Kuzul

There has been significant movement in the Cliff Lee trade drama over the last 48 hours, and just when it seemed like the Tampa Bay Rays had moved in as the front runners, a new team has emerged.

While there are more than five teams that are all jockeying for position, there is one team that is working hard to get a deal done and has spoken with the Mariners about possible players that could be involved.

ESPN’s Jayson Starks says the Mariners are telling teams that it’s going to take two blue-chip prospects and a third young player to get a deal done.

We’ll go through each team that is in the running and who this new front runner is, as well as what players might be involved.

Begin Slideshow

This was the year that the Pirates were supposed to climb out of the cellar. Which is to say that they were supposed to be better than at least one other team in the National League Central.

But after a decent start, that hasn’t happened.

The Pirates do have a nice record (9-3) in the season series against the Chicago Cubs.

Under different circumstances, the Cubs might be in the cellar and the Pirates ahead of them. As was the case in 2006.

But the Cubs played uncharacteristically poorly against the Pirates, scoring fewer runs, and giving up more than their norm against other teams.

The energy of young Pirates seem to be taking a toll on the Cubs aging players in a way that is not happening to either team elsewhere in the majors.

The other candidate to take the mantle of cellar-dweller used to be the Houston Astros. That’s because they got off to a terrible 17-34 start at the end of May. As of that date, the Pirates had been the better team, with a record of 21-31.

But the Astros have gone 16-17, playing nearly .500 baseball since then. On the other hand, the Pirates had a lousy June (6-20). Sometime during that month, the two teams’ curves crossed. And not in the Pirates’ favor.

Houston’s first two victories against Pittsburgh were narrow (one to three run) wins. That suggested two closely matched (bad) teams, with the Pirates on the wrong end. Just as they were on the right end with the Cubs.

But the margin has widened in the last two games, suggesting that the Pirates are falling further behind.

Rookie Brad Lincoln, who pitched well against the Cubs, failed do so last night against the Astros. Other relatively young pitchers that the Pirates have deployed against the Astros are Charlie Morton and Chris Jakubauskas.

Not an “A-rotation,” even for Pittsburgh.

Actually, the Pirates and the Astros are very close in the standings. But the Astros are 4-0 in the season series. Change that to 4-0 in favor of the Pirates, or even a 2-2 split, and the Astros would be in last place in the National League Central.

But they’re not. Because the Pirates haven’t put them there. Which is why the Pirates are there themselves.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Oakland Athletics have a few players that are deserving of an All-Star invitation, including Kurt Suzuki, Ryan Sweeney, and Andrew Bailey.

Despite how great all of these players are playing right now, Trevor Cahill is the most deserving of any.

The 22-year-old right-hander is from the Southern California area and should be returning there to represent the A’s in Angel Stadium. Cahill is 7-2 on the year with an impressive 2.88 ERA.

Of his 12 starts, 10 have been “quality starts,” and the team has won nine of the games started by Cahill.

Trevor Cahill has won his last six decisions, which is the longest winning streak by an A’s starting pitcher since Dan Haren in 2007.

Cahill is a laid-back guy who has very quietly put up a great season; hopefully the right people are taking enough notice that Cahill will be able to join Bob Geren in Anaheim.

With multiple players having good seasons, it is possible that the Oakland Athletics will have multiple All-Stars for the first time since 2004, when Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were both selected.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Through his years in the minor leagues, San Diego Padres officials were excited about young Kyle Blanks.

He was a monster of a young man, could hit the longest home runs, but could do something that a whole lot of people wouldn’t expect from someone his size, he was fast.

Coming into his first major league season in 2009, the Padres had high hopes for Blanks and what he brought to the lineup. They were hoping that having someone of his size and talent would provide some form of protection in the lineup for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

Not only that, but he was someone that could spell Gonzalez at first base when he needed a day off.

Blanks struggled through the first half of the season, but after the team returned from the all-star break he started to show his power stroke, even coming up with a few game winners during the second half of the season.

Fast forward to 2010 and there was even more promise for young Kyle Blanks. Most thought they would see the kind of potential most Padre fans expected after all the hype that had put behind him by Padre brass.

Unfortunately, Blanks once against struggled out of the gates and was never a factor at the plate.

He was put on the disabled list a few weeks ago with what the team called an elbow strain.

