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CHICAGO — A baseball official has joked this week at the general managers’ meetings that the No. 1 thing the Texas Rangers are trying to find this off-season is an owner.
But seriously, folks, the Rangers want to find a middle-of-the-order bat, preferably a right-handed one, and some bullpen help.But, seriously, the sale of the club and the prospect of having a new owner in place this off-season might affect how effectively the Rangers are able to fill out their 2010 wish list.Final bids from three potential owners are due this month, but a transfer of ownership from Hicks Sports Group to Jim Crane, Dennis Gilbert or Chuck Greenberg might not be completed until January.Or later.However, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Tuesday that the team will be conducting business as it has in the past. That means decisions on player acquisitions will continue to require the approval of Tom Hicks until the sale is completed."Right now we’re going to operate status quo," Daniels said. "Any time there’s a change in leadership, there’s a potential for some other change."But Tom is committed to our plan, and to the degree I’ve had dialogue with the three potential owners, they all have a similar sentiment." While Daniels and other club officials have a game plan, the uncertainty surrounding the ownership could make signing free agents more difficult.Agents here have wondered how much money the Rangers have to spend this off-season and don’t know how committed a new owner will be to their clients’ futures."In my job, you’ve got to have someone to talk to," agent Scott Boras said. "You have to know who to talk to, and you have to know what you’re talking about. So, knowing the parties and if they know how to answer all the questions, I think that’s necessary."The Rangers currently can negotiate only with free agents who were on the roster last season. But they can send out feelers about other players who have filed, and Daniels has detected a level of curiosity about the ownership.Daniels has received positive feedback while hiring a new hitting coach and making additions to the front office.He hopes the same enthusiasm from the additions will be shared by potential additions to the roster. "We were able to make some hires," Daniels said. "People are excited about the opportunity here to leave other organizations because they believe in the personnel and the product on the field."More on BradleyThe Rangers met with the Cubs about acquiring Milton Bradley, who has fallen out of favor in Chicago only a season after becoming a first-time All-Star in Arlington. But the Rangers won’t be able to take on Bradley unless the Cubs agree to pay at least half of the $20 million owed to him over the next two seasons.Bradley, who led the American League in on-base percentage in 2008, isn’t available in the upcoming free-agent pool. He would be quite a bargain at $5 million a year if he were able to repeat his 2008 production, and his patience at the plate could have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the lineup.
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