Major Baseball Trade

[NearHauteRed]

The Rangers have traded Ian Kinsler to Detroit for Prince Fielder

[General Feuerbacher]

Surely this is BS Prince has a bad attitude. His stomach weighs as much as Ian. That weight has to take a toll on his health

[Sean1980]

It's true. Not sure if this will be good or bad.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tigers-...022004120.html

[Chung Tran]

I'm for the trade... we can play Profar at 2B, Kinsler's uppercut wasn't working anymore, and he strikes out way too often... Fielder is massive, but he has power, the Rangers need that.. hard to believe all our sluggers from 2011 are gone (counting Cruz, the jury is still out on him)

[NearHauteRed]

Originally Posted by General Feuerbacher

Surely this is BS Prince has a bad attitude. His stomach weighs as much as Ian. That weight has to take a toll on his health

Actually, of all the non-pitcher 9+ year 200+ million dollar contracts that have been given recently (Teixeira, Pujols, A-Rod), Prince Fielder is the only one who has remained healthy and played 150+ games each year. Good thing for the Tigers, they got rid of that big contract and can move Cabrera back to first since he was a lower than average fielding 3rd baseman, plus they can resign him later now that they have money again and they have a legit 2nd baseman and top of the order hitter. Good thing for the Rangers, they finally have a legit power hitting 1st baseman since Tex left and would have signed him to a contract similar if he would have wanted to stay, but he did not and that is why they traded him to Atlanta to get Andrus, Harrison, Feliz and Salty. And, as Chung Tran stated, Profar can play a fantastic 2nd base, more range, be in the lineup regularly, so we can really see what he can do on a consistent basis, he is 10 years younger and of course, less expensive, at least for a few more years anyway!

Too be honest, the trade was great for both teams, but as a Ranger's fan, while Kins was a good leader and lead off hitter, his uppercut swing for the fences every time he came to the plate was annoying and he struck out a lot, something a lead off hitter is supposed to minimize. I am also excited to see how good Jurickson Profar really is and this up coming season should go a long way determining that.

[Guest050619-1]

Good analysis, NHR.....pretty much sums up what will happen now (REALLY glad we're going to see an Elvis / Profar tandem up the middle now.....they can be a special combo for the next 10+ years considering their ages and unique skills).

Anyway....back to this trade. Quite honestly, did anyone see this coming? We all knew Ian was on the trade block but did we really think something (positive) would happen?

Kuddos to the Ranger's staff.....maybe bringing Fielder's bat here is just the beginning (splash) they wanted to make as a "new ownership team" now that Nolan has been sent packing. Guess the question is now, are they done or is another big trade right around the corner with the Rangers involved?

[NearHauteRed]

One can never tell, but they do need to address the LF and C positions as well as another legit starter or 2. I would love to see them send Murphy (FA) and possibly Moreland packing, Moreland was a great defensive 1st baseman, but his more off than on hitting and lack of offensive production (he hit 9th in most of the lineups) was just not cutting it and far outweighed his defensive skills at 1st. As far as Kinsler goes, he was going to be dealt because it was either him or Profar and Daniels is not stupid! What the Ranger's received in return for him is surprising in a good way and usually a superstar caliper player is dealt to a team for prospects that you hope will be good in 3 years or so down the road, but JD has a knack for analyzing other teams and knowing what they want to do and when he saw the problem in Detroit with Cabrera and Scherzer contracts expiring, knowing they have no money to resign them, and he needed power and a 1st baseman, so he took Fielder off their hands, and the Rangers have a middle of the other guy to protect Beltre so he will probably be hitting 5th so it is a win-win, but we will see. I can see Profar leading off now and he is fast and can steal bases, has power and most importantly, he is 20 years old!