After finishing his stint on the disabled list, Blanks began his rehab assignment in the minor league, but that also was short lived as he would re-injure the same elbow that put him on the disabled list to begin with.

Now, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times, via Twitter, Blanks and the Padres are discussing possible season-ending elbow surgery.

While a final decision has not been reached, it looks like a promising career could be on the shelf until next season. It’s unfortunate, but you know he’s going to come back more determined than ever.

The Padres are still going through other decisions, and playing the process of elimination game before they come to a final decision.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Phil Hughes, aka Phranchise, will start Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners and Cliff Lee. Hughes, though, had his last start skipped out on the West Coast trip through Arizona and Los Angeles.

The reason? After throwing mostly in relief last year, he is on an innings limit this season, with the Yankees likely not to let Hughes go above 180 innings. After throwing 105 innings last season, Hughes would have that number bumped up by 75 innings over 2009.

Depending on the source, this number of 180 innings does or does not include playoffs.

Why so much of an increase? The Verducci Effect says that any young pitcher under the age of 25 who throws more than 30 innings over the prior season is ripe for injury or a lower level of production.

TVE started out as 40 innings over the prior season, but I guess there were not enough injuries so Verducci reduced the number to 30 innings. The original theory only contained injuries, but King Tom also added an increase in ERA to prove his points of pitcher abuse.

Well, Hughes did throw 111 innings in 2007, 100 in 2008 (including the 30 he threw in the Arizona Fall League), and 105 last year. He also threw in the 2007 and 2009 postseasons.

Maybe the Yankees feel that Hughes has built up enough innings over the last three years (316) that he can withstand the “rigors” of 180 innings.

I feel that Hughes also can withstand those innings, and much more. I would not have sat him at all, especially with the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays in hot pursuit of first place. Your teams’ best pitcher is being reduced in his work detail.

But I understand why the Yankees did it. They do not want to be blamed for anything if Hughes ever hurts his arm*. Don’t want to hear if from the fans, the media, the agents, or even fantasy baseball owners. They don’t want to lose their future investment of a great arm.

* Newsflash! Almost all pitchers hurt their arms during their careers, many needing surgery. It is the nature of the beast in a most unnatural act. Even Roger Clemens, one of the most durable pitchers of all time, had shoulder surgery in 1985 at age 22. He only won 350+ plus games afterwards, and is 16th all time in total innings pitched.

Those who do not hurt their arms usually have tremendous mechanics like Greg Maddux, who threw 167 pitches in a game at age 22 and still made his next 700+ starts. Maddux also has starts that season of 131 pitches (twice), 134 pitches, and 143 pitches in his first start, April 6.

Maddux also had accumulated 86 professional innings in 1986, jumped to 186 innings the following season (increase of 100), then threw 196 in 1986. After throwing 183 combined minor and Major League innings in 1987, Maddux threw 249 Major League innings in 1988, a jump of 66 innings over the prior season.

The reason? Great mechanics, which lessened the pressure on the shoulder and elbow. Maybe Mark Prior should be working with Maddux and not Tom House.

And since Hughes has now become what was expected of him, a really good young pitcher who is 10-1 with a 3.14 ERA entering Tuesday, the Yankees are taking it easy.

It is a mistake, but I applaud this move by the Yankees to limit Hughes’ innings.

All the horror stories of Mark Fidrych throwing 250 innings in 1976 at age 21 and Doc Gooden throwing 276 innings in 1985 at age 20 are scaring off these teams on using their young pitchers to win games. Both Don Gullett and Gary Nolan of the Big Red Machine days of the early 1970s had logged totals of 200+ innings in their early 20s, including Gullett at age 20.

All four of these young pitchers were never the same after many years of these high innings pitched seasons.

Well, can someone please let me know how Doc Gooden would ever replicate one of the greatest pitched seasons of all time when he went 24-4. 1.53 ERA, 268 strikeouts, and 0.965 WHIP in 1985? It woudl be impossible.

What many people do not understand that the idea is to win games, not protect your “investments.”

There, I said it.

That means if a young pitcher, like Hughes or Gooden or Gullett, or even Stephen Strasburg, are throwing well in a tight pennant race, they have to pitch. I don’t care how old they are or how many innings they have thrown.

But I still like what the Yankees are doing with Hughes.

