Rangers Won't Alter Youth Building Plan

The Rangers are doing a lot better than they were doing one month ago, causing some to believe that they would make a trade for a big name starter like Oliver Perez to help make a push into the playoffs. However, trading for Perez would cause the Rangers to trade one of their top prospects, along with one or two more. The Rangers have been building their minor league system up for the past several years in order to compete by 2009 or 2010. Eric Hurley and Matt Harrison are expected to be a part of the youth movement for pitchers, while Elvis Andrus and Chris Davis for the hitters. Obviously, there are players on the team now that will be there, but the reason the Rangers have not been big players on the market is because of their plan to build their team up through the draft and trades.

If the Rangers need a pitcher, they would be better off trading for someone like Livan Hernandez, who would not cost much, but would be just as effective as Perez or Bonderman. There are several teams already interested in Hernandez though, so if they believe they can contend, they better make a move soon.