With the news that ace Colby Lewis is heading to the DL for the rest of the season, it becomes more imperative that the Rangers find a pitcher before the deadline. Just as they were able to get Cliff Lee in 2010, acquiring a pitcher to bolster the rotation could get the Rangers over the hump. And sure enough, the Texas Rangers trade rumors center around starting pitching.
Greinke could end up back in the AL.
Currently, Neftali Feliz is rehabbing in the minors, Roy Oswalt has a bad back, and Derek Holland is not pitching as good as he had last year and earlier this year. With just Yu Darvish and Matt Harrison as the only reliable starters at the moment, the Rangers do not have enough to achieve their goal of winning the Wolrd Series.
As mentioned in an earlier article, the Rangers were targeting Cole Hamels and Zack Greinke as probable acquisitions at or before the deadline. The Rangers management team has expressed solid interest in acquiring Hamels over anyone else. If that happens, it will give the Rangers an extra lefty arm that has a reputation of being dominant. That could be huge when facing some of the big left-handed bats in the American League. However, there are reports that Hamels may be close to signing an extension with Philadelphia. If that happens, it leaves very few options for the Rangers.
They would target Greinke if the above scenario did happen, but Matt Garza and Francisco Liriano are other names being thrown around in the Rangers staff offices. As of now there is no Ryan Dempster trade to the Braves either, so the Rangers could also swoop in at the eleventh hour and take Dempster if they need to. They have their options, but both management and myself think the best option would be Cole Hamels.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out with the deadline one week away, but, no matter what they do, it will be best for the team, and keep them near the top of the MLB Power Rankings.
The Rangers have been solid all season. They have consistently kept the best or second-best record for most of the year. Credit their offense, their defense, and their pitching for that. Whatever they are doing, it is working, and that’s why no matter what move they make, Rangers fans can be confident that it will be the best move for the team.
Original Story:
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July 25, 2012