Injuries happen whether a pitcher is overused early in his career or not. While Fidrych, Gooden, Gullett, and Nolan are on one side, there are guys like Dennis Martinez**, Bert Blyleven, and Don Sutton who threw a lot of innings before age 25 and had long, productive careers.

Blyleven AVERAGED 289 innings in his age 22 through 25 seasons, including a high of 325 at age 22.

**And can some team please call Martinez and get him to pitch a third of an inning so he can reach 4,000 for his career. Even at 55 years of age, I bet El Presidente can get one guy out. If Chad Gaudin can get someone out, then anybody can. How about a promo day in September for the Nationals, the franchise Martinez threw a perfecto with? That four game series vesus Houston looks like a great time.

And I also contend that Nolan and Gooden had nice careers, too. Nolan ended up having 110 wins and started 30+ games five times, while Gooden started 410 games over a 16 year career, winning 194.

Lots of guys today are having Tommy John surgery (TJS) and have been limited in pitch counts and their innings. Josh Johnson of the Florida Marlins has TJS a few years ago, and was closely monitored throughout his pro career.

The Yankees have a bunch of minor leaguers who have had TJS and they monitor everything pitcher wise, including the use of the minor league “phantom DL” to give guys innings breaks. Heck, a few years ago the Toronto Blue Jays had a slew of young pitchers who had surgery and they were monitored throughout their careers.

All the precautions in attempts to extend a young pitchers career has eliminated the dominant season (glad Ubaldo is here now), or that run of great seasons. Building up guys over time is fine, but now even veteran pitchers are limited to seven inning starts and a little more than 200 innings a year.

There are too many decisions going to middle relievers, guys with no business being in the critical parts of games. Is asking a pitcher to throw 15 pitches an inning over nine innings too much?

It is ridiculous to ask someone to be like Iron Man Joe McGinnity again, who used to throw both ends of a double header. But to throw 135 pitches over nine innings (15 per inning) does not seem problematic, especially when a pitcher conditions himself to do so.

Most great pitchers like Juan Marichal, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, and the like only became what they were because they were allowed to become what they are.

Steve Carlton only became Steve Carlton because he was allowed to be Steve Carlton.

And that is to take the ball all the time, throwing enough to win (or lose) the game that day, going out and doing it again every four (now five) days. Those types of pitchers used to “get better as the game went along.”

That phrase was even used this season about Strasburg. But Strasburg is not yet being allowed to become Strasburg. And Hughes is not yet being allowed to become Phil Hughes.

But I like what the Yankees are doing with Hughes, and what the Nationals are doing with Strasburg.

And what the Reds are doing with Mike Leake, what the San Diego Padres are doing with their young starters, and what the Baltimore Orioles are doing with young starters Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, and Jake Arrieta.

The Yankees, as well as many other teams, most notably Kansas City when Zack Greinke starts games, have lost games in which they held middle-to-late inning leads. What the manager did was remove the starting pitcher after six or seven innings to hand the lead over to the bullpen.

Many times this ends in team losses, and in close pennant races in September those games blown early count just the same.

Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts died just about two months ago, and he won 286 games, including 20+ wins in six straight seasons from age 23 through age 28. He also won 19 a year later at age 29. He dominated those six/seven seasons, and despite having double-digit wins in eight other seasons.

After he averaged 319 innings per season, Roberts was really never the same after age 28.

But I would rather have those dominating six years, then have a real good pitcher for 15 seasons who doesn’t dominate, but gets his obligatory 12+ wins every year. Are these teams trying to get 30 starts out of these guys for 15 years?

If so, that would be a nice, long career of 450 starts.

Know how many pitchers have started 450+ games in MLB? Only 77.

In the history of Major League Baseball, only 77 pitchers have started 450+ games, the equivalent of a 15 year career at 30 starts per season.

And most of these guys began their careers before 1985, the era when pitch counts started to become common.

So let’s get these pitchers to start dominating again over shorter time periods.

Give me Phil Hughes or Stephen Strasburg or a Mike Leake dominating for seven seasons before mediocrity hits. The teams will be better because of it, and if a team cannot develop another good starting pitcher or two (or three) in seven years then player development is the problem.

But I like what the Yankees are doing with Hughes, what the Nationals are doing with Strasburg, and what the Reds are doing with Leake.

Because when one of these guys (or any other “limited innings” pitcher) gets an arm injury and needs surgery, then baseball can get forget about these stupid pitch counts and innings limits, and back to the days of the dominating, workhorse starting pitcher.

