Texas Rangers: Could Mike Cameron Be a Good Addition?

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When it comes to the Texas Rangers and the changes that need to be made in order to turn this team into a contender in the American League, the outfield isn't one of the places most people will talk about.

But when it comes to possibly bringing a veteran in, someone who already has American League experience, and a guy who's a proven hitter, I'm whole heartedly on board.

Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, Craig Gentry, and Endy Chavez currently make up the outfield depth chart for the team and you can add Mitch Moreland to the list as he also has experience at both corner spots.


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But outside of Hamilton and Cruz, the Rangers don't have a solid veteran hitter in the lineup who can not only do damage offensively but has the speed to get to any ball in the gap.

You can look at his numbers and be scared off from signing the 38-year old veteran but there's more to Cameron than his 94 at bats this season. Being with the Boston Red Sox and among all the talent that roster has, Cameron knew he wasn't going to get the chance to play every day.

Now that he's a free agent, Cameron is looking for a team he can land with who will give him a chance to prove he still has some life left in his legs.

He's not going to be the same kind of a player he was in his early days but he's still someone pitchers will think twice about with their pitch selection.

If you want to look at numbers, how about .266, Cameron's career batting average at Rangers Ballpark.

But Cameron's play has more to do with who he is as a ballplayer than any of his numbers will tell anyone who follows the game. He's a lot like Josh Hamilton. Cameron goes 110% and gives everything he has to the team he plays for.

They need a veteran presence in the outfield and someone manager Ron Washington can bring off the bench to provide a late inning pitch hitter or defensive replacement.

He's going to be a cheap option to sign and a guy they won't have to give up anything to bring on board. While the Rangers may not need another name on the outfield depth chart, Mike Cameron is certainly an option general manager Jon Daniels and CEO Nolan Ryan will think long and hard about.

Texas Rangers Notes: A Look at Who Could Be Dealt at the Deadline

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Imagine an office somewhere within Ranger's Ballpark. Inside sits general manager Jon Daniels, CEO Nolan Ryan, and the rest of the Texas Rangers' management staff.

They stare at a white board with several names on it. The silence in the room is deafening, each one with a different expression on their face and each trying to come up with a way to acquire one or more of these names.

You can just see the "war room" playing out just like that.



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 There are plenty of names the Rangers will look at in order to better their situation because they know they can't stand on what they have right now. They just aren't strong enough to sustain the stretch run to the playoffs.

The offense, at least at this point, is fine the way it is. You have speed on the base paths and power in the middle of the lineup. Your run production isn't lacking, at least not every night, so there's no reason to change that dynamic.

Where the problems lie for this team is in their pitching. From the rotation to the bullpen, Daniels knows there are changes that need to be made. More so in the bullpen than in the rotation.

“I think the bullpen will definitely be a focus, first focus,” Daniels told Jim Bowden and Casey Stern on MLB Network Radio. “You’re always open to anything. But that’s probably where we’ve spent the most of our time.”

The Rangers have plenty of trade chips to deal away, guys who aren't going to make a huge impact to the team down the stretch and guys they can afford to deal.

We've talked about the names I've wanted to bring in to help the Rangers' bullpen, but how about the guys they could deal away for those players? Who could the Rangers give up and not miss (a la Justin Smoak)?


C Taylor Teagarden - .190 (4/21) 7 K's

Taylor Teagarden hasn't been quite the player the Rangers had hoped he might become. After hitting .319 (15/47) in his first season with the Rangers back in 2008, Teagarden has struggled in each of his last three seasons with the team, hitting no better than .217 which came back in 2009.

But while he struggles in the big leagues, he has torched Triple-A pitching. Through 24 games (86 AB's) with Round Rock, Teagarden is hitting .326 with 9 HR and 18 RBI.

The San Francisco Giants are looking for catching especially after the season ending injury sustained by Buster Posey. They've tried the duo of Chris Stewart and Eli Whiteside but neither are cutting it, no pun intended, at the plate.

Teagarden is a name that has come up but I don't know that the Giants would give up anymore more than a mid-level prospect at this point. Teagarden's value just isn't high at all right now.


OF David Murphy - .233 (47/202) 4 HR 15 RBI 32 K's

David Murphy has, at times, come in to the Rangers lineup and given the offense the boost it's needed. He's come up with a big hit here or there. Unfortunately, it's not going to keep him out of the trade discussions at the deadline.

