The Rangers, according to a Major League source, have acquired second baseman Cristian Guzman from the Nationals for prospects.  Guzman would give the Rangers a front-line second baseman to fill in while Ian Kinsler is on the disabled list with a strained left groin muscle.

Guzman, an 11-year veteran, is hitting .282 with a .327 on-base percentage and a .361 slugging percentage in 89 games and 346 at-bats.

A Rangers source said, the club is "working on a deal for him but nothing official."

According to a source the Rangers will trade two minor league pitchers to the Nationals - one of those pitchers is Ryan Tatusko, currently at AA Frisco

Rangers first baseman Chris Davis has been sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Davis served as the Rangers first baseman after Justin Smoak was traded to the Mariners for Cliff Lee. And when second baseman Ian Kinsler was placed on the disabled list early Thursday morning, the Rangers called up Mitch Moreland from Oklahoma City.

Manager Ron Washington penciled Moreland into first base while batting eighth, and the rookie responded with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate while flying out to the wall in centerfield in one of his two outs.

Moreland will serve as the club's left-handed hitting first baseman after the Rangers traded for right-handed infielder Jorge Cantu late Thursday afternoon.

 

                                                                           -Chris Cox

The Ranagers are closing in on a deal with the Florida Marlins for IF Jorge Cantu. The Rangers would send RHP Evan Reed (currently at AA Frisco) and RHP Omar Poveda (currently on the 60-Day due to surgery) to Florida and the Marlins would be willing to pick up a large portion of Cantu's salary.

Cantu will give the Rangers a right-handed bat who can play both corner infield spots. The Rangers were looking for a right-handed hitting complement or platoon partner with Chris Davis.

Only Davis is not playing first base for the Rangers tonight. Mitch Moreland is. He is also a left-handed hitter who could use a right-handed platoon partner.

When Cantu comes, the Rangers will have to drop a player. The assumption is it will be Moreland but the Rangers could drop Davis back to Triple A. However his defense his outstanding and manager Ron Washington loves defense.

Joaquin Arias started at second base on Thursday with Ian Kinsler on the disabled list.

Reed is a reliever who has appeared in 30 games, pitching  39 innings at AA Frisco, with a 1.62 ERA, giving up 35 hits, 13 BB and 34 K, he also made a 1 game, 2 inning appearance at AAA OKC this season.

RHP Omar Poveda has been out for the entire season after having Tommy John surgery, he has a career 591 IP in the Rangers minor leagues - with a 4.14 ERA.

Cantu is playing this afternoon, so the deal has not yet been finalized. He is currently hitting .259, with 10 HR and 54 RBI.  Cantu has played over 200 games in his career at 1B, 2B and 3B - which would give the Rangers additional options with Ian Kinsler on the DL.

Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler is headed to the disabled list with a strained left groin.

As a result, the Rangers have called up Mitch Moreland from Triple-A Oklahoma City for the time being.

The former Mississippi State standout, who the Rangers took in the 17th round of 2007 Draft, is hitting .289 with 12 homers and 65 RBI for the RedHawks this season.

In order to make room for Moreland, the Rangers put reliever Mark Lowe - who came over from Seattle in the trade for Cliff Lee - on the 60-day disabled list.

Infielder Andres Blanco has been the primary backup at second base and played there Wednesday night in Kinsler's absence. He's hitting .257 with no home runs and three RBI in 70 at-bats this season. Unless the Rangers can make a deal for Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton, he'll remain there.

Kinsler, who started the season on the disabled list with a high ankle sprain, is hitting .298 with six home runs and 38 RBI in 292 at-bats.

The Rangers have signed pitcher Cody Buckel, who was their second-round pick from Simi Valley Royal (Ca.) High School. He agreed to a $590,000 signing bonus.

Once again it is the first place team against the second place team in the American League West.

Rich Harden is back with the Rangers after his outing for Triple A Oklahoma on Monday but the Rangers haven't decided what his next step will be. He could pitch against the Angels this weekend, he could move to the bullpen or he could pitch again on rehab assignment.

Harden pitched six innings, allowed two unearned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out ten. Said manager Ron Washington, "He was outstanding. Pounded the strike zone, walked only one guy, struck out ten...that's what we asked him to do and he went out and did it."

As far as Harden's next step, Washington said, "We're going to discuss it. It's something we'll be discussing but we haven't discussed it yet. I don't have an answer for you right now."

If Harden goes into the rotation, Scott Feldman will go to the bullpen unless one of them gets traded before the deadline.

Harden said he's Major-League ready, adding, "I felt good. Everything went well. I got my off-speed working early. That's the key."

Triple A pitcher Geoff Geary has taken his release at Triple A Oklahoma City.

Opponents are hitting .168 with runners in scoring position off Colby Lewis, second lowest in the league.

Oakland starting pitchers, coming into this series, have a 7-2 record and a 2.68 ERA in their last 11 games. The Athletics have also stolen 16 bases since the All-Star break on offense.

The just completed series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim attracted 170,848 fans to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. It is the highest attendance for a 4-date series in Arlington in 13 years since 178,592, June 19-22, 1997 versus Seattle. Overall, it is the 11th highest mark for a 4-date series in club history.