I believe Phil Hughes can be that guy. Just let Phil be Phil.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Having lost six of their last seven games, the Minnesota Twins’ fast start has slowed considerably.

Though still six games above .500, the Twins are no longer at the top of the AL Central. While fans and media are jumping off the bandwagon left and right, Minnesota is trying desperately to find what’s ailing them and fix the problem.

Are the Twins being hurt because of a poor offense, or is the pitching doing them in? As is usually the case, Minnesota can attribute their drop in the standings to a combination of both offense and pitching.

Check out the table below for a quick run-down on the Twins’ struggles in June:

In the 25 games the Twins have played in June this season, they have had a net loss of 1.14 runs per game. As you can see, if the Twins don’t burst from this slump and start scoring and preventing runs at a much better clip, they will have no chance of postseason contention.

But in order to break free from the shackles they currently find themselves in, the Twins will need to bank on a few key players finding their groove once again.

Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer have lost an average of 159 OPS points in June. JJ Hardy and Orlando Hudson, Minnesota’s starting shortstop and second baseman, have combined to appear in just 15 games during the month of June.

As a team, the Twins have dropped 82 OPS points in the same month. Essentially, Minnesota hitters have transformed from Cody Ross to Christian Guzman.

Clearly, the offense has been an issue for the Twins. Luckily, most of these players will be unable to keep up this futility for too long, and should start slowly pulling themselves out of the mud.

Minnesota’s starting rotation, though, could be a bigger issue.

Francisco Liriano and Carl Pavano have been excellent for the Twins this year, but the other 60 percent of the rotation has been downright dreadful. Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, and Nick Blackburn have combined to post an ERA of 7.17 in the month of June, which, at the major-league level, is laughable and simply unacceptable.

Still, a few of these rotation members should be able to get back on track before too long.

Blackburn, though, has sandwiched an outstanding May with a horrendous April and June. If the Twins were to acquire a starting pitcher before the July 31 trade deadline, Blackburn would be the one to go. And, let’s face it, replacing Blackburn’s innings with that of a league-average starter (or even Cliff Lee) would drastically improve the team.

Yes, the month of June has left Twins’ fans with a rotten taste in their mouths. The Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox have had very strong months, and are flying up the standings.

Chicago won 15 of 17 games at one point and are about to hold a mini-fire sale, though, and will inevitably fall back to third in the division. The Tigers will endure a tough month or two, as well, and the Twins will have an opportunity to re-gain some ground.

After all, baseball is a six-month sport.

Unlike football or basketball, one extended losing streak won’t derail a season. The Twins have plenty of time to address their needs, catch their breath, and engage in a dogfight with Detroit.

There’s no time like the present, and with the Tigers in town for a three-game series, the Twins need to take advantage.

We’ve hardly reached the do-or-die point in the season, but a series win against Detroit this week would do wonders to Minnesota’s attempts to break out of a funk.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Something’s going to happen soon.

But nobody really knows for certain how much money the Los Angeles Dodgers are willing to spend to improve their squad heading into the home stretch of the 2010 season—mainly due to the current divorce proceedings between Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti is notorious for not showing his hand before the trade deadline, and although this year’s speculation indicates that McCourt’s wallet is extra—thin, Colletti will use all available resources to enhance his team’s chances of returning to the postseason.

Buster Olney of ESPN, a highly regarded MLB analyst, conveyed on June 28th via Twitter that all of his contacts in the Dodger organization have low expectations that the team has the means to add payroll dollars to acquire much needed pitching help.

Still, Frank McCourt continues to pump huge amounts of cash into his divorce defense team, as the Los Angeles Times reported on June 29th that the Dodgers owner has hired yet another attorney to add to his defense brigade.

The newest hire is Stephen Susman, a lawyer based out of Houston, Texas, who is regarded among the top trial lawyers in the country.

The divorce is already being labeled as one of the costliest in California State history, and the combined costs for both sides is expected to exceed $19 million in attorney fees alone—a sum equal to the amount of Manny Ramirez’ 2010 salary.

And as details continue to be exposed about the Dodgers’ books, several very interesting figures have been brought to light in a precursor of what to expect in the divorce trial itself.