[Guest090620]

NHR...you hit the nail on the head. My first reaction on the trade was sadness since I really like Kinsler. But after sitting down and thinking about it, the trade really makes sense. Ranger management was determined to fit Profar in somewhere. Fielder wasn't happy playing in the expansive ballpark in Detroit. His numbers were down this year, but I think playing at the ball park will help his numbers. As far as Moreland goes...he actually came into the league as an outfielder. I think what the Rangers were saying to him is we gave up on Justin Smoke & Chris Davis and gave you the job. And he just hasn't produced like they had hoped. So weather they keep Moreland or not remains to be seen . As far as another blockbuster deal goes, I really think there is one more out there. My real hope is that they can come to terms with Cruz. The Ranges learned last year, you can't lose Nappoli, Hamilton, Young & Cruz without going down in the power department. Still hope they make a big effort to sign David Price. Darvish & Perez are solid but for me Holand has been the biggest frustration. And you are right, another catcher would help. If we end up not signing Cruz we would still need another outfielder in that rotation, since Murphy now is a Cleveland Indian (YEAH!!!). Can you tell I was not a David Murphy fan? And as far as the bullpen goes. I know they are banking on the fact that Feliz has done this before. Sheppers had a great year but was not the main closer. That takes a diffrent mind set. Closer are a unique in themselves. Having coming in night after night in the worst situations, is a lot different than being the set up man. This is just my .02 worth.

[NearHauteRed]

Nelson Cruz would be a great signing and I am sure the Rangers want him back, but he will demand a very high salary and for at least 5+ years. With his power numbers, that would be great, but his SO ratio is pretty bad. He has been offered a 1 year 14 million dollar contract which he will turn down, however, he has expressed interest in staying with the Rangers and in so doing, I think he would be a great DH and pay RF a few times a month to give Rios a breather. Unless another deal is done, and because Nathan declined the player option on his contract making him a FA, I want to say Feliz is the closer to start the season and Scheppers will be groomed to be the long time closer as he has the stuff to do so. Another blockbuster deal by the Rangers will be highly unlikely as I do not think that there is a super stud on the Rangers roster they want to give up. Only scenario I see is waiver wire transactions or minor league prospects for a #3 pitcher or an established closer. What I thought was a riot is the day after their last game losing to Tampa, they refused the team option of Lance Berkman!

[Guest090620]

Couldn't agree more on everything you said. Cruz had already turned down the 1 year offer. Just wishful thinking on my part with Cruz. It's not just the bat...it's the arm too. Chances are we will not sign him. So we would still need a very solid 4th outfielder. I am hoping for the best....lol.

[Ramjet]

IMHO it was a good (win-win) trade. Moreland will be a throw-in in a future trade. Murphy will be gone too.

[NearHauteRed]

We have a great CF tandem with Martin and Gentry, and either could also play LF, but I would rather have an every day LF, and bring back AJ to catch would be fantastic if we cannot get McCann, with Benji Molina the new 1st base and catching coach, whoever it is will be learning from one of the best. David Murphy is close to signing with Cleveland and I can bet he will not get even half the money per year he got with the Rangers, he has no more pop in his bat, he is a lower .200 hitter and he has no speed on the bases for an outfielder and his defensive skills are average at best, which is why in the late innings of games he started, he was pulled for Gentry to play LF.

[prepare4trouble]

It's a bitter sweet trade. I loved Kinlser and will miss him a lot but I did get tired of all the upper cut pop ups and how he would get all pouty and pissy when he did.

I'm excited to see what Prince can do in this ballpark, I think his numbers are about to go way up!

Getting Cruz back would be very nice, just depends on how much he'll cost. I'd rather get Nathan back if I had to choose just one.

[NearHauteRed]

By the numbers, Nathan is one of best closers in the game, but if you look at his history with the Rangers, most of the time he was brought in to start the 9th and with a multiple run lead to get those saves and late in the year he had too many walks! A large percentage of the times he received the call in the middle of an inning with runners on, at least one of the runners scored, but not to give up the lead, so the runs would not be charged to him thus his low ERA.

[Whirlaway]

Love off season baseball; good trade.....Andrus next to be traded ?

Move Profar to SS........and get some pitching............?

Can't believe Murphy got $10 million for a 2-year deal.....I liked Murphy, but he was a zero in the contribution department.