Quote (tuckerblair89 @ Jan 26 2011 08:43am)

So guys, is Napoli going to be Catching or playing first or DHing


or all of them?


Do you guys expect him to get a lot of playing time (for fantasy baseball purposes jajaja, he usually is a decet C option for the middle rounds)

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The Rangers plan on utilizing him as a power bat off the bench and someone who can play first base, catcher or designated hitter when needed.

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The Texas Rangers still want to trade Michael Young.

That’s an opinion, not a fact — or, at least, not a fact I can prove.

But connect the dots:

See which MLB stars earn the highest annual salaries , who's in the $100 million club and which player makes the most at each position.
• The Rangers acquired Mike Napoli from the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Napoli fits at two positions at which the Rangers intend to play Young — first base and DH.

• Young is guaranteed $16 million in each of the next three seasons — an exorbitant sum for a super-utility man and part-time DH.

• In May, Young will become more difficult to trade, attaining the right to veto any deal as a player with 10 years of major-league service, five with the same team.

If the Rangers are so intent on keeping Young, why did they pursue one free-agent DH after another — Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero — and then trade for Napoli?

Young will never say it, but he cannot be happy with the recent turn of events, not after accepting the move to DH and saying he would do whatever is best for the club.

The Rangers should trade him, clearing at least some of his money and giving him a chance to continue as a full-time regular at one position, whether it’s with the Rockies, Angels or some other club.

Just last Saturday, manager Ron Washington said at the Rangers’ Fan Fest, “Michael Young is the straw that stirs the drink here in Texas.”

Well, the Rangers sure have a funny way of showing it.

 
What should the Rangers do with Michael Young?  Find a way for him to play every day  Trade him  Use him wherever he's needed
Maybe they will find Young enough at-bats, using him at first against left-handers, DH against right-handers and as an occasional alternative to second baseman Ian Kinsler, shortstop Elvis Andrus and third baseman Adrian Beltre.

Kinsler frequently is injured. Andrus faded in the second half and could benefit from days off. First baseman Mitch Moreland is a rookie, and Napoli might be needed most as a catcher if Yorvit Torrealba and Matt Treanor falter.

That’s the most optimistic scenario for Young, getting playing time here and there. But who knows how Young will adapt to all this? At 34, he is too young to be a part-time first baseman, part-time DH.

The Rangers began talking about trading Young in December, when they started exploring a deal for Beltre. Since then, they’ve signed Beltre to a five-year, $80 million free-agent contract and elicited another team-first position change from Young.

Enough is enough.

Young is a square piece in a round hole.

A trade would not be easy to complete, but the Vernon Wells deal proved that nothing is impossible. The sooner the Rangers act, the better. Once Young gains full veto power in May, the team could be stuck with him. Young keeps saying he does not want to leave.

The Rockies represent the best fit. They wanted Young at the winter meetings. They still view him as a potential answer at second base, according to major-league sources.


The Rangers would need to include cash in such a deal. They would also need to take back Rockies infielder Jose Lopez, who is set to earn
$3.6 million and could assume Young’s super-utility role.

The Angels could be another possibility for Young — their miserable offseason continued Tuesday when Napoli landed with their chief AL West rival. It’s doubtful, though, that the Rangers would want to trade Young within the division.

The bottom line: Young no longer fits with the Rangers. He knows it.
The Rangers know it.

A trade would benefit everyone involved.

Quote (txO4 @ Jan 27 2011 07:27am)

Would be sad to see him go, but I think it's time.

Quote (Magnet @ Jan 27 2011 12:47am)

The more I think about it...hes 34..hes gonna decline soon...why not get some pitching prospects or starter

Quote (Magnet @ Jan 27 2011 01:23am)

Ken Rosenthal ^.^
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz

Quote (Frazzles @ Jan 27 2011 11:01am)

sum rockies

Quote (TritonV8 @ Jan 27 2011 01:13pm)

Young for Ubaldo

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NEW YORK -- Yankees president Randy Levine has fired back at Texas Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg, calling him "delusional."

The message was direct: Mind your business and keep your team off "welfare."

Levine made his comments in response to Greenberg opining that the Rangers kept the chase for Cliff Lee going long enough for the Phillies to sneak in and take Lee from the clutches of New York to the National League.

"I think Chuck is delusional," Levine told ESPNewYork.com. "He has been running the Rangers for a few minutes and seems to believe he's mastered what everyone else is thinking. I think he should let Cliff Lee speak for himself. I'll be impressed when he demonstrates he can keep the Rangers off welfare. What I mean is make them not be a revenue sharing recipient for three years in a row, without taking financing from baseball or advance money from television networks -- then I'll be impressed."

The Yankees and Rangers have been going at it in the board room and the media ever since the Rangers beat the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees were chapped that Greenberg said that Lee may not want to go to New York because of how the fans acted toward his wife.

The Yankees, including owner Hal Steinbrenner, went to the airwaves and responded, calling out Greenberg. Now, Levine is taking on Greenberg again because the Rangers' owner said he was glad that Lee ended up in the NL and not with the Yankees.


"We didn't know specifically that Philadelphia was in on Cliff until the day he agreed to terms with Philadelphia," Greenberge said Sunday a Rangers Fan Fest. "But all along we thought if a mystery team would come forward that there was a pretty good chance that it would be Philadelphia. We had three different meetings with Cliff and his wife and his agent in Little Rock. At the very first meeting he spoke very highly of the experience he had pitching for the Phillies. And it was clear that pitching here and in Philadelphia were the two most enjoyable experiences of his career. Even though Philadelphia was probably not in, they were always in the back of our mind.

"I think if we wouldn't have gone to Arkansas that last time, I think he was going to sign with the Yankees. We pried the door open a little bit to give ourselves another opportunity. And ultimately the Phillies were able to take advantage of that opportunity that we created. While we would have preferred that he would have chosen to go with us, we're real pleased that he's going to the other league."

Greenberg completed a purchase of the Rangers -- along with Nolan Ryan -- this year, but the deal was held up for quite some time, leading to the league coming in to help the franchise pay its bills.