Share
Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
Depending on the numerous Web site or TV reports generated last week at the general managers’ meetings, the Texas Rangers could sign free agent John Lackey.
Maybe, reports say, the Rangers will deal Kevin Millwood for Milton Bradley. With Toronto ready to dump Roy Halladay, the Rangers could be the team that lands the former Cy Young winner.Those reports can be fun to read, and speculating on a pivotal off-season move helps the off-season pass by a little quicker.But apply a dose of reality. The Rangers might be approached about a deal, and general manager Jon Daniels and crew might actually consider how to make something happen.In most cases, though, any contemplation this off-season will end quickly. The Rangers just don’t have enough money to add a player like Lackey, Halladay or Bradley.Lackey, an Aledo resident, is the top starting pitcher available on the free-agent market and will command eight figures. Halladay would cost the Rangers a chunk of young talent and another chunk — $15.75 million for this season.The notion of bringing back Bradley is a little more feasible, but only if his current team eats most of the salary. But the Chicago Cubs don’t seem willing to do that.Even if they did, though, there’s some thought within the Rangers’ organization that Bradley wouldn’t be welcomed back with open arms. Team personnel like how Bradley played the first half of 2008, during which he blossomed into an All-Star.But comments he made in March — when he admitted to not playing certain days to protect his stats — were heard loud and clear by the Rangers. And they weren’t exactly thrilled.Ultimately, it comes back to money, and the Rangers aren’t in a position to add Bradley for anything more than $5 million a year. If that.No solution to the money woes will be had this off-season. The club is for sale, and a new owner’s wallet won’t be in place this winter, even though the window to submit final bids opens Friday.The Rangers aren’t completely handcuffed. They will be smart shoppers this winter, as they’ve been the past few years. Any addition will be a player who can be signed for an incentives-rich deal with a low base salary.Vladimir Guerrero could very well fall into that category. So could Jermaine Dye. Both would fill the Rangers’ No. 1 off-season need for a middle-of-the-order presence from the right side.Those names could fall on the Rangers’ front burner of the Hot Stove league. So could Marlon Byrd, who enjoyed a career year for the Rangers in 2009.All of them will test the market, and even though manager Ron Washington loves Dye and Byrd loves the Rangers and Guerrero thrives at Rangers Ballpark, there are no guarantees that any of the three will end up in Arlington in 2010.But keep reading about the Hot Stove league. Please. Newspapers need the support.Be wary, though, of the names linked to the Rangers. It all comes back to money, and the Rangers don’t have all that much to throw around.Jeff Wilson, 817-390-7760
@Nyx.CommentBody@