Carlos Lee to the Rangers

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Breaking news on ESPN.com.



The Brewers are trading slugger Carlos Lee to the Rangers as part of a multi-player deal, ESPN's Keith Law has learned. The Brewers are sending Lee, Nelson Cruz and a player to be named to Texas for reliever Francisco Cordero and outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix. Both teams are working on the medicials.

[leemajors]

good trade for the strange, why couldn't the stros make this kind of deal? lidge, wilson or lane and a prospect or two? jeez.

[MoSpur]

The Rangers are serious about making the playoffs this season. I hope they do.

[LEONARD]

Hell of a trade!!

Lee is a stud...

Cruz is a top level prospect...probably the best prospect the Rangers have now (non-pitching).

Coco has sucked ass this season...Nix has been in AAA...and Mench has been "OK"...

[TxJudsonRocketTx]

Mench had that one stretch a couple of months ago with 7 straight games with a homer and since has done nothing, and Cordero well he hasnt done anything of merit this year at all

[Mr Dio]

Hell of a trade!!

Lee is a stud...

Cruz is a top level prospect...probably the best prospect the Rangers have now (non-pitching).




Ditto!

Is LEE still under contract for next yr?

[leemajors]

Ditto!

Is LEE still under contract for next yr?

nope.

[King]

Lee just turned down a 4/48 contract from the Brewers. If the Rangers can re-sign him, they're going to have a stacked lineup. Otherwise, it was an expensive three month rental.

[Mr Dio]

Teixeira, Kinsler, Blalock, Young, & Lee.
5 good to very good bats.

So, what might the new batting order look like?
Is Lee a better #3 or #4? #5?

[Mr Dio]

He is from Panama right?
So, he will prob sign with a sun belt club that offers something in the neighborhood of the highest bidder, no? TEX has plenty of humidity to remind him of home too. So do the FL clubs though. :lol

[MoSpur]

I think he will fit in well at the #3 spot in the lineup.

[Mr Dio]

I think he will fit in well at the #3 spot in the lineup.


With Blalock or Teixeira @ #4?

[Mr Dio]

Regardless, Lee , Teixeira & Blalock are an awesome 3some.

[King]

I'd bat Lee, Tex, Blalock

[j-6]

This isn't that bad of a deal for either team. Mench has been platooned most of the last two seasons, Nix has been given enough chances, and Coco first lost his job as closer and was on the verge after the NY series of losing the setup man job. Doug Melvin, the Brewers GM, had all three of these guys in his stable when he was the Rangers GM. Maybe he can utilize them in a manner that the Rangers haven't been able to.

Obviously the Rangers need a big bat as the Wilkerson experiment is a bust and Tex/Blalock aren't producing in the same manner as the last two seasons. It would still be nice to have Soriano, but Carlos Lee is plenty to get excited about.

[FromWayDowntown]

I guess that putting Lee into a specific slot in that lineup depends on how married Showalter is to having Kinsler hit 2nd. If he keeps Kinsler in the 2 spot, I can't see him dropping Young backwards. So, I'd expect that Lee will hit 4th, Teixiera will drop down to 5th, and Blalock will hit 6th -- maybe:

1. Matthews
2. Kinsler
3. Young
4. Lee
5. Teixiera
6. Blalock
7. Derosa
8. Wilkerson
9. Barajas

I guess another question is where El Caballo will play and who will play RF for the Rangers.

[LEONARD]

I guess that putting Lee into a specific slot in that lineup depends on how married Showalter is to having Kinsler hit 2nd. If he keeps Kinsler in the 2 spot, I can't see him dropping Young backwards. So, I'd expect that Lee will hit 4th, Teixiera will drop down to 5th, and Blalock will hit 6th -- maybe:

1. Matthews
2. Kinsler
3. Young
4. Lee
5. Teixiera
6. Blalock
7. Derosa
8. Wilkerson
9. Barajas

I guess another question is where El Caballo will play and who will play RF for the Rangers.

I like Lee at #4 also...

Buck said on the radio this morning that Cruz will start in RF tonight against the Royals...

[T Park]

Fantastic trade.

Trading off minor league stiffs like Nyx and Mench along witha horrible reliever like Cordero, for a stud like Lee?

Awesome awesome trade.


