmir, probably isn't available. 2. LF Kevin Mench. Teams looking for offense will inquire about Soriano and Mench. GM John Hart likes Mench's bat and is leery of trading good young hitters. 3. C Einar Diaz. The Rangers might trade Diaz if they feel rookie Gerald Laird is ready to take over. TEAMS WITH EXTRA PITCHING 1. Los Angeles Dodgers. They have the greatest need for offense and are loaded with pitching. Odalis Perez, a 26-year-old left-hander, has won 27 games the past two years. 2. Anaheim Angels. They have six starters, and the Rangers could be interested in 25-year-old right-hander John Lackey. 3. Houston Astros. Jeriome Robertson, a 26-year-old left-hander who won 15 games last year, is out of the rotation because of the arrivals of Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
Jeriome Robertson was the worst 15 game winner the astros have had. He is horrible. He had close to if not the highest run support in the NL. Alfonso Soriano was just swapped for Alex Rodriguez. There ISNT a chance in hell that the astros are able to get Soriano for Robertson. The writer of this must not have seen Robertson pitch last season and is just looking at the stats. There's a reason why a 15 game winner was forced outta the rotation over Tim Redding. He just not that good, plain and simple.
I dont know when you have a young strong line-up like the rangers have pitching in the american league and you can get a 26 year old lefty... hey may not be that good now...but you got to take what you can get... a Lefty starting pitcher is extremely valuable nowadays... Why does everyone hate on robertson??? so he had a lot of run support... he was a freakin rookie... its not like he was kerry wood or anything no one is making him out to be a superstar.. but he is a major league pitcher
There is absolutely no way that they trade Soriano for Robertson. There would have to be another pitching prospect or two thrown in as well. The depth in the minors is just now getting back to where it was and I can't see the Astros parting with them. On the other hand, Soriano is a great player and cheap (for the meantime). It would be next to impossible to say no to an offer for him.
Sorry Burt Hooton I didnt know you were the astros pitching coach now. Id like to see Roberton get traded win 20 games somewhere else... because he is DEVELOPING... everyone has to be good right out of the gates for you to like him... Pitchers develop slower than hitters...Soriano is a defnsive liability...thus decreasing his value... and the rangers sure as heck dont want to pay him after this season but the astros can... with biggio..Clemens.. Kent.. among others coming off the books after this season why wouldnt you want to put a superstar in that place to remain competitive.. you already have a solid lefty in hernandez at tripleA New Orleans... so robertson is expendable.. plus this is the rangers were talking about.. they make every dumb transcation possible... why wouldnt they make a dumn one with us...
The astros are going to have to use that money to give Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller big time extensions. They've also got a ton of money being deferred. And as long as Jeff Bagwell is on payroll making 17 million a year we can't afford it. McLane has gone over budget by 10 or 15 million dollars this year in hopes of making a run. I think next year will be drastically different.
It probably takes Wade Miller to even get a conversation started about Soriano. On one hand, since Wade is one of the guys due to get a big raise from us, it would make sense to trade him for Soriano (another guy who's going to get a raise). But no way we get Soriano for Robertson. If anything, it would be Miller and Robertson for Soriano. Edit: Just saw TJ's post. As much as I love Carlos' upside, I'd have to seriously consider that deal if I knew there was a way we could afford to keep Soriano, Berkman, Wade, and Oswalt long term.
Funny, I didn't realize Soriano was caucasian. I thought that was a prerequisite for any trade to the Astros
I'd do that in a heartbeat. What sucks is that we could've had him a few years back had Alou not invoked his no-trade clause.
Where does Soriano play. Has anybody figured that out yet. Our infield is set except for SS where the light hitting everett could sit down.
We don't need another power hitter that strikes out at a high clip - especially not at the cost of losing Carlos who has the stuff to be the best lefty in the division. We need speed, contact guys.
I hate to speculate, but if we did make the trade that Trader talked about, it might make sense for the Rangers to go after Carlos and Jeriome. The reason being that they are both lefties. The Ballpark is known for being a left-handed pitchers ballpark. So if you could get two lefties in your rotation that can neutralize the big left-handed bats in the line-up, I think you consider it. Here are their splits. Hernandez: In 101 ABs, he gave up 26 hits (.257 avg) 3 HRs (.416 slugging) with 16 Ks Robertson In 166 ABs, he gave up 42 hits (.253 avg) 5 HRs (.404 slugging) with 34 Ks
It would be nice to parlay Robertson and Miller into the Mets young SS Reyes. Robertson and Miller (or Hernandez) to the Rangers Soriano to the Mets Jose Reyes plus a prospect to the Astros
