Transaction Round-Up: Treanor, McCarthy, Matsui

Though Cliff Lee's decision will dominate the Rangers news, there has been other action with the Rangers and in the A.L. West today that deserves a mention.

As Jon Daniels told us before the start of the Winter Meetings, Matt Treanor has officially been re-signed and will go into the 2011 season penciled in as the back up catcher for newcomer Yorvit Torrealba.  Treanor should see significant playing time, since Torrealba usually only catches 90-110 games per season.  He had become CJ Wilson's personal catcher by the end of last season, so if that trend continues he should get to start about twice a week.

Treanor's contract is for one year and $850,000.  The 40-man roster was full before his signing, so the Rangers had to clear roster space and did so by removing pitcher Ryan Tucker and outrighting him to the minors.  He has cleared waivers and remains in the organization.  Tucker was added on a waiver claim during the first week of October, but nobody noticed because the Rangers were playing the ALDS against Tampa Bay.  With the addition of Treanor, the roster remains at 40.

In other news, righthander Brandon McCarthy has agreed to join the Oakland A's.  He gets a one-year deal with a base salary of $1 million, but he could earn $1.6 million more in incentives.  He did not appear in Arlington at all in 2010, and spent significant time on the disabled list in Oklahoma City.  McCarthy was acquired by the Rangers in one of Jon Daniels' poorest moves, when the Rangers sent lefty John Danks and another pitcher to the White Sox to get him.  Danks has turned into a very reliable pitcher in Chicago, while McCarthy was inconsistent and injury prone for the Rangers.

The A's were busy today, also agreeing to sign Hideki Matsui to be their new designated hitter, pending tomorrow's physical.  I bring this up because the A's were linked in many rumors to Vladimir Guerrero, but now there is one less DH vacancy in the league, and his leverage drops a little more.  It appears now that the Rangers main opponents for Vladdy's services may be his former employers, the Angels.  They missed out on Carl Crawford and would still like to add a bat to their lineup.  The Orioles have also been reportedly interested in Vlad.

I've updated the Transaction Tracker to reflect the Treanor and McCarthy moves.  Oh, and that other guy, too.