For the second time this week, an ace has found a new club to pitch for, and once again it is not the Texas Rangers. This time the Royals traded 2009 Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke to the Brewers for a batch of young, top prospects. The Brewers also agreed to take infielder Yuniesky Betancourt off of the Royals hands.
It disappoints me that Greinke will not be a part of this team, but on the other hand I'm happy that we did not give up a ransom like the Brewers coughed up to get him. From the reports of what the Royals wanted from us, it would have ravaged the farm system to get Greinke.
The Brewers will have quite a top three on their rotation going into next season, with Greinke, Yovani Gallardo, and Shawn Marcum heading their staff. It's not quite on par with the Phillies, or even the Giants, but that's a team that's going to contend in the NL Central this year. The National League is really beefing up on quality pitchers. The AL might not score much in the All-Star Game in 2011, considering guys like Halladay, Lee, Greinke, Lincecum, and Cain are candidates to be there.
So what's left for the Rangers? For the trade market, there have been reports the Rays have listened to offers for Matt Garza, but they aren't sure they want to move him. The Indians have people calling about Fausto Carmona, who's coming off a great year, but had two lousy years prior to that. Neither of those guys are "aces", but they fit well in the top half of a rotation. There's also a chance there's talk going on for another pitcher that the reporters and rumor mill haven't caught wind of, and a surprise deal could be in the works. You never know.
In the free agent market, things have really thinned out. Here's a list of available free agent starters, listed alphabetically with their age in parentheses:
Brian Bannister (30)
Jeremy Bonderman (28)
Brian Burres (30)
Dave Bush (31)
Bruce Chen (34)
Doug Davis (35)
Justin Duchscherer (33)
Jeff Francis (29)
Freddy Garcia (35)
Braden Looper (36)
Rodrigo Lopez (35)
John Maine (30)
Pedro Martinez (39)
Kevin Millwood (36)
Brian Moehler (39)
Carl Pavano (35)
Brad Penny (33)
Andy Pettitte (39)
Nate Robertson (33)
Ben Sheets (32)
Ian Snell (29)
Jeff Suppan (36)
Jarrod Washburn (36)
Brandon Webb (32)
Todd Wellemeyer (32)
Chris Young (32)
Of those names, Pedro Martinez has said he's done, and Andy Pettitte is either retiring or going back to the Yankees, so he's not an option either. Jarrod Washburn sat out the 2010 season, and apparently he would only come back to play for the Angels, Mariners, or Brewers. Brandon Webb, Chris Young, and Jeff Francis are all coming off of injuries, and may not be 100% healthy going into Spring Training. I'd be interested in seeing if Brad Penny or Jeremy Bonderman would come cheap, but I doubt they would.
The "big" name still left, if you want to call him that, is Carl Pavano, but like I've said before, I don't consider him a guy I'd give a three-year, $12 million per season deal, which is reportedly what he wants. The Twins might bring him back, anyway.
It's looking more and more like the Rangers just might go with what they have to start 2011. Their rotation would consist of CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter, Derek Holland, and a handful of guys competing for the fifth spot. Scott Feldman had knee surgery after the season and will get a late start to 2011, or else he'd be the favorite to lock down that last spot.
The Rangers strategy might be to wait until the trade deadline and see who's available then, at which time they could try to make a deal. In December, more teams think they have a chance at competing, but by July, some teams know they are out of it and are ready to deal. I doubt there will be a pitcher of Cliff Lee's caliber available in seven months, but we might just have to wait and see.
I'm getting anxious. It's almost Christmas and the Rangers haven't done much to improve the club, and it's hard to tell what they've got in the works. I was hoping we'd see some action by now. With Greinke off the board, they'll have to turn their attention elsewhere.
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