Rangers to make a run at Zack Greinke

[The Horned Frog]

It is much more his speed. Minnesota is another popular rumor for a landing spot for him. Not sure what they would give up for him, but they would be a force if they had him and Liriano to back up that lineup.

Greinke and Liriano would be disgusting, to say the least. I also really could see Minneapolis/ St. Paul being his kind of town and a town that moves at his speed.

Ultimately, if they can't make a deal with Texas, I do see him winding up in Minnesota, or maybe St. Louis.

I think the Rangers are the front runners at this point, simply because (being as unbiased as I can) I think the Rangers farm system is slightly better than Minnesota's and steps ahead of St. Louis', and the Rangers might have more enticing chips to offer.

Another thing: while the Royals are irrelevent in baseball and pretty much have been a revolving door of instability since George Brett retired, I also wonder aloud if they would be willing to trade Greinke within the division, and have to face him as often as they would. Not saying they WOULDN'T by any means, just curiously speaking as to the possibility of it happening.

This winter is going to be very interesting for sure. Between Lee, Crawford, the Greinke trade possibility, lots going on...

Agreed. This may well be the busiest post-season newswise the Rangers have had in awhile. It's sure nice to see too.

 

[tko112204]

Ya, the thing the Cardinals have is Rasmus. TLR hates him for some reason, but he's a star. They don't really have anything to pair with him though. Not sure why they think they need him either... They should be more worried about supplementing the Little League lineup they have around Pujols and Holliday. Jay, Feliz, Schumaker, Ryan, those guys are terrible.

 

[tko112204]

I hate you and am going to continue hating on you until the day you die.

Well, as long as you're being reasonable.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Laughable that anyone thinks the Royals could get Andrus in a trade. :laugh2: :laugh2:


The Rangers have one of the deepest farm systems in the game. They could easily use Scheppers, Perez or Profar as the centerpiece, and then a couple of mid-tier pitching prospects like Luke Jackson and Wilmer Font.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Agree on them being controlled cheap. The downside of trading for Greinke would be the possibility that he COULD walk in 2012, and they'd essentially be giving up 5-6 years of Scheppers and Perez for potentially two of Greinke.

Thing is though, this isn't the Tom Hicks cash-strapped Rangers. This Ranger team is estimated to bring in a load of money, which would make the possibililty of keeping Greinke beyond 2012 very realistic.

The thing is Grienke doesn't want to play for the typical big market suitors in New York and Boston, therefore you probably don't have to get in a bidding war with them to retain him.

 

[Stautner]

Why wouldn't it be possible? Greinke would be a trade, the real money being spent would be Lee. I think Texas is a small enough no-pressure place to play for Greinke and if Texas lands Grienke, thats just another reason for Lee to stay in Texas.

That would be one nasty starting rotation.

This is a good point, however how long is Greinke's current contract going to be in place. That cojuld be a key factor because if his contract is up after the 2001 season and signing him after that is iffy or would come with a price tag in the neighrhood of what they sign Lee for, then it would be hard to let go of the kind of players you would have to include in a trade. If he is tied down for another 2-3 years, then letting go of some quality young talent might be acceptible.

 

[The Horned Frog]

Laughable that anyone thinks the Royals could get Andrus in a trade. :laugh2: :laugh2:


The Rangers have one of the deepest farm systems in the game. They could easily use Scheppers, Perez or Profar as the centerpiece, and then a couple of mid-tier pitching prospects like Luke Jackson and Wilmer Font.

The Rangers aren't trading Andrus.. Period.

And you're correct. They could trade Perez, Scheppers, Font and Jackson as a trade offer to KC that I honestly believe could not be topped. They could do this and STILL have the horses on the farm system to build.

 

[The Horned Frog]

This is a good point, however how long is Greinke's current contract going to be in place. That cojuld be a key factor because if his contract is up after the 2001 season and signing him after that is iffy or would come with a price tag in the neighrhood of what they sign Lee for, then it would be hard to let go of the kind of players you would have to include in a trade. If he is tied down for another 2-3 years, then letting go of some quality young talent might be acceptible.

It's up after 2012 and if I recall, there's a mutual option for 2013.

 

[Stautner]

It's up after 2012 and if I recall, there's a mutual option for 2013.

so, 2 years ....... well, if they couldn't win it all with Lee and Grienke within 2 years the window could start to close a little. I'm not sure where some of the current Rangers are in their contracts, but free agency could start to take a toll at some point. Who knows though, we have a strong farm system so others might be ready. Of course the Rangers could attempt to extend Greinke's contract after the trade, but that would be costly.

