Remember when Julio Borbon was supposed to be the center fielder of the Texas Rangers' future? He came up for a month or so, stole a bunch of bases, showed range in center and appeared to be just what the Rangers needed in a leadoff man.
Now, the only team he's going to be the future center fielder for is some team other than the Rangers as he's now tucked in to the minor league system and starring for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock.
On Tuesday as a guest on Sirius Radio's "Inside Pitch", Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Jim Bowden he would be open to trading a center fielder for some bullpen help and confessed what we all knew, that the Rangers biggest need at the July 31 trade deadline is bullpen help.
You'd have to think that center fielder would be Borbon, who's now had more Triple-A at-bats (95) this year than current Rangers CF Craig Gentry and is creeping up on the number of Round Rock ABs of the Rangers' other CF Endy Chavez.
He's not doing much in Round Rock, hitting just .232 with 11 steals, but he also has zero errors, something that had plagued him at times in Arlington.
Despite those pretty poor numbers, Borbon still has the reputation in the league as a guy who probably hasn't realized his full potential, and may never. But many teams out of contention this season will be willing to take a chance on him.
The Rangers have a ton of viable trade pieces, and Borbon is most definitely one of them.
