Texas Rangers Notes: C.J. Wilson, Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli

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Not a lot to talk about today by way of trade rumors but I will give you one interesting nugget I was able to scrounge up. The rest is just little odds and ends from the Rangers' walk off win over the Astros on Tuesday night.

C.J. Wilson Struggles With Command


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For a guy who took over the role of the 'ace' in the starting rotation, C.J. Wilson has handled the duties better than most expected he would.

Once in awhile, he can get away with struggling once in awhile, so long as the Rangers come out with a win. Such was the case on Tuesday night against the Houston Astros. Wilson gave up four runs and 11 hits through six and two-third innings.

Luckily, his offense picked him up thanks to a game-tying home run from Josh Hamilton and a game winning walk-off blast from Mitch Moreland. His second home run in as many nights.



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Mitch Moreland Swingin' a Sweet Bat

After Monday night's 455-foot bomb, Moreland admitted he did watch it just a little bit. On Tuesday night, there was no doubt he admired his work on another bomb to right field, this one of the walk-off variety in the 11th inning.

The very first pitch Moreland saw he sent deep into the Texas night and about 15 rows back in the second deck. Sending his teammates jumping dugout railing and over to home plate to await the impending celebration.

It was Moreland's second blast in as many nights. If his bat stays hot, the Rangers could get on a much needed winning streak as they head towards the All-Star break.

Mike Napoli on the Trading Block?


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Last week, CBS Sports' Danny Knobler had a blog talking about the San Francisco Giants' interest in Rangers' catcher, Taylor Teagarden.

A week later, Knobler seems to think the Rangers will deal Mike Napoli to the Giants once he's ready to be activated from the disabled list.

I can see the Rangers dealing Teagarden especially seeing the kind of struggles he's had with the big club. I don't see them dealing Napoli at all and there's no reason to do so.

He's a better hitter than Teagarden and Napoli can not only back up starter Yorvit Torrealba behind the plate but also give manager Ron Washington a decent defensive option at first base.

The Giants need catching especially after the season ending injury to Buster Posey. But don't expect the Rangers to engage them where Napoli is concerned. Unless there's a solid No. 2 or No. 3 starter coming back in the deal.

Texas Rangers Notes: Holland, Lowe, Teagarden, Guthrie

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The Texas Rangers continue to struggle in New York. After another 12-4 loss on Wednesday night, they have now dropped six of their eight games against the Yankees this season.

After Alexi Ogando gave up six runs through 1 2/3 innings on Tuesday, Derek Holland wasn't much better. The young right hander gave up six runs on seven hits, walked five and gave up two home runs through five innings of work.

Holland struggled right off the bat (no pun intended) and was unable to gain any control of his pitches.

After Holland departed, reliever Mark Lowe would take over and would have just about as much success as Holland had. Lowe gave up three runs through just an inning of work, both coming on home runs including a two-run shot from Mark Teixeira, his second of two home runs on the day.

Combined between Ogando and Holland, Ranger starters have given up 12 runs through just 6 2/3 innings of work over the last two nights.



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 Taylor Teagarden, who was called up from Triple-A Round Rock after Mike Napoli went on the disabled list, is apparently being looked at by the San Francisco Giants according to Danny Knobler of CBS.com.

Since the Giants lost Buster Posey for the season, Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart have combined for a .180 batting average with no home runs and just two runs batted in through 19 games.

Knobler told me he wasn't sure if the two teams had engaged in talks but did confirm the Giants' interest.

Another trade partner, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, could be the Baltimore Orioles. Sullivan, in his mailbag column, talked about Chris Davis being someone Baltimore would look at with their need at first base. Two names Sullivan mentioned coming back to Texas were relievers Jim Johnson or Koji Uehara.

However, if I'm Texas, there's only one guy I'm looking at it's 32-year old right hander Jeremy Guthrie. Don't be fooled by his record this season (2-8) but focus more on the 3.77 ERA. He plays for a bad Orioles team and coming to Texas could provide the spark he and this pitching staff needs.

Sullivan also mentioned the Rangers being willing to trade anyone if the right deal were to come along. He said the Rangers would put Nelson Cruz on the first plane to Seattle if it meant Felix Hernandez was coming back in the deal.

That kind of deal isn't going to happen but you get the point he's making.