The Rangers have attracted 1,529,618 fans in 54 dates to Rangers Ballpark this season, an average of 28,326 per date that ranks as the 6th highest average in the American League. That total is 41,743 more than after 54 dates in 2009. It is the earliest that the club has passed the 1.5 million mark in home attendance since 2007 (48th date).

The 4 games versus the Angels all averaged a household rating of 5.6 or higher according to Nielsen Media Research. Thursday's 5.9 rating was the highest for a game on Fox Sports Southwest since a 6.4 on May 21, 2004 vs. the Yankees. Friday's game earned a 5.8, the best of the year for the Rangers' Friday baseball package on KTXA 21.

The Saturday and Sunday games each earned a 5.6 rating on Fox Sports Southwest. The Rangers have averaged a 4.9 rating in 9 games on Fox Sports Southwest since the All-Star break to improve the season FSSW figure to 2.9, an 8% increase through the same period in 2009. 

Alex Rodriguez turns 35 today but he also shares a birthday with former Rangers center fielder Tom Goodwin. The starting center fielder on their 1998-99 division championship teams is only 42.

Hall of Famer Mel Ott hit 511 home runs in his career. His first home run was inside the park. He never hit another inside-the-park home run in his career.

Rangers outfielder Marc Sagmoen's first Major League home run was also an inside-the-park home run. He never hit another home run in his career, inside or outside the park.

 

 

Big day for the Maldives...

You know the Maldives. That's the island country in the middle of the Indian Ocean that's about five feet above the ocean. Lowest country in the world.

So while they are dancing in the streets of Male with the oce an lapping at their feet, the Rangers are sitting seven games ahead of the Angels in the American League West.

But here come the Oakland Athletics and they are still in this thing too. Of course they lost Ben Sheets to an elbow injury while the Angels were getting Dan Haren and the Rangers were getting Cliff Lee.

The Athletics are looking for a new stadium as well while the Rangers are still looking for new owners. Apparently Mark Cuban is still in this thing. He was at the Ballpark in Arlington last week, possibly kicking the tires and looking under the hood.

Has to like what he sees but Chuck Greenberg was still in the front row for Sunday's game, a few seats down from Nolan Ryan and George W. Bush.

Bush received a sustained standing ovation when he was introduced during the middle of the second inning. Nary a boo in the mix.

Rangers fans are certainly giddy these days.

1. Jorge Cantu, Ty Wigginton or sit tight with Joaquin Arias?

2. Is Dan Haren going to change things in the American League West this year.

3. Scott Feldman, Rich Harden or Derek Holland?

4. Any concerns about Vladimir Guerrero's baserunning or his current slump?

5. Are the Rangers going to run away from the division?

Happy Maldives Day!!!

 

General manager Jon Daniels talked about the Trade Deadline as the Rangers continue to pursue Marlins infielder Jorge Cantu and possibly Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton.

Daniels on the Angels acquiring Danny Haren: "I'm not surprised. Not that we knew about it in advance but they are a well-run organization and they are opportunistic, I don't think we expected them not to improve their club. They got a very good pitcher."

On the Rangers doing something this week: "We're going to survey the market and see if there is something out there. If there is something that can help the ballclub, we're going to move on it. That's the same today as it was yesterday. This whole week there will be a lot conversations."

On the Rangers focusing on right-handed hitting backup corner infielder: "We're open to improving the club. Let's leave it at that. But it has to be a clear improvement. We're not going to just shuffle the deck."

Daniels said the Rangers are operating under the same financial constraints although the Rangers could get relief if U.S. Bankruptcy Court has Major League Baseball increase the line of credit.

Said Daniels, "If there is an opportunity to improve the club, we'll go through the proper channels. We want to be good citizens but we won't let an opportunity go by without at least looking into it."

 

Infielder Jorge Cantu is not in the Marlins lineup on Sunday. Not sure what that means but we do know that he is at the top of the Rangers list as the search for a right-handed bat. The Marlins appear to be interested in trading him.

The Rangers are trying to make a strong push for Marlins infielder Jorge Cantu before the Trade Deadline.

The Rangers are looking for a right-handed hitting backup first baseman and Cantu is high on their list. He is hitting .260 with ten home runs and 54 RBI in 93 games and 358 at-bats for the Marlins. But he is also hitting .222 with no home runs and four RBI in 17 games in July

The Rangers are also still interested in Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton, who is hitting .249 with 16 home runs and 48 RBI in 91 games and 333 at-bats. He also has been in a slump, hitting .209 in June and .208 in July.

Chris Davis would still be the Rangers primarly first baseman but the Rangers want a right-handed hitter to help him out and replace Joaquin Arias on the roster.

Cantu though has just a .733 OPS against left-handers this season and Wigginton has a .711 OPS against them.

Cantu would still be owed $2 million over the final two months if traded on July 31. The Rangers can't afford that but Judge Michael Lynn told the Rangers earlier this week in court that he has the power to have MLB extend their line of credit to make such a transaction possible.