Im just pissed the Cardinals didn't get him :lol

[FromWayDowntown]

Buck said on the radio this morning that Cruz will play against the Royals...

They must really, really be down on Wilkerson if they're going to bring up Cruz immediately to play.

It will be interesting to see how they deal with Lee. While the Rangers needed an upgrade from the relative dreck of Mench and Wilkerson as regulars, I'd have thought some of that could have been mitigated by finding some arms that could help out down the stretch, either a rotation arm or a couple of middle men for that pen.

I guess they also now have to figure out who will set up Otsuka at the end. Cordero was struggling in that role, but I don't really know who else in that pen is qualified to hold down that job -- maybe Benoit, but that strikes me as a bit of a stretch for a team that has just made a move hoping to rise up in the pennant race.

[j-6]

Wilkerson sucks - has 100+ strikeouts in less than 300 AB's. Hard to believe that this is the vaunted leadoff man the Rangers got for Alfonso Soriano. I guess he can keep DHing in a Lee-Matthews-DeRosa outfield, but he needs to get shipped out next. Can Barajas DH?

[FromWayDowntown]

I hadn't heard much about Cruz. He's got pretty good minor league numbers, particularly at Nashville this year -- 20+ HR, .300+ BA, OPS hovering around .800 and 15+ SB. I can't imagine he's seen as a fantastic prospect (this is already the 3rd time that he's been traded -- from the Mets to the A's and then from Oakland to Milwaukee for Keith Ginter); if he were, I'd be hard-pressed to understand why Milwaukee gave him up along with Lee in order to take on the dreck that they got from the Rangers -- Mench is capped out and Nix might not ever be anything more than a utility outfielder. Cordero is interesting to Milwaukee, too, but I'm guessing he may step right into the closer's role, as Turnbow wouldn't seem to be able to get through the SpursTalk softball team these days. Kolb can't really be seen as a great option after his implosion in Atlanta last year.

My guess is that Cruz a prospect with decent upside, but I have a hunch that they think he was never going to be better than Geoff Jenkins or been blocking another kid in the Brewers' system, but I can't put my finger on who that might be.

[LEONARD]

Cruz starting in RF tonight, so we'll get to see what he can do... :fro

[Melmart1]

Wilkerson sucks - has 100+ strikeouts in less than 300 AB's. Hard to believe that this is the vaunted leadoff man the Rangers got for Alfonso Soriano. I guess he can keep DHing in a Lee-Matthews-DeRosa outfield, but he needs to get shipped out next. Can Barajas DH?
You would be much better having Laird the backup catcher as DH. At least he can do something other than pop the damn ball up.

[LEONARD]

John Daniels will be on at 3:35

http://theticket.com/listen.htm

[tlongII]

This was a good deal for the Rangers. The M's made a nice acquisition as well by picking up Ben Broussard from Cleveland and dumping Carl Everett (who I never wanted anyway). The AL West should go down to the wire.

[FromWayDowntown]

This was a good deal for the Rangers. The M's made a nice acquisition as well by picking up Ben Broussard from Cleveland and dumping Carl Everett (who I never wanted anyway). The AL West should go down to the wire.

If Broussard can hit left-handers. He's hitting .130 against them to this point in 2006 and .222 for his career.

It's probably addition by subtraction to jettison Everett, but they need Broussard to hit.

[tlongII]

If Broussard can hit left-handers. He's hitting .130 against them to this point in 2006 and .222 for his career.

It's probably addition by subtraction to jettison Everett, but they need Broussard to hit.

No. We picked up Eduardo Perez to hit left-handers (over .300). Broussard will face righty's only.

[yavozerb]

Teixeira, Kinsler, Blalock, Young, & Lee.
5 good to very good bats.

So, what might the new batting order look like?
Is Lee a better #3 or #4? #5?

1. Mathews
2. Young
3. Lee
4. Tex
5. Hank
6. Ian
7. Cruz
8. whoever is catching
9 Wilkerson

[Melmart1]

1. Mathews
2. Young
3. Lee
4. Tex
5. Hank
6. Ian
7. Cruz
8. whoever is catching
9 Wilkerson
What about DeRosa in this lineup? Buck has made it clear he considers him and everyday player now. Of course he has been slumping fairly bad lately, but I don't see Buck pulling him for that.

[Brad Wilkerson]

thank god we gotta hitter who can cover my ass every time i whiff