According to court documents, the club is paying the annual salaries of the couple’s sons, Drew and Travis. The combined salaries of the two total $600,000, while neither is said to have any responsibility with the Dodgers.

At the time the documents were submitted, Drew was attending business school at Stanford and Travis worked at Goldman Sachs in New York.

Also, it is alleged by Jamie’s lawyers that the Los Angeles Dodgers have paid nearly $4 million over the last 18 months to the John McCourt Company, an entity which does virtually nothing for the team.

Jamie’s attorneys are describing this entity as a “slush fund,” implying it is nothing more than a piggy bank of cash to be used at Frank’s leisure.

Regardless, it’s obvious that there are enormous amounts of money involved, and more details are expected to be revealed when the divorce trial begins on August 30th.

Despite the divorce being a primary focus of the franchise, Ned Colletti still has a job to do—and he will try his best to improve his team’s chances of winning.

Already within the past three weeks, Colletti has made efforts to strengthen the Dodgers’ bullpen, adding Kiko Calero, Claudio Vargas, Jesus Colome, and Jack Taschner, all of whom were claimed off waivers, and all of whom are 32 years of age or older.

All four pitchers are currently active in the Dodgers farm system, and are poised to be called up if needed by the team.

With the addition of this veteran crew, it may suggest that the current relieving corps may be in for an overhaul, as the Dodger bullpen continues to struggle. This was evident in the heart—wrenching defeat at the hands of the New York Yankees last Sunday night. 

As the minor leagues are normally used for the development of young players, or possibly as a proving ground for one or two veterans, the addition of this four man crew may indicate that perhaps the club is looking to move several relievers in a larger deal with another team.

Also, it’s worth noting that the Dodgers have already signed 21 of their 50 selections chosen in this year’s first year player draft, including four of their top five picks. The team has until August 16 to complete the remainder of the signings.

These moves may be signs that the team has more cash to work with than many have speculated.

Colletti has also told several reporters that he was busy inquiring about free agent pitchers. If the cash is indeed scarce, this may be a very economical option in terms of upgrading the team’s pitching staff.

Pedro Martinez, Jarrod Washburn, Braden Looper, and Mark Prior head up the list of names of free agents without a team possibly looking to make an impact in 2010.

However, everyone in “Dodgerland” still has their fingers crossed that Los Angeles can find a way to make a deal for one of the big market pitchers: Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, or Dan Haren.

Although Colletti has not ruled these names out as options, he did indicate that he hasn’t yet approached ownership for more money to increase payroll.

Nevertheless, anticipation is high. The Dodger faithful are already sitting on the edge of their seats with unbridled anxiety, waiting.

The deadline for all trades in Major League baseball is July 31st.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

One year ago today, the Milwaukee Brewers sat in first place of the NL Central with a record of 41-35. They held a one game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, and there was speculation that if the Brewers could add reigning AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, they could make a return trip to the postseason.

Fast forward to today.

The Brewers have a record of 34-42, and sit in third place of the NL Central, eight-and-a-half games behind first place Cincinnati. However, there is still talk that Lee could come to Milwaukee, but not in the same capacity most Brewer fans would like.

The Brewers scuffled their feet on a potential Lee trade last season, and the Phillies quickly acquired him and rode him all the way to the World Series. 

It’s no secret Jack Zduriencik and the Seattle Mariners are shopping Lee, and once a deal tickles Zduriencik’s fancy, Lee will be finding himself right in the middle of a playoff push. While the haul for Lee this year won’t nearly be what it was last year, the Mariners will likely still come out winners by trading the lefty.

Rumors have circulated recently that the Brewers, despite their poor start to this year, could acquire Lee. Two scenarios have been discussed to bring Lee back to the National League.

The first trade proposal has Corey Hart being sent to the Mariners for Lee. Hart has more than twice the home runs (17) of any player that has been on the Mariners roster all year. Recently acquired Russell Branyan has 10, but he only has 24 RBI compared to Hart’s 60.

Hart would fit in very nicely to the middle of the lineup, and he would be under team control through the 2011 season.

The other proposal would also send Lee to Milwaukee, but for Mat Gamel and one or two other prospects.

Gamel has returned from an injury in Spring Training and is hitting .281, with three home runs and 23 RBI in 40 games played this year. He was also coveted by Zduriencik last year for Jarrod Washburn, but Brewers GM Doug Melvin refused that offer.