Murphy is a guy who is going to get interest from teams looking for an experienced veteran in their lineup and a guy who could play the outfield on an every day basis. Something he's not going to get with the Rangers. Especially with Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Mitch Moreland, Endy Chavez, and Craig Gentry all able to play the same positions.

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wrote back in late May how Murphy could be used by other teams in need of an outfielder.


OF Craig Gentry - .270 (17/63) 0 HR 6 RBI 9/9 SB

Craig Gentry has burst on to the scene with the Rangers in 2011 showing off his tremendous speed not only on the base paths but also in the outfield as well.

While he's not a guy who's going to hit 20-25 home runs every season, he is a guy who can get on base and make things happen. He's shown that in Texas this season going 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.

He's not a guy the Rangers are going to want to deal in any trade scenario because of the potential he's shown. But there are teams who are going to ask for the soon-to-be 28-year old outfielder.


1B/3B/OF Chris Davis - .269 (14/52) 3 HR 4 RBI 18 K's

Chris Davis is a guy who's getting a lot of talk as the trade deadline gets closer, especially from Ranger fans who fully expect him to be dealt.

The way he's playing at Triple-A Round Rock right now, he's doing everything to help his value as well as help out the Rangers play him up to teams in need of a power hitter who can play the corner infield spots as well as the outfield.

Davis has 19 home runs and 52 RBI this season for the Express. Unfortunately, that same production hasn't come out when he's been called up to the big leagues. But his minor league numbers have never translated to the big leagues. He doesn't face the kind of pitching in the AL West that he kills in the minor leagues.

But despite all that, he is going to get a lot of interest from teams who are looking for an every day player who can play both the infield and outfield.

The Rangers may use him in their biggest deal at the deadline.


SS Jurickson Profar - .269 (60/223) 7 HR 31 RBI

Jurickson Profar is a young prospect currently with the Hickory Crawdads, the Rangers Single-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League.

He is one of the top prospects in the Rangers' farm system and a guy who is going to get a lot of interest, especially from a team on the west coast. The San Diego Padres.

Padres' closer Heath Bell is getting a lot of interest from around baseball and especially from the Texas Rangers. Profar is going to be a guy the Padres are going to ask about and may even go as far as to require having him in the deal from Texas.

While I'm not one for "giving away the farm" for one player, the problem with Profar is being blocked by the position players in the big leagues right now.

Elvis Andrus currently occupies the short stop position and will probably be in a Rangers' uniform for at least the next four to five years if not longer. Ian Kinsler is at second base but there's a lot less guarantee with his future than Andrus' so the question becomes, can Profar make the transition from short to second if he makes it to the big leagues in two to three years?

He is going to be an interesting name to watch over the next few weeks.

Texas Rangers Ride Derek Holland, Big Bats to Win Over Houston

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The Texas Rangers, fresh off a road trip that saw them lose six of their nine games, came back to their home ballpark in Arlington, Texas looking to get back on track.

Another guy who was looking for a rebound was Monday night's starter, Derek Holland.

After giving up six runs through just five innings in New York against the Yankees, he took to the mound against the Astros and had one of his best performances of the season. He gave up three runs on six hits through seven and one-third innings and struck out four. Not a bad line for the young left-hander.

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It was a night Holland needed to have to give his confidence a little bit of a boost, especially since there had been talk recently that the Rangers were thinking of moving him back to the bullpen.

But it wasn't just Holland who had a good night. The Rangers offense exploded for seven runs, chasing Astros starter J.A. Happ before he was able to get out of the third inning.

Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre combined for five hits in nine at bats and drove in four of the Rangers eight runs on the night. They weren't the only ones turning in big performances.

Craig Gentry, the speedy outfielder, had a career high three hits on the night and Mitch Moreland added a solo blast in the home half of the eighth inning to put the game on ice.

While most will talk about the Rangers beating up on a bad team you can call it what you want. A win is a win and, right now, the Rangers will take any wins they can get to stay in front in the American League's Western Division.

But, as one person said inside the press box at Rangers' Ballpark, "the season doesn't begin for this team until after the All-Star break."

That might be true but the All-Star break isn't here yet and this team needs to tread water for a little bit longer. Make no mistake about it, the Mariners, Angels, and A's know exactly where Texas is and they are only one or two moves away from leaving them in the dust.

It's time to protect until general manager Jon Daniels and CEO Nolan Ryan can put together some moves of their own. Monday night was a good first step but this season is a long ways from over.