Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Rangers, Burke

Links for Monday... There's not a lot of optimism within the Dodgers' organization that the club will be able to add much payroll to improve its pitching staff, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told MLBTR's Tim Dierkes that the team's ability to make a deal depends on many variables. Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus considers Rangers executive A.J. Preller a future GM candidate, as Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com notes. Speaking of Rangers executives, Nolan Ryan may be about to hire former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker away from the Rays, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Former Astro Chris Burke is considering retirement, according to Michael Grant of the Louisville Courier-Journal. The Reds' Triple A club cut the 30-year-old over the weekend.