Both scenarios would be tempting to each team, but neither would see Lee stay in Milwaukee very long. A third team could get involved for Lee’s services, and Milwaukee could immediately deal him for the young pitching Melvin so desperately desires. 

It would be a great coup to keep Lee in Milwaukee with a long-term deal, but that is highly unlikely, especially with Randy Wolf having signed a three-year deal this past winter.

If Melvin could find a taker for Wolf, it could happen, but few if any teams will be willing to take on Wolf’s two-plus years and over $20 million still remaining on his contract.

The best deal for the Brewers would be to trade Hart for Lee. Hart is having a career year, but he has a very streaky past. It would be smart on Melvin’s part to sell high on Hart and get Lee. The hard part is trying to find a team with good young pitching to deal for Lee.

In addition to finding a team with good young pitching, they will also have to be willing to give it up for just two months of service for Lee. The Giants could fit that billing, but they need hitting more than pitching.

The Braves also are in a similar position as the Giants, but they might be willing to make a deal and go for broke in Bobby Cox’s last season.

The Brewers missed their best chance for Lee by not acquiring him last season. Bringing him to Milwaukee now would be for nothing more than a cup of coffee to ship him right back out of town.

The team would be better off just trading Hart and other veterans for young pitching and let the contending teams fight over Lee.

To read more by Jesse Motiff, click here. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

As of Monday night, the Texas Rangers are four-and-a-half games in front of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the race for the AL West crown, and don’t look to be slowing down any time soon.

What’s surprising about that is the fact that the Rangers currently have the fourth-lowest payroll in all of baseball, just in front of the Oakland A’s, San Diego Padres, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

What has impressed me about this ball club is that it is doing all of this in the midst of the team going through bankruptcy proceedings.

However, general manager Jon Daniels has not ruled out the possibility of making a deal for a player whose contract ends at the end of the 2010 season. For that reason alone, the team could still have interest in Seattle left-hander Cliff Lee.

For those of you who didn’t see this before, Jamey Newberg of The Newberg Report was asked, via Twitter, by David Cameron of USSMariner.com what it would take to get a deal done to send Lee to Texas.

Newberg’s response?

“Martin Perez (Double-A left-hander), Chris Davis, and a lesser prospect.”

Timeout.

For those Ranger fans, or even Mariner fans, can you for even a second imagine the Mariners taking two minor leaguers and Chris Davis for Cliff Lee?

If I’m Seattle, I’m laughing Jon Daniels off the phone if he thinks that is all it’s going to take for the Mariners to send Lee to the American League West leaders.

Sure, the Mariners got Lee from Philadelphia for just about nothing, but they’re not going to take nothing to trade him.

While Cliff Lee will stay on the Rangers’ radar until official word comes from either team saying “there’s no interest,” another name that may make the rounds is Rangers’ outfielder Josh Hamilton, the current owner of a 21-game hitting streak.

While it might sound absurd that the Rangers would even consider trading Hamilton, let’s stop for a second and think about this. As of right now, the Rangers may be able to hang on to the AL West crown IF the Angels don’t make a huge splash by adding the likes or pitchers Roy Oswalt or Cliff Lee, and first baseman Prince Fielder.

If the Angels do make a big splash—and it’s well known that the team will be looking for a power hitting first baseman at the deadline—the Rangers will have to do something to stay in front or they’ll risk missing the playoffs and hearing fans say, “See, we told you the team folds after the All-Star break.”

Right now, the Rangers are NOT World Series contenders.

Let’s assume the Rangers will have to face one of three teams if the season ended today: The New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, or the Minnesota Twins.

I don’t believe the Rangers have the pitching to deal with the New York offense and I don’t think the Rangers have the offense to deal with Boston’s pitching. As for Minnesota, that might be an even battle.

Now, with all that being said, if the Rangers want to win right now—this year—they have to make a deal and it’s going to take a big name player to get a big time piece in return.

One team that the Rangers have been trade partners with in the past is the San Diego Padres. What the two teams have in common this year is they both need what each other has.

The Rangers need another front line starter to not only get deep into the playoffs, but just hang on to the division title.

The Padres, on the other hand, need an outfielder that is going to bring them more production in the lineup. As of right now, Will Venable is starting to make a name for himself just the way he did last season—hitting timely home runs and providing solid defense.