 

[The Horned Frog]

so, 2 years ....... well, if they couldn't win it all with Lee and Grienke within 2 years the window could start to close a little. I'm not sure where some of the current Rangers are in their contracts, but free agency could start to take a toll at some point. Who knows though, we have a strong farm system so others might be ready. Of course the Rangers could attempt to extend Greinke's contract after the trade, but that would be costly.

If you want to be technical, three.

It is a huge price to pay, but let's be honest. It was no more steep than what the Rangers paid for what essentially could have been (and still could be) a handful of months for Cliff Lee.

 

[Stautner]

If you want to be technical, three.

It is a huge price to pay, but let's be honest. It was no more steep than what the Rangers paid for what essentially could have been (and still could be) a handful of months for Cliff Lee.

But the third can be nixed by either party, right, so I don't think we can really count on that. Assuming Greinke pitches well he will be ready to opt out of the 3rd year and negotiate a much bigger deal.

As for it not being any more steep than what the team paid for Lee, I'm not really sure it wouldn't take more than we traded for Lee to get Greinke (Lee's contract was going to be up and he was not coming back, so Seattle had to trade him), and in this case we aren't just talking about the cost of Grienke, we are talking about the cost of Greinke AND resigning Lee. We are talking about 2 blockbuster deals in one off season.

 

[YosemiteSam]

A trade for Greinke would cost more than Lee did because he has time left on his contract. Lee was basically a half season rental.

I think if we landed Greinke, he would be much easier to keep when he contract is up than Lee is. Especially if we are winning. Greinke wants to pitch in a smaller no pressure market (even though Texas isn't exactly a small market) I think he would enjoy being here, especially with the team the Rangers currently have. They all get a long well and have fun.

Landing Greinke would definitely make Lee reexamine the the situation of possibly staying too. Lee, Grienke, Wilson, Lewis, whatever. That is four front line dominating starters. Then we have a whole host of young guys who all have proven they have something to offer. Not to mention there is talk of Feliz moving to the starting rotation in 2012.

Lee, Grienke, Wilson, Lewis, Feliz as your starting rotation for 2012? :laugh2:

 

[Stautner]

A trade for Greinke would cost more than Lee did because he has time left on his contract. Lee was basically a half season rental.

I think if we landed Greinke, he would be must easier to keep when he contract is up than Lee is. Especially if we are winning. Greinke wants to pitch in a smaller no pressure market (even though Texas isn't exactly a small market) I think he would enjoy being here, especially with the team the Rangers currently have. They all get a long well and have fun.

Landing Greinke would definitely make Lee reexamine the the situation of possibly staying too. Lee, Grienke, Wilson, Lewis, whatever. That is four front line dominating starters. Then we have a whole host of young guys who all have proven they have something to offer. Not to mention there is talk of Feliz moving to the starting rotation in 2012.

Lee, Grienke, Wilson, Lewis, Feliz as your starting rotation for 2012? :laugh2:

I like that rotation.

There is logic to the idea that if we made a deal for Greinke it would make Lee more prone to stay in Texas, but the reality is that we don't really know if money is going to be the primary factor or not. If it is, the Yankees are going to be tough to outduel. Even with winning as a factor, history shows the Yankees always find a way to be competative. If location is important, that may help out Texas. We just don't know what is going to count most.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I like that rotation.

There is logic to the idea that if we made a deal for Greinke it would make Lee more prone to stay in Texas, but the reality is that we don't really know if money is going to be the primary factor or not. If it is, the Yankees are going to be tough to outduel. Even with winning as a factor, history shows the Yankees always find a way to be competative. If location is important, that may help out Texas. We just don't know what is going to count most.

Yep, this is why I said I'm not going to worry about it. I'm going to pretty much not even think about the negotiations until they are over. When the card drops, what will be that.

 

[Stautner]

Yep, this is why I said I'm not going to worry about it. I'm going to pretty much not even think about the negotiations until they are over. When the card drops, what will be that.

I have to admit I have a little excitement flowing through me about the mere possibility of having both Grienke and Lee in the rotation. That potentially could be the top of the best rotation in baseball.

Gotta hedge your bets a little with Lewis and Wilson though. As outstanding as they were this season, each only has one successful major league season under their belts.