If you pencil him in on an everyday basis like Bud Black is doing at this point, you still have the center field and left field positions as a platoon between Tony Gwynn, Jr., Scott Hairston, Chris Denorfia, and Aaron Cunningham.

Five players for two positions, assuming Venable will be the every day guy in right field, for now.

So, what do the Padres have that the Rangers need? Pitching.

What do the Rangers have that the Padres need? A power hitting outfielder that can start every day.

San Diego has depth at pitching—not only in the bullpen, but also in terms of starters. The Padres could get rid of some of that depth if it lands them a power hitting outfielder that can start.

Don’t think that Rangers’ interim owner Nolan Ryan and general manager Jon Daniels don’t remember what the Padres did to the Rangers a few years ago.

For those of you who don’t remember and want that wound to be opened a little further, the Padres have thanked the Rangers every day for Adrian Gonzalez, not to mention Chris Young.

If memory serves me, the Padres sent Akinori Otsuka and Adam Eaton to Texas for those two players in Young and Gonzalez (as well as Termmel Sledge), who have since become all-stars.

While I can’t imagine the Rangers being where they are right now at this point in the season without Hamilton’s production, I do have to wonder what kind of deal it would take for them to consider dealing him.

While it is in no way a done deal that the Rangers will trade Hamilton, I do think they have to think about it if they want a starter that’s going to help them hang on to the division lead as well as take them deep into the playoffs.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

I wrote a piece on Wednesday night about how the Seattle Mariners traded Cliff Lee to the Minnesota Twins for Minor League catcher Wilson Ramos, left-handed pitcher Brian Duensing, and a low-level minor league outfielder.

The trade disintegrated when Ramos got hurt last Saturday playing for Triple-A Rochester.

Once Ramos returns to active duty (he is day-to-day with a strained oblique), the trade will be consummated like a new bride on her wedding night.

It’s no coincidence the Twins pitched Duensing for 3.1 innings last night in relief of very ineffective Twins’ starter Nick Blackburn. It was 3.1 scoreless innings of relief; the lefty allowed three hits, while striking out three Milwaukee Brewers’ hitters.

In the minds of the Mariners, it basically cements the deal for Lee, as they will get their catcher and left-handed starting pitcher, two positions they indicated they must have in any trade for Lee.

However, an obstacle now comes in the form of the New York Mets. With the Philadelphia Phillies floundering and the Mets only a half-game behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves, the Mets believe they have a real shot of winning the NL East this season.

Renting Cliff Lee will not only help them achieve that goal, but when combined with a healthy return of outfielder Carlos Beltran, Lee could help them get to a World Series.

Never forget, Omar Minaya will strip an entire franchise’s farm system for one pitcher he feels can put them over the top. He already did it in 2002 when he was GM of the Montreal Expos.

Back then he TRADED Cliff Lee as part of a package of young players for right-handed pitcher Bartolo Colon.

The Mariners could get greedy and, by using the Mets as leverage, try to wrestle more away from the Twins.

But oftentimes the greedy get what they deserve, and that’s usually something not nearly as good as what they already had in the pocket.

Why would the Mariners trade with the Mets anyway? The Mets have nothing the Mariners need; the Mariners are looking for a young catcher with the potential to start right away.

Ramos fits that bill. But is that why the Mets brought up catcher Josh Thole the other day, to show him off in the big leagues? The Mariners will have a few scouts in town this weekend scouting the Twins (and now the Mets?) and can get a look at Thole, too. The Mariners will also be in town next week when they play the Yankees.

But while Thole has rebounded well from a horrible April, he is very young defensively behind the plate and does not hit for much power (10 career HR’s in 3+ Minor League seasons).

The Mariners also want a left-handed starting pitcher.

While Duensing is not a complete youngster (he is 27), he does have good Major League experience and can step right into Lee’s spot in the rotation—maybe throwing to Ramos. The Mets only have Jonathon Niese as a starting left-handed pitcher, and with his pretty good season thus far in 2010, it does not look like he’s going anywhere.

The Mets do have other prospects they would give up for their rental, including a package built around prospects like Ruben Tejada , Fernando Martinez , Wilmer Flores , and Jeurys Familia .

Although these players are good, none are what the Mariners are seeking, making the Twins’ deal more appealing for the Mariners.

But then again, if the Mets gave them ALL of those prospects, then you might have a